06 Jan, 2016
Are selfie sticks a symptom of a narcissistic generation or an innovative photography tool?
Posted by andrea tomkins in: Oh! Things!|Photography
I picked up a selfie stick at Mrs. Tiggy Winkle’s before Christmas. Maybe you got one in your stocking this year, or know someone who did?
Selfie sticks have been a hot item but they’ve also been getting a lot of flak. They’ve been banned from many places already – museums, roller coasters and zoos for example – and are generally considered to be a scourge on society.
Selfies themselves are not a very well respected form of photography. People generally don’t like the LOOK AT ME attitude that comes with the idea of the selfie – regardless of whether it’s intended that way or not. It’s considered narcissistic.
From what I’ve seen, the majority of selfies are artfully composed to show the best angles in the most flattering lighting and heavily edited afterwards to make sure no scars/pimples/blotchy skin is revealed. I personally don’t have an issue with selfies. I think most people don’t love photos of themselves, and this is a photography technique in which we can totally control the outcomes and end up with a great photo. And that’s not a bad thing.
So I found myself mulling over my purchase of a selfie stick, wondering if I would ever be brave enough to use it in public. I decided to buy it anyway. You see, photos taken with a selfie stick can offer a whole new perspective on whatever scene I am trying to capture. I wouldn’t mock a guy with a tripod, so how is this any different?
I decided to try it out in public while on the job. There was a charitable/shopping event happening in Wellington West so I thought I’d ask each participating store owner to snap a selfie using my new selfie stick. This was my first foray into the world with a selfie stick.
But first, I had to figure out how to use the thing. HOW HARD COULD IT BE? IT’S A CAMERA ON A STICK. Honestly, I should have done a test run at home before I left, because I accidentally took 200+ photos while trying to set it up and they all looked like this:
Then I handed it to each store owner, who, with good humour and a bit of patience, ended up with better results than I did with only a few boo boos along the way (and yes, that’s me, trying to get out of the way in the background):
My goal this year is to use the selfie stick for some family portraits (it’s hard to squeeze everyone in otherwise!) and maybe try a few more work-related adventures. But first I need a bit more practice. I have to admit, it will take me some time to get over the awkwardness of using it in public. Maybe it will get less weird the more often I do it.
