More than a million selfies are taken every day, by one recent estimation. The phenomenon is so common that the term has wiggled into the Oxford Dictionary.
And helped turn photo-sharing apps like Instagram into billion-dollar bonanzas. (Could the just-launched, short-video-sharing service selfies.com be next?)
Top smartphones are getting selfie-wise, with better front-facing cameras (and high-resolution screens) that clearly place you in the photo.
Accessory makers, too, have become selfie-centered with products that ease the arm’s-length portrait process. Consider:
Shutter Halo: This cordless remote shutter for smartphone cameras makes it a "snap" to capture the moment — or several in a video.
Your thumb stays off the phone and out of the picture for blur-free results. And since the tiny trigger button is easily palmed or pocketed, Shutter Halo ($24.99 at amazon.com) lets you capture images on the QT.
The Halo uses a special app, running on all Apple (iOS 7.0 or later) and Android (OS 4.3 or later) devices, and pairs with the smartphone via Bluetooth 4.0.
Multiple smartphones may be triggered simultaneously by one Halo, which can dangle from your phone’s earphone jack via an attachable plug and string.
And you can’t overdo a good photo op. Shutter Halo is rated to get 100 shots a day for five years before the button needs a new battery.
Selfy iPad Air Case: How smart were the iLuv guys to trademark "Selfy" and prep a whole family of Selfy products. Even though their speling was a little off.
Most essential is the Selfy iPad Air Case ($79.99 at iLuv.com), which wraps protectively around an Apple tablet, holds it up (in landscape mode) with a pop-out stand and gets the photo session started with its case-stored but removable Bluetooth wireless camera remote.
My favorite 4-year-old photo subject, my granddaughter, loved taking charge, posing in front of an iPad Air’s big, 9.7-inch screen (and 1.2-megapixel FaceTime camera) and tapping the trigger button.
Also in the Selfy line are a mini tripod, a car mount and a handlebar mount for bicycles and motorcycles, more suited for use with smaller tablets, phablets and phones, methinks.
Selfie sticks: Metal "monopod" arm extenders ($10 and up) were originally pitched to pocket-camera users, enabling image grabs a few feet over your head or out in front.
Now, more sophisticated models like the Satechi Smart Selfie Extension Arm Monopod ($39.99 at Satechi.net or Amazon.com) are fitted with an adjustable clamp that securely locks a smartphone in place, and a 360-degree rotating head to move it “just so.”
The handle has trigger buttons that communicate wirelessly with the paired smartphone via Bluetooth (3.0).
A Satechi Arm shrinks down to 9.6 inches for storage, weighs a mere 5.6 ounces and can dangle off wrist, belt or backpack with the supplied strap.
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