Blog + Pic of the Day

When Justin Bieber posts his 76th selfie on Twitter, the world yawns. But when someone makes an app for cats to take their own selfies, something slightly insane seems to be happening. Follow that up with high-brow writers from the New Yorker writing about the selfie, and it’s clear that this #selfie #madness is a bonafide trend. But when the former First Lady and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton takes a selfie with her daughter, is it all downhill from there?

Why, exactly, are selfies so ascendant right now? If selfies date back to duck faces on Myspace, what has taken it so long to become so popular? And where will it go from here? Have we reached the selfie saturation point yet?

Take a look at this Google Trends chart that shows how searched for the word “selfie” has been over the past 9 years. You’ll quickly see that we are either about to take this trend into the stratosphere — or it’s about to crash hard after a precipitous rise.

A few theories about selfie popularity

• It’s all about the forward-facing camera: This is a great theory that I’ve heard, and there’s probably something to it. iPhones and many other smartphones introduced the front-facing camera, and that seems to coincide directly with the rise of the selfie. A great example of technology leading culture. 
• It’s a celebrity-driven phenomena: It does seem like a lot of celebrities are using the selfie as their own personal photo op. Showing yourself in a fashion forward pose every few weeks is a smart way to keep your hardcore fans interested — even better if gossip rags pick them up as free publicity. If celebrities weren’t helping to drive it, would it be this popular? 
• It’s an economic thing: Simply put, in the past few years the world’s unwashed billions have quickly purchased smartphones with quite good built-in cameras, which leads to a whole lot of social networking and selfie snapping. It’s basic economics, people. Duh. 
• It’s self portraiture reborn: There is a long history of self portraits. Maybe this is just another evolution of the form. If people are making something resembling art out of selfies, they must have some cultural value. If so, someone at some point will write a lengthy Ph.D. dissertation about it. (Can’t wait!)
• It’s narcissism gone wild: If you subscribe to the idea that the rise of the selfie is just another sign that we’re all overly narcissistic, then you probably dismiss selfies as yet another indication of how we’re all going to Hell in a hand basket. Which means probably nothing can be done about it. 
• It’s a generational thing: If you have to ask, you’re too old. Harsh, but what if it’s true?

But what do you think? 

We want to know what you think about selfies. No, really. We do. Share your hugs and hate for selfies. Are they yet another sign of the impending Apocalypse? Or is there something culturally significant about them? Do you take them? How often? Why? Is there a better word we should be using besides “selfie”? We’re interested in both high-brow and low-down opinions, so please take a minute out of your day to let us know why you think selfies are so ascendant — and what the future of the selfie holds. 

Take the poll here or on our special poll page. 

That’s the entirety of our Barely Scientific™ Selfie Poll. We’ll share the best of the best in an upcoming post with all the results. We’ll also share the best excerpts from our most interesting customers, so wow us with your witty opinions and smart remarks. If you want to take credit for your thoughts, let us know who you are in your response. 

It’s a simple enough question, and one we hear a lot: How can I watermark a photo?

Although there’s no sure-fire way to stop people from stealing your photography on the Internet (or words for that matter), it’s your prerogative if you want to include watermarks. But before you do, be aware that some people have strong feelings about this practice (maybe you do, too). At the risk of angering any hard-core watermarking enthusiasts, here are some of the hotly contested arguments for and against watermarking.

Watermarks ruin the viewing experience

There’s really no denying this is true. A picture that’s worth a thousand words can look downright cheap with “Copyright Claire Quilty” plastered on top of the most beautiful part of the image. Blech.

Watermarks make my photos look more professional. Right?

They may actually do the opposite. While they make you feel more professional, poorly conceived or designed watermarks can make you look like a total amateur. (Make sure you choose a classy font and not Comic Sans.) One thing’s for sure: Watermarks insert an extra layer of the commercial into your work, and it can be hard to know how people will react to that. If you’re comfortable with that, then you probably have no qualms about plastering your photos with watermarks. But how many people have you met who actually make money this way? More often than not, successful photographers find clients by referral, not by random searches on the Internet. That said, there’s no denying watermarks offer a way for you to brand your work if that’s important. But keep in mind that the most renowned photographers don’t seem to need watermarks; their style often speaks for itself.

Watermarks protect my images from being stolen

Maybe. Adding a watermark may dissuade lazy bloggers who are looking for a quick image, but a talented graphic design thief can remove most watermarks without much trouble. Heck, they could even place their own bogus watermark on a photo in a truly evil jujitsu move. (Didn’t see that coming, did ya?) The real question you have to ask yourself is how horrible will it be if your photo is shared without your permission — and how does that square with the goal of having your work seen.

It may sound depressing to hear it, but that beautiful photo of the sunset at the beach you took last summer is crowded out by about 134 million similar photos in Google Search. Unless you’re running a commercial stock photo agency, your images are lucky to be found, much less stolen. That said, watermarks do seem to stop casual browsers from borrowing. They keep honest people honest.

Watermarks are free advertising

True! Very true. However, it stands to reason that watermarked photos may be shared less frequently across social networks simply because real-life people are often hesitant to share something with prominent advertising, either out of fear of offending or because the branding ruins the visual effect of the photo. If you want your photos to go viral, watermarks won’t help. But the sharing that does get done is undeniably free advertising.

If you must watermark… 

This is not an issue that has an easy answer. It’s really something everyone has to decide for themselves. While I consider watermarks annoying, I can’t deny that in some specific circumstances watermarking makes sense. If you feel like it’s important, here are a few tips that seem to reach the best middle ground of this contentious issue:

Make it as subtle as you can. And then a little more subtle.

Fashion photographers are a good model to follow here. You could place a strip at the bottom that brands your name in a very nice font but that keeps your brand outside the frame of the photo itself.

Just list your site URL

Nothing wrong with telling people where they can see more if they want — particularly if you actually display and sell your photos on your site. You can make the case for having people purchase photos directly on your site — but not in the photo itself. Don’t list a URL, a copyright symbol, your name, and the phrase “do not reproduce under penalty of law!” Too much = arrogance gone wild. Just list your URL. Nothing else. 

 

Last week, we got a great reception to our Facebook Profile Timeline Pixlr template. So much so that customers asked us to make a similar template for Google+ profile pages. So we did!

Before we get to the details of that template, it’s worth noting that Google+ still hasn’t gained the kind of traction that everyone assumed a juggernaut like Google could and would achieve. It’s slowly catching on for some, but completely avoided by others. The jury is still out, and Google will undoubtedly keep tinkering with the layout. That means any customization you make could end up needing a bit more customization down the road. But the truth is these things aren’t that hard to update, so there’s really no excuse for not having a profile page that shows off who you really are. Or just showcases your beautiful photos. So let’s get to it.

Download the Pixlr Google+ template.

You’ve got some big image options (maybe too big) 

The first thing you need to know about your Google+ profile image is that it can be HUGE. In fact, it’s probably easy to make it too huge. The maximum size is a whopping 2120 x 1192 pixels. I don’t recommend filling all of that space unless you have an image that absolutely deserves to take up that many pixels. Heck, you may not even have many images that will look wonderful at that size, so it may make sense to not take it to the max. I’ve provided you with a half-sized template, but you can always make a new Pixlr Editor image that is the maximum size. The most important thing to know isn’t really the pixel size. Just make sure your image has a 16:9 size ratio. Not sure how to calculate ratios? Try this handy Aspect Ratio Calculator.

Here are a few acceptable sizes based on the 16:9 ratio:

• Maximum: 2120 x 1192
• Half size: 1060 x 596 
• Minimum: 480 x 270 

Visitors won’t always see it in all its glory

The second thing you need to know (if you didn’t already) is that only a portion of your image will regularly be seen when people load your profile page. Although viewers of your page can easily pull down the image to see more, they typically won’t see it all. This gives you an obvious opportunity to put something compelling in that small visible strip to encourage people to view the whole thing, but then again Google has added a gradation to the bottom strip where your avatar appears. I personally don’t like this gradation and think it looks kind of gaudy, but there’s no way to remove it (that I’m aware of). You’ll see in my template that I’ve indicated where the avatar strip starts and ends.

It shrinks to fit

Another important detail to consider is that the design is responsive. That is, it will shrink to fit the size of the device it’s viewed on. So will your image. You can see this at work by simply resizing your browser window. Unlike your Facebook timeline photo, the other elements on the page will move around (e.g., “add to circles” button), so don’t bother trying to work around — or work in — those details. Google doesn’t really give you the opportunity like Facebook does to make a clever image with your avatar working in conjunction with other elements of the page. But of course there’s nothing wrong with just displaying a pretty picture. If you’ve got an image that fits this massive space well, grab the Pixlr template and make it so.

My solution: Make an image with effects I love

All of this could affect the type of image you choose. Since you won’t be able to achieve an absolute location, you may be better off with a pretty design, a beautiful landscape, a nice macro shot, or just something that you’ve worked up with effects and overlays and borders that you like. That’s what I did. Since I live in San Francisco, it’s an excuse to take that beautiful Golden Gate Bridge and work it up in Pixlr Express with some of my favorite effects.

Want to create a maximum-sized image but don’t have any images that size? Remember those wallpaper sites where you could download creative designs and photos for your desktop? They’re still around and could be great places to find images to use for your Google+ profile.