Saad Waqas
Technology has remained very influential in changing our lives; it has also affected our perception of art. For instance, a new form of photography that spawned from technology is selfie. Why do we take selfies? Selfie is an act of taking pictures from front facing camera in which person who is taking the picture is also present.
The era of behind the lens or behind the camera is gone and the new era of selfie has ushered in. Now the person does not stay behind the camera but in front, to include himself or herself in the picture. The selfie capture neither beautiful scenery in nor the best angle of the face, instead it combines the mediocre form of both. It is not artistic but still it has become very important, it has changed the shape of upcoming mobile phones, front camera that was just an added accessory, has now become selfie camera and now a necessary part of upcoming phone models. Companies are constantly improving front camera to take better selfies, some mobile companies market their phone solely on taking better selfies.
There are a few reasons why this non-artistic and amateur form of photography became an influential and professional form of photography. First, is the front facing camera of mobile phones. People use to take selfies in old days but it was never considered a professional picture and since the picture were taken without looking, they often turned out bad. That is why this type of photography at that time was considered odd and people preferred the traditional way of behind the lens photography. This all changed when the mobile phones with front camera arrived in the market. People started taking picture of themselves with front camera, which was added mainly for conferencing. Soon selfie became a common form of photography because people can take pictures of themselves and they did not need to ask anyone, they could do it themselves.
Social media is also influential in making selfie an art form, with the era of high-speed internet and social media people are addicted to instant gratification. For instance, if they visit some place exciting they would love to share it with friend and family and get their feedback, praises, and regrets for not joining them. Selfie works wonders for this cause, just lift up the camera to get both your face and the person or place you want to show, in the frame and voila! A picture perfect to tell the story with you as main character.
Concisely, selfie has become the most influential and popular form of photography, taking over social media and mobile industry by storm, this form of photography has now become an epitome of adventurous photography. It may sound unbelievable but selfie has been the cause of harm as well, many people has fallen over cliffs or other places while taking selfies, although it happens rarely it still is a concern for selfie takers. While professional photographers still climb on peaks just to take a photo of a rare bird in action, the selfie expert stand in front of the peak and tries to incorporate the whole mountain in the picture and expect same gratitude. Thus, the perception of art can shift entirely with the advent of technology.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are those of the author and Balochistan Voices not necessarily agrees with them.
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