How To Use A Selfie Stick Without Looking Silly: Tips And Tricks

So it’s past to the point where people make fun of selfie sticks right? In fact, they can be useful sometimes for certain shots and situations.

But there are still some people who don’t know how to use a selfie stick and they look silly at best, and disrespectful at worst.

The History of the Selfie Stick

Did you know there is an actual history to the selfie stick? It’s not just some craze that appeared a couple years ago.

There is an image from almost 100 years ago that has a selfie stick in it. It’s from 1925, and shows a couple taking their picture from a stick like device. You can see it in the photo like nowadays.

In an odd 1969 sci-fi movie from Czechoslovakia called Zabil jsem Einsteina, pánové (aka I Killed Einstein, Gentlemen), a character takes a selfie with a stick. It extends just like a modern day selfie stick before a polaroid prints out at its base.

There’s another mention of a selfie stick type of invention in a book called 101 Un-Useless Japanese Inventions that was published back in 1995.

But it actually wasn’t until 1984 that the selfie stick would be patented by Hiroshi Ueda and Yujiro Mima, who originally called it the “extender stick.” The patent ran out in 2003 and Wayne Fromm, a Canadian inventor and entrepreneur ran with the idea.

Though many others would create their own versions of this invention. Fromm would try to sue them, but you can’t patent an idea, only how something is made.

Finally, 2014 is when it seemed like the selfie stick burst onto the scene. Most people thought it appeared out of thin air but it turns out to be a bit more complicated than that.

How to Use a Selfie Stick and Not Look Silly

While everyone can look a little goofy using these, knowing how to use a selfie stick will make yourself seem less foolish than everyone else.

1. Don’t Use Them Indoors

They just aren’t needed when you’re indoors. You will take up a lot of space for a photo you can probably just take yourself. Plus, there will be other people around and you might get in their way.

2. Don’t Use Them in Crowds

If an area is overpopulated with people, you will look like a huge jerk if you try to pull out a selfie stick. Those things take up a wide berth, and you pushing people aside to take a selfie will not win you any favors.

3. Be Respectful

This goes for all photo taking in general. Don’t take selfies at Holocaust memorials or any other type of memorial site. If the site asks for you not to take pictures—don’t.

Also, don’t try to sneak a selfie with the stick, there is no way to be subtle with this thing.

4. Be Aware of Your Surroundings

Before you whip out this bad boy, make sure that you have plenty of space to do so. You may not be the only one trying to take a photo, and it would stink to see a random stick in the background of your photos, right?

If you have to, wait a few minutes so you don’t interfere with other people’s photos.

5. Be Alert

It would be easy for someone to come by and snatch your phone, wallet, or purse, while you are lining up your shot. Fiddling with your selfie stick will make you an easy target to find.

Situations to Use a Selfie Stick

There are a few situations when selfie sticks can actually come in handy. You should take advantage of this tool and make your life a little easier.

Selfie sticks are great when your group of family members or friends want to take a picture together. Sometimes, an arm’s length is just not long enough to include everyone and there isn’t a stranger around to ask for help.

Another great opportunity is when you are traveling and want to have a picture of you with all the scenery behind you. You can also use the selfie stick to get more interesting shots. You can position the stick so that you can create all sorts of optical illusions, like the fisheye effect or standing on a tall point and show the ground below.