Say Cheese: Oxford Dictionary says ‘selfie’ is the word of the year
(“CamMe” app for the iPhone senses your motion and snaps a hands-free photo)
(The “Every Day” app allows you to snap a selfie every day and then it will turn it into a timelapse video)
By Brittany Anas
Selfie: (Noun). The art of taking a photo of oneself — often with a cell phone camera. Most commonly followed up with “sharing” on social media.
It’s official: The Oxford Dictionary announced it has made room for “selfie” in the dictionary and dubbed the noun the “word of the year.” A little word-nerd history. The use of “selfie” started appearing back in 2002 in an Australian online forum. It picked up a little more momentum in 2004 on the photo sharing site, Flickr. However, it hadn’t really gained much popularity until now. Selfie reigns supreme as a top hashtag on Instagram. And, Oxford reveals, the frequency of the word “selife” in the English language has increased by 17,000 percent since this time last year.
There’s a subset of words to boot: Helfie is a picture of one’s hair; a belfie is a picture of one’s, ahem, posterior; a welfie is a workout selfie. And, yes, there’s a drelfie — defined as a drunken selfie.
So, now that it’s official, here’s a few tips for taking your best #selfies ever.
- Do a background check. No matter how good your hair looks, how perfectly your eye makeup has been applied or how gorgeous your new diamond necklace is — the background can ruin a photo. We’re talking about a random roll of toilet paper. Your kid picking his nose. Or a stack of dirty laundry.
- Mind your lighting. Avoid creating harsh shadows or using a flash. Find the golden hour: That small, 60-minute time frame before the sun sets or when it first rises. It casts the most flattering glow.
- Download the CamMe app. So many selfies have random limbs in them — you know outstretched arms snapping a photo. Or maybe you rely on the mirror to snap a photo of your reflection. How crafty of you. But it can be a lot easier. The app senses your hand gestures so you can prop your camera phone up at a distance, wave your hand and — boom — you’ve got a perfect selfie.
- Download the Everyday app. It’s an exercise in vanity, sure. Take a picture of yourself every single day. Set an alarm reminder if you need to because the more pictures you have, the better your results will be. When you’re ready — maybe give it a year? — make a movie for your selfies to star in. Watch yoruself in a timelapse video.
- Print your photos. Got a really good selfie of you and your friends on the beach or you and your significant other making duck faces? Head on over to Snapfish (and get 10 percent Cash Back from ShopAtHome.com) and print out your photos — make calendars, a personalized card or photo books. Get
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