How to Take Selfies That Don’t Look Like Selfies
It is difficult for a solo traveler to capture their adventures: I want to capture myself in the frame and not going to use a comically long selfie stick. I also rarely feel comfortable passing my camera or phone to strangers. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to miss out on social media-worthy moments. Instead, I reimagined taking selfies.
It’s not immediately obvious, but a fair amount of my Instagram photos were taken when I was alone. Here I am at the Eiffel Tower.
Right before taking this photo, I ignored countless peddlers trying to sell me cheap selfie sticks and plastic replicas of the Eiffel Tower, and walked past flocks of tourists taking selfies with selfie sticks they allegedly bought from said peddlers.
Instead of selfie sticks, I use two kinds of JOBY GorillaPod tripods ( large and small ) and timers on my camera or iPhone. I combine that with MacGyver’s little ingenuity and patience. You need patience; customization often takes time and requires trial and error.
GorillaPods are lightweight and compact enough to take with you on the go. You can mount them to the ground like any tripod; but what makes these tripods so important in my selfie arsenal is that their legs can bend and rotate easily, allowing me to play with the camera angle and expand the number of objects that I can attach the tripod to.
For example, to photograph the Eiffel Tower, I found a small bush nearby with a lattice fence. I used a smaller GorillaPod, passed two of its legs over the fence, and wrapped the legs around it to keep the camera on something other than the ground. Leaving the GorillaPod can take some time and constant readjustment. I have had success with tree branches, handrails, park benches, playgrounds and, as shown in the picture below, a camping lantern:
Just about anything can hold a flexible tripod. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out, and you need to look for something else – this is normal. Obviously, if you don’t think that installing the GorillaPod will hold your camera securely, take no chances. No amount of Instagram likes can wash away the salty tears of a $ 700 broken camera.
After setting up the tripod, I use the iPhone’s front camera (or if I’m using the rear camera or my Canon PowerShot G7X, I take some test shots) to see what the image will look like and mark where I need to stand. … To set the exposure when I move to an image, I focus on something close to where I would be and use the iPhone’s AE / AF lock function . You can activate this by tapping and holding the screen until the AE / AF field appears. Then you can adjust the exposure by swiping your finger up or down.
Then let the self-timer start, get into the frame, and act at ease.
Most of the time I like to just set the tripod on the ground and point the camera a little to get these neat shots:
Or I place it on a table or chair and tilt it down a bit to get these shots: