T H E A R T O F T H E S E L F I E

Before I begin, I would like to state that this sort of photography - although some would debate whether it could even be called that - is not what I would generally think about writing an article on, much less post on my blog. However it has come to my attention that people usually have a strong opinion on the nature of the selfie, and lie in one of two categories: (1) It is an art form, and you must have the eye of a photographer to click the perfect picture, or (2) It is a self-absorbed expression of one's self, and takes no skill at all.

I am here to suggest that maybe not all pro-selfie-ers are pro photographers, but that perhaps they are re-defining the "portrait" and utilizing classic skills such as lighting, setting, angle, framing, and subject to do so. To express this view, I will be using selfies of none other than myself, so as to have a constant to compare.

First, let us define the "Selfie": a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and shared via social media. (As seen in Google's translation)

So, all the following pictures will meet at least these qualifications: They will be taken of me, by me.

Lastly, I would like to define the five classic photography skills that I will be mentioning throughout the article (although they my be obvious) using basic google definitions.

Lighting: the arrangement or effect of lights.

Angle: refers to the way a shot is composed.

Framing: defined by wikipedia as 'a technique used to bring focus to a subject'.

Subject: an object, scene, incident, etc., chosen by an artist for representation, or as represented in art.

Setting: the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place.

Lets begin with an example that demonstrates the use of angle:

As you can see, this first selfie is only so killer because of how I angled not only my head, but the camera before I snapped the perfect shot. I'll admit there were about ten pictures from this moment to choose from, but this one stood out because of the angling.

This second picture is simply to back up the same point: utilizing angle - both in the subject and with the camera - create a more memorable picture than just a straight on selfie.

The next aspect we will talk about is lighting.

Although this picture is for some reason sideways, it is one of the best examples of lighting. I have personally learned (perhaps from taking a couple too many selfies) that my little siblings' bathroom window has the most perfect lighting for me no matter the time of day. This picture is un-filtered and un-edited, and I had legitimately just woken up from a nap. I probably looked incredibly disheveled and exhausted, but this lighting made my hair, eyes, skin, and lips look fresh and lively.

This second example of lighting was taken in the second best place in my house for selfies - my basement window. I specifically used this location to take this selfie because I was feeling incredibly pale in my all-black outfit, and knew the overly bright lighting of the basement would enhance this already insane amount of paleness while simultaneously pulling out my only bright features - my eyes and hair.

The third thing we will talk about is framing.

This picture is the best example I have of framing, simply because it is a selfie but it doesn't have my face in it. By framing the shot without the majority of my head, the focus is drawn to more subtle things such as my necklace, freckles, collarbones, and lips.

This example of framing shows how it can be used in a variety of ways. While the previous picture didn't even have my face in it, a majority of my body is in this one. However, I have it framed so that the focus is on what stands out - my hair and eyes (as usual) and the contrast of my *new* bikini against the sand.

Next we will talk about subject.

This is definitely not the best quality picture, but it is a great example of subject. This is because it is a selfie of both myself and two of my friends, but I have positioned myself so that I am the main subject. I've done this in two ways: (1) Being the one who took the photo, and (2) standing in front of the other two people in the frame.

This selfie is another good example of subject because the subject is not (for once) my whole face. Instead, it is my eyes (probably because my makeup was banging that day). This is made obvious because it is more of a close up and the camera is best focused on my eyes, which are angled closest to the camera lens.

Lastly, we will talk about setting.

I'd say that usually setting is the hardest to capture in a selfie. However it can be accomplished best when you have a self-timer. For this photo I set the timer and ran about thirty feet away, but I forgot I was wearing a dress so it took me longer than expected. I showed up with not enough time to go where I was aiming for, so I just turned around to face the camera and cheesed with all I had to create this selfie focused on setting.

So now it is time for you to decide: The Selfie - a sorry excuse for photography, or a way of re-defining the portrait?

Thank you for reading, and for your valued feedback and up-votes. Feel free to check out the links below if you are interested in more photography (not selfies!) by me.

https://steemit.com/steemit/@jacqueline.ohara/in-view-of-the-waterfall-a-stand-alone-nature-action-photo-poetry-by-thomas-hardy-and-evaluation#comments

https://steemit.com/steemit/@jacqueline.ohara/a-smoldering-sky-a-stand-alone-photography-piece-poetry-by-elinor-morton-wylie-and-my-personal-explanation-of-the-pairing

https://steemit.com/photography/@jacqueline.ohara/emma-a-photoshoot-of-subtle-tones