What is wrong with self portraits/selfies ?

[Inigima]

10 hours ago, zelticgar said:

The only time I ever take selfies is when I want to actually show off about something else in the picture. The selfie is just the excuse to show off my new 65 inch TV in the background or I just happen to take a selfie while on top of some awesome mountain peak or Caribbean Island adventure.

I think this is the general idea. It's a picture of you, yes, but taken because you were in a particular place, or with a particular person or particular thing, or at a particular milestone in your life, or something else along those lines.

[straits]

9 hours ago, Dr. Pepper said:

I think I just don't like photo-taking culture in general these days.  There is always this feeling that any event becomes all about the documentation of that event rather than the event itself.  Everything's a photo op.  I start feeling like I'm living on a pinterest/instagram/facebook set half the time.  

This is becoming pervasive. It's also a little comical to have a tool in your hand with which you can request a bunch of people you don't really know to stop, present a frozen grin for you and wait until you say you're done. And if you don't want to partake, you might be considered grumpy or difficult.

[maarsen]

That's me. Grumpy AND difficult.

[Mlle. Zabzie]

Eh - don't care.  Selfie your own self if yourself wills.

[Errant Bard]

Selfies certainly indicate that the self-photographers care first about their image, and about the thing in the background only so far as it boosts that image.

Though I'm willing to entertain the idea that someone, somewhere, is snapping selfies that he does not intend to publicly display, and that others really want you to admire the scenery whose glory is sadly mostly blocked by their head in the foreground.

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

Nothing, no qualifiers needed.

 

It goes back to the "if you don't like it, don't do it" rule. 

[S John]

17 hours ago, MercifulChief said:

Not selfies, but I generally hate people taking photos in a restaurant.  I see poor pictures of my food all over social media. Often my dishes end up not looking as nice as they should. 

Also taking pictures of your food at a restaurant often looks tacky.  Just eat your God damned food. Many dishes are in fact gorgeous.  But, when I see people snapping pics at a Michelin star restaurant or a diner I get perturbed.

I do however take a lot of photos of my own food before I eat it or send it out to a guest. One this allows me to share with friends my work but also have quality pictures for my restaurant to use on social media. 

food and concerts.  I have definitely snapped a photo or two at a concert, usually to save to text to an absent friend to make them jealous later, but, in general - keep your phone away at a show or at a restaurant.  I think with a nice camera in everyone's pocket these days we are all guilty at times of trying to document something rather than just experience it, but I try to make a conscious effort to do that as little as possible.

Old man John rant:  I think people get too caught up in documenting experiences rather than enjoying them in the moment.  And if everyone is doing that, like at a concert, it makes the whole thing a little bit lamer than it could have been.  Because people can't truly be living in the moment and enjoying the thing for what it is as long as part of the brain is engaged in seeking approval and acknowledgement from others about that thing, which is ultimately what you are doing when you are thinking about how you're gonna Instagram that shit.

 The plate of food at a great restaurant, the live rendition of a song... part of what makes those things awesome are that they are fleeting.  It's a one time experience.  a compulsive need to document and present those kinds of experiences seems like missing the point to me.

[Jace, Extat]

On 1/25/2016 at 11:09 PM, Dr. Pepper said:

I miss the days when photos were something precious.  

I love this comment. I remember when my mom got one of those cameras where the photo came out in 2 seconds and you had to wave it in the air for 5 minutes. She broke that mess out on birthdays, Christmas, and that time I fell through the ice on Thanksgiving because film was EXPENSIVE to poor people like us.

It lent a weight to the photo, I'm not photogenic and I don't like people snapping with me on the camera. But I've glanced at mom's photo album over the years, and I can say 'oh boy! I remember that time! We thought cousin Travis was gonna eat all the cookie dough!!!' If kids these days can look at all of those photos and pick out a memorable life moment, they have more memory capacity than the computers they're uploading these images on.

20 hours ago, Buckwheat said:

 The times I have the most fun are sometimes the times I have the least pictures of because when I am having fun, I just do not think about having to take pictures.

Again, it's a rare moment that I'm having so much fun that I think 'oh! I just have to get a picture!!!' I'm guilty as anyone of ending a very long hike or ride with a smiley, but every fucking bowel movement? How desperate are people to have a like?

17 hours ago, MercifulChief said:

Not selfies, but I generally hate people taking photos in a restaurant.  I see poor pictures of my food all over social media. Often my dishes end up not looking as nice as they should. 

Also taking pictures of your food at a restaurant often looks tacky.  Just eat your God damned food. Many dishes are in fact gorgeous.  But, when I see people snapping pics at a Michelin star restaurant or a diner I get perturbed.

I do however take a lot of photos of my own food before I eat it or send it out to a guest. One this allows me to share with friends my work but also have quality pictures for my restaurant to use on social media. 

This is interesting to me. My good friend and boss taught me to cook in a sort-of anniversary thing (never thought I'd see the guy work a kitchen half as well as I'd seen him work a patient), and I actually took a lot of pictures of plates I made for a few months. I'm no Micheline Star gal, but the first time I made a NY Strip with grilled Asparagus and mixed veggies I just couldn't resist the urge to snap a pic and send it to him. For me it wasn't so much a vanity moment as much as a thank you. I know I sent more snaps of well boiled water or a properly heated skillet than I have ever loaded to the internet of my face. 

17 hours ago, Inigima said:

I think this is the general idea. It's a picture of you, yes, but taken because you were in a particular place, or with a particular person or particular thing, or at a particular milestone in your life, or something else along those lines.

I think that's what pictures used to be, but now they're not nearly as relevant to one's actual life. Remember those days you had to hand the camera off to a stranger so that they could snap you and the boyfriend (or girlfriend, if that's what you're into ) together? That was really a moment to celebrate I think, when it was enough that you felt you needed to ask someone, and they felt the burden to acquiesce to, such a thing.

[Buckwheat]

19 hours ago, Inigima said:

I think this is the general idea. It's a picture of you, yes, but taken because you were in a particular place, or with a particular person or particular thing, or at a particular milestone in your life, or something else along those lines.

Does it not make more sense to make the object of the photo this landscape or thing or whatever you are photographing? As Errand Bard up there said, by this logic, your head is obscuring half of what you are trying to show. And you cannot focus two different objects - one close, one far away - that well either. If I am trying to document an object or a landscape, I will just take a photo of an object or a landscape without trying to squeeze my face onto there.

2 hours ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

I think that's what pictures used to be, but now they're not nearly as relevant to one's actual life. Remember those days you had to hand the camera off to a stranger so that they could snap you and the boyfriend (or girlfriend, if that's what you're into ) together? That was really a moment to celebrate I think, when it was enough that you felt you needed to ask someone, and they felt the burden to acquiesce to, such a thing.

I still do that (without a boyfriend though ), and I do not think it is exceptional either. Just a few days ago, two ladies asked me to take a picture of them. I do not even think of it as burdening somebody with something, it is a fairly usual thing (I have never seen anybody decline it either).

[Jace, Extat]

12 minutes ago, Buckwheat said:

Does it not make more sense to make the object of the photo this landscape or thing or whatever you are photographing? As Errand Bard up there said, by this logic, your head is obscuring half of what you are trying to show. And you cannot focus two different objects - one close, one far away - that well either. If I am trying to document an object or a landscape, I will just take a photo of an object or a landscape without trying to squeeze my face onto there.

I still do that (without a boyfriend though ), and I do not think it is exceptional either. Just a few days ago, two ladies asked me to take a picture of them. I do not even think of it as burdening somebody with something, it is a fairly usual thing (I have never seen anybody decline it either).

It's completely possible that my exceedingly mediocre english skillZ have falied me here. I meant (in m drunken condition) to suggest not so much that asking someone else to take a picture is a burden on them, as not doing so is kind of a crutch. I've been on a couple of vacations or important dates, and I've never had anyone decline to take my picture at the Alamo or on top of a mountain. But I simply cannot imagine handing a camera/phone to someone and saying 'take our pictrure! It's our 3rd poop anniversary!'

That's sort of my point. The ease of taking a picture has sort of robbed the novelty of such an act in my eyes.

[Buckwheat]

10 minutes ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

It's completely possible that my exceedingly mediocre english skillZ have falied me here. I meant (in m drunken condition) to suggest not so much that asking someone else to take a picture is a burden on them, as not doing so is kind of a crutch. I've been on a couple of vacations or important dates, and I've never had anyone decline to take my picture at the Alamo or on top of a mountain. But I simply cannot imagine handing a camera/phone to someone and saying 'take our pictrure! It's our 3rd poop anniversary!'

That's sort of my point. The ease of taking a picture has sort of robbed the novelty of such an act in my eyes.

Oops, yes I understand now. I wholly agree.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

12 hours ago, Lany Freelove Strangeways said:

Nothing, no qualifiers needed.

 

It goes back to the "if you don't like it, don't do it" rule. 

Lany,

That's a very "take it or leave it" position.  Can you not be okay with selfies generally but find them irritating if they are being posted constantly?  In my hypothetical it's not the selfie that is irritating but the frequency with which they are being posted that is irritating.  Why would the only option be "hate selfies and never use them" or "never ever have problems with selfies"?  Isn't there room for other positions between these two extremes?

S John,

old 

man John rant:  I think people get too caught up in documenting experiences rather than enjoying them in the moment.  And if everyone is doing that, like at a concert, it makes the whole thing a little bit lamer than it could have been.  Because people can't truly be living in the moment and enjoying the thing for what it is as long as part of the brain is engaged in seeking approval and acknowledgement from others about that thing, which is ultimately what you are doing when you are thinking about how you're gonna Instagram that shit.

You're right.  With the advent of camera phones people spend more time jockying for photos in beautiful areas than enjoying the scenery.  My family and I got to go to Alaska over the summer.  It was amazing.  We saw a bear near Menddenhall Glacier.  What was frustrating was dodging 20 or 30 other people tryinf to snap photos of the bear (myself included) rather than just seeing the bear.  I hadn't really noticed it before that moment but people were more concerned with photographing what we saw than seeing what we saw.  

When you had a max of 36 photos per roll of film people were more careful about their photos and the cameras were less obtrusive.

[Theda Baratheon]

I have a really bad memory so I love taking pictures when I'm walking. Pretty tree? Snap! Sky looks neat today? Snap! I don't need to be a professional photographer to see the beauty in things and having a camera constantly on my person is really neat for that purpose. I only really take selfies in doors after I've done my makeup. I never take videos at gigs/concerts and I sometimes take pictures of my food but at home not at a restaurant tho I don't care when other people do that. That's the bottom line. I just don"t CARE what other people do if it's not hurting me or actually harmful. And taking selfies is not harmful in anyway despite some of the pseudo psychological millenials are all terrible cack articles out there. I don't give a fuck if I go to the loo in a pub and theres a couole of girls in there taking a picture. Ask yourself why DO you genuinely care. As long as they're enjoying themselves what is it to me. I'm certainly not going to bitterly psyhoanalyse them and come to ridiculously judgemental conclusions or even think about them ever again as soon as I leave the room. 

[Theda Baratheon]

When it could be harmful or rude like taking a selfie at a gig and blocking the view of the actual concert for other people THEN it's shitty. If you're talking to someone and mid sentence they cut you off to take a pic of themselves THEN it's rude. If they take a selfie at a funeral THEN it's weird. But in most normal situations when someone is walking or sightseeing or in their bedroom or on a night out taking a selfie to show they're having fun, document the night, capture a moment then why the hell would you care. "Ugh this man has climbed a mountain and now he is taking a picture of his smiling face ugh hes so narcissistic he only cares about his image and nothig else" uhhh...HES the one that just climbed the bloody mountain!!!!! Pretty sure he DOES care! Ajyway just an example to indicate I think some of you have a bit of an out dated judgmental attitude which is wholly unnessary and i cant spell that bloody word damnit 

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Theda,

And that's a perfectly reasonable opinion to hold.  Just don't be surprised or upset that others have different opinions.

[Theda Baratheon]

You know I'm always a bit ticked off when someone tells me 'you know other people can have opinions right' Really?! No! I didn't know that actually - thank you! Sorry to be sarcastic and snarky but it's such a redundant thing to say and never adds anything to discussions. I was just explaining why I feel the way I feel - I'm always very animated in the way I speak. When I'm happy when I'm excited when I'm bemused when I'm annoyed so I'm not genuinely sitting in my house angered that someone on the internet has a different opinion to me. I just think some peoples attitudes are judgemental and I explained why that's all. Sorry to be rude. 

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

5 minutes ago, Theda Baratheon said:

You know I'm always a bit ticked off when someone tells me 'you know other people can have opinions right' Really?! No! I didn't know that actually - thank you! Sorry to be sarcastic and snarky but it's such a redundant thing to say and never adds anything to discussions. I was just explaining why I feel the way I feel - I'm always very animated in the way I speak. When I'm happy when I'm excited when I'm bemused when I'm annoyed so I'm not genuinely sitting in my house angered that someone on the internet has a different opinion to me. I just think some peoples attitudes are judgemental and I explained why that's all. Sorry to be rude. 

Theda,

I don't see that as rude.

[karaddin]

2 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

Theda,

And that's a perfectly reasonable opinion to hold.  Just don't be surprised or upset that others have different opinions.

And don't be surprised if other people think that your opinion betrays an unnecessarily judgemental streak when you are condemning something which harms no one and ascribing negative personality traits, if not outright personality disorders, to people who do the thing you dislike.  And that's simply one way one could be judgemental about people disliking selfies, and generally speaking it would also be wrong to do that - but when you are criticising the thing someone does to their face then there is more potential harm in that than there is in taking and posting selfies.

[MisterOJ]

Is this thread an appropriate venue for me to rant about how I think Snapchat is the stupidest thing ever? Why do preteen girls feel the need to text each other by snapping a selfie ever 30 seconds? Just dumb.

[baxus]

9 minutes ago, MisterOJ said:

Is this thread an appropriate venue for me to rant about how I think Snapchat is the stupidest thing ever? Why do preteen girls feel the need to text each other by snapping a selfie ever 30 seconds? Just dumb.

You need to come to terms with the fact that you would never understand preteen girls.

You didn't when you were a preteen boy, let alone now when you have preteen kids of your own.