The Selfie
What is a ‘Selfie’? Well this year the word was included in the Oxford Dictionaries quarterly online update… So I guess going by Microsoft Word’s red underline warning as I type this, I need to update my dictionary!
noun (plural selfies)
informal
A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website: occasional selfies are acceptable, but posting a new picture of yourself every day isn’t necessary.
I would make a suggestion that a selfie is not a self-portrait as such, not in the manner of how photographers have spent time and consideration crafting them with all manner of other cameras. I agree that they are typically shot with smartphones for instantaneous sharing in which there is little thought gone into their creation. Whilst I’m trying not to typecast any one particular demographic, the rise of the selfie seems to be associated with a much younger generation, who have spent their formative years behind social media platforms.
One aspect I find interesting about this phenomenon is the blasé attitude towards their formation, more importantly the setting and moment in which they are shot and uploaded. There have been all manner of funny scenarios from dodgy reflections taken in lavatories to hilarious ‘Animal Photo-Bombs’ that have made the social media rounds. Yet it is the latest craze that is the most baffling, not to mention disrespectful and that is ‘Selfie’s at Funerals’. Nope, you are not misreading that line, people of a certain criteria are now taking images of themselves at a loved ones funeral. Which they are then more concerned with their appearance as they broadcast their location, subsequently yearning for peer feedback on how they look; hoping for more ‘Likes’ to boost their apparently low self-esteem.
What about the viewer, what do they get from these images? In some ways it is a voyeurs delight, just a few clicks away and you are presented with an overabundance of visual morsels to dissect and pick apart. Yet with the majority of people concerned about data theft it is surprising how much information is stored both in and behind these images.
As part of my investigation I asked fellow OCA colleagues to submit a selfie ‘please see below’, well with just a quick peek into the Exif data I could see the exact time and date in which they were shot and with most find out what device they were created with. So some of my colleagues used:
Galaxy S2
HTC Desire
iPad 2
iPhone 4
iPhone 4S
iPhone 5
Nokia C300
Also as most smartphones have GPS technology a couple of the submitted images contained the exact longitude and latitude location of where they were shot. This technology then enables the viewer to possibly track someone just by accessing his or hers publicly displayed images. Fortunately for this blog post I have stripped all of this data from the images.
Yet does this information give us any greater insight into the creation of these images? It is interesting that they are shot, edited, transmitted and typically viewed on mobile communication devices. I would conclude that as visual artists we view photography as a pictorial based language; dissecting and reading it based upon our prescribed rhetoric, then selfies are the ‘txt’ speak of theses discourses. They offer snippets of information to be gleaned and read as such.
As our written language gradually grows and evolves, absorbing new words like ‘Selfie’ then it is logical that our visual language will also change and morph into something new, lets just hope that our dictionaries can cope…
44 thoughts on “The Selfie”
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I think this is just another example of ephemeral social interaction being looked down on as it’s not “true” photography”. A selfie is not planned meticulously like a self-portrait – it’s a snapshot in the same vein as a family snapshot when compared to a family portrait.
However like all ephemeral art , I find it fascinating as there will always be some artifice behind it, even if it is to bolster ego with likes. I find that side of it to be intriguing and I often look at them with a curious eye asking my self questions such as ; what was the context? what value was being portrayed? who is the intended audience ?
I love ephemeral images and take great delight in inflicting friends with my own, and as many of them are also photographers, we all take great pains in making ours look more “selfie” than a real selfie; competing to create even more cringeworthy or off the wall images … if you get my drift… a couple of the ones above look seriously self concious… Gareth and Paul – embrace your inner ego whore …submit to the selfie!
‘Submit to the selfie’, I love it…
My dad took a selfie the other week and was absolutely ecstatic about it. It is all photography and should be taken seriously as it is still a form of communication and a representational device regardless on how contrived they might me. They are great.
Hmmm…. now I have seen it repeated it’s looking like less of a throwaway sound-bite and more of a battle cry.
Expect to start seeing it on t-shirts very soon… “Submit to the Selfie!”
I spent the day reading about how people use headphones and ipods to be in control of their environment. To be able to feel the world through their chosen soundtracks, imposing meaning on the outside world rather than connecting with it to try to make sense of its complexity. Silencing the unknown, the misunderstood – yet, feeding their imaginary, their inner life from it. Finding meaning if not truth.
The Selfie is also used as a control tool. We were talking about “the flood” of pictures earlier on WeAreOca, and I wonder if the selfie main function is not basically to overflow the mental images of the person we might already have. Is the final goal that we only remember and “see” the person making a Selfie through his own eyes? Are people deluding themselves with the illusion that they can also control the others and the way they perceive the world?
I think that it is what I find scary in Selfies, not the narcissism or the ego, but this sad fantasy that we should define ourselves in a picture and three sentences on a profile and stick to that: thinking that life would be better if there was one and only point of view, ours.
Your first paragraph has a lot of resonance with me. Im guilty as charged about being plugged into my music, yet I choose my moments well and the music even more so. I do always find it interesting how music can alter my emotive state more so than any image can. Even the most harrowing of images do not move me as much as say some sections from Carmen or La Traviata.
It’s quite hard defining yourself in a picture and 3 sentences in a profile! I don’t understand why people are being so dismissive… Continuing the discussion, this is an interesting article > http://hyperallergic.com/93229/peace-to-the-selfies/
I agree with you Pam, as I wrote it, this seems quite dismissive and it does not reflect the complexity of my thoughts about it. I do not mean that I think that there is no meaning or interest in doing selfies. I recognize it as any other practice of photography.
I am just trying to express here relationships that I observed between different phenomenons – here wearing headphones and controlling your image in places where they are widely displayed (social media). It is just a personal perception and I might as well be totally wrong, but this desire of control is something that strikes me in doing selfies, and listening to headphones (and my headphones are my best friends!), it is the first thing I see.
I understand that the link you refered us to is there to prove that selfies have an history and that there can be creativity and deeper meaning behind it, I agree. But from an outsider point of view, and the way I encounter selfies on internet, the notion of desire of imposing one vision of oneself is still what I see first. But maybe I should look better…
…and “submit to the selfie” too…
Yes you should! > but it needs a purpose, otherwise it’s just art,or self-obsession 🙂 Selfies were just a quick way of getting a picture on your (many) profiles,with the additional help of (many) web tools to add a bit of personality in 2 minutes. Without the help of the professionals (photographers, marketing experts, image consultants, blah…). So, just another bit of democratisation courtesy of the web. Now it’s becoming Serious… and Art. Another article from my favourite arty website: http://hyperallergic.com/94461/theory-of-the-selfie/
Now, the whole profile phenomenon might be worth a bit of consideration… and a bit of self-analysis on my own profile images might be in order…
I just wanted to say thanks to the volunteers for producing the Selfies above, its great to see what everyone looks like without the gloss of a more considered portrait.
I wonder whether some of these aren’t more ‘considered’ than they seem, Anne. I don’t think Linda accidentally missed part of her face – some considered contemporary art there, I reckon. And Keith’s extensive research to identify just the right town and location (to say nothing of composition) is evident in the delight on his face. And Robert clearly employed a professional stylist.
Well, maybe not! 🙂
I’m 100% sure the compositions aren’t inadvertant, but for me they have a playfulness that is a refreshing change from some kinds of studio portraiture. I think it comes from “being in the moment” 😉
Correct Stan – I’d been planning that Selfie since I first saw the town name on a map of Scotland 35 years ago ! Just managed to get there in October this year for first time ! Stoked
“With selfies it is more about the instantaneous moment”
And Russell to confirm the establishment of the practice, it’s status has been further exalted here: http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/press-releases/oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year-2013/ Surely now, as it passes into the mainstream, any kudos it may have appropriated along the way will fall away like so many others before it?
So the selfie slips into the mainstream, closely followed by slipping into parody, disrepute and finally loathing. Much like Hipstamatic (etc) did before it. Maybe?
I read something a while ago about the selfie, and those that “do” the selfie. Seems it used to be a form of theatre for teenage girls. As this form of expression moves out of their realm of exclusivity, will they move on to the next “thing”? Is the fact that the teenage girls who were behind much of this also hitting the Internet and social media a coincidence? Probably not.
Anyway – my selfie is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/b2photo/8121459276/
Speaking about Selfies, have you seen the one taken by Curiosity Rover on Mars ?http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/pia16239_c-br2.jpg
In 1985 (I think) Francesca Woodman took her first photograph age thirteen here: http://www.49thparallel.bham.ac.uk/back/issue15/rus/fig1.htm and perhaps inadvertently created one of the first, if not first Selfie – so much for new trends eh? She went on to discover what she thought about the world using herself as the subject. Tragically dying too young
There have many photographers who have produced self-portraits, yet they have been taken with consideration in structure and timing. With selfies it is more about the instantaneous moment and being shot typically using a mobile phone.
The selfies here seem to be quite considered … such as Keith’s!
Gareth thinks photography and I wonder if he deliberately chose the red background knowing it would have a pronounced effect. Katrina has gone for a sepia effect.
I have not done a study of selfies but I think these might be a lot better than the majority made by people who have no idea of what a constructed or deconstructed photo might be.
Every now and then I do a selfie for a visa or something similar and realise they are not as easy as they might seem.
I’m intrigued by the idea that there might be “better” selfies. That implies that ultimately there are good selfies and bad selfies.
I think taking a selfie on demand defeats the object – they are surely spontaneous ephemeral records capturing how you felt you wanted to appear at a moment in time. Part of that moment was that you felt a selfie was appropriate. Without the spontaneity aren’t they just conventional self portraits?
I’ll admit that the chosen ones are probably more considered than typical selfles, yet they are still in the spirit.
very much in the spirit …
“better” is apparently the wrong word to use here … I did not mean it in any moral sense … “considered” is more preferable … “intelligent” perhaps.
Makes me wonder what a critique of the selfie might entail …
Modern technology even more than ever allows the spread of photography across a whole host of mobile devices whose prime function is likely not photography yet for social media photography is probably the key tool. In addition the spread is also across generations of people for whom photography may not be considered a hobby or past-time. A key difference between mobile devices and traditional camera’s is that the mobile device more strongly allows a reversal of the device and has borne the selfie.
Whilst many walls, sideboards and mantlepieces in our homes may currently contain the traditional types of images I wonder how long it will for them to be replaced by selfies and then its spread complete
I have a strong feeling that most selfies are carefully considered, after all they are about self image. In my experience many people engage in serial selfie production, keeping their image up to date with their fads, interests and life events… I was wondering about the red background on Gareth’s photo…very striking, but what does it connote???
My father-in-law invented the selfie in 1975. He took 36 pictures of himself in close up. Admittedly it was an accident, as he was looking through the viewfinder the wrong way for the whole fortnight of his holiday – but credit where credit is due!
Quality !
This sounds quite cool indeed… a happy accident.
Gareth is straight out of Twin Peaks…
Brilliant !
Oh great, I now have a face for Linda Khatir (my tutor) and Dee Whitmore.
First, Russell, where’s yours? I think you owe us a selfie!
Second, I agree with GraemeH’s comments and “context” is always critical. I dare say the majority (judging by what I’ve seen myself) are no more than visual representations of typical text updates on social media sites. Even if, now that it has a name and is a “thing,” it’s being adapted for distasteful purposes, I can’t say I see many that appear to be intended as a self portrait.
Thats a fair point Paul, to be honest I did have a selfie taken a few months ago that was in the true spirit of the topic yet it has vanished in the cloud. However I have another one which is even better which was shot on the set of Les Mis…
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/534529_10151181827279737_578925739_n.jpg
With rapid advances in camera technology, the 40Mb Nokia for example, and increased visual awareness in society I do not think the selfie should be used in a derogatory way. A lot of the selfies here seem to be more than mere representations.
Seems a bit arrogant/ignorant for photographers to claim that they invented the selfie when artists have been doing them for much longer.
Brief overview over here – http://www.savevandyck.org/history-of-the-selfie?utm_source=cheetah&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=25%20Nov%202013_Van%20Dyck_Announcement
By definition, a selfie is a particular kind of self-portrait quite different to that of painters …
How so? It seems to me that few selfies are entirely automatic and artless – so the difference is surely just one of degree.
Nigel, if you follow the link Brian suggested and look at the first comment (don’t let me stop you wading through the block of text above it if you want) … this first comment puts it rather neatly … !?
The Selfie – your chance to be the photographer’s photographer…?
NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON
Thursday 16 January, 19.00
The Curated Ego: What Makes a Good Selfie?
A panel of academics and photographers investigate questions around self portraiture and personal identity followed by presentations from lens-based artists working with self portraiture.
In association with studioSTRIKE.
The object of the link appears to have moved, but not to worry about that. I’ve just worked back through your articles and see that you more than stepped up to the plate! And I enjoyed all of the articles, by the way.
The first ever selfie? … http://katetyte.com/inthenews/archives-and-history-news-4/
I just found my favourite ever Selfie – Jeff Bridges:
http://cdn0.lostateminor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Jeff-Bridges-3-990×482.jpg