Good choice for a photo

[donabbey]

I was born with my disability, but I’ve only been in a wheelchair for a little over a year. But it just so happened that any selfies I took didn’t really show the wheelchair very much. I didn’t plan it that way. I consider myself a good looking guy, but a while back I rolled past a mirror and caught a full view of myself in the wheelchair. All I could think of is, OMG that’s the wheels I’m rolling in? So I customized it. Gave it some paint and changed out to more high performance parts like spoke wheels, billet hand brakes. It’s a work in progress. I feel indifferent about how I look in it. But does it really even matter. Because I dated a woman that was not only attracted to me, but the wheelchair as well. It led to a different sort of experience when we were intimate. I’ll leave it at that. How in the world can I take a decent selfie but also include the wheelchair? Something flattering but not to much attention to the wheelchair. Just enough. Suggestions?

[Betty]

Try taking your picture in front of a full length mirror. Or enlist the help of a friend.

[Mets]

I think the term “selfie” basically implies itself that it’s not going to be a great photo. Sometimes selfies can be fun and silly and cute, but I wouldn’t expect a selfie to be a genuinely nice photo of someone.

Your best bet is to have someone else take the picture, and lighting is everything in determining the quality of a picture. It might seem like it’s more about the right expression or pose or background, but I promise you a well-lit photo with a simple smile and boring background will standout out among all our crappy pics with a great pose or scenery.

As far as featuring the wheelchair, it’s a little awkward to frame the entire chair, so I’d suggest cropping around your waistline or even just cropping the bottom 10-20 inches off the ground. Assuming a manual chair, it’ll be nice to see the big wheel on an angle of sorts, but the area where the chair meets the floor is a lot less exciting.

[donabbey]

Nov 28, 2018 10:13:53 GMT -5 Betty said:

Try taking your picture in front of a full length mirror. Or enlist the help of a friend.

Actually you gave me the solution. There is a yoga/dance studio three doors down from me where they have a horizontal mirror. Thank you Betty for the thought. 

[benjaminbrakes]

Nov 28, 2018 5:57:36 GMT -5 donabbey said:

I was born with my disability, but I’ve only been in a wheelchair for a little over a year. But it just so happened that any selfies I took didn’t really show the wheelchair very much. I didn’t plan it that way. I consider myself a good looking guy, but a while back I rolled past a mirror and caught a full view of myself in the wheelchair. All I could think of is, OMG that’s the wheels I’m rolling in? So I customized it. Gave it some paint and changed out to more high performance parts like spoke wheels, billet hand brakes. It’s a work in progress. I feel indifferent about how I look in it. But does it really even matter. Because I dated a woman that was not only attracted to me, but the wheelchair as well. It led to a different sort of experience when we were intimate. I’ll leave it at that. How in the world can I take a decent selfie but also include the wheelchair? Something flattering but not to much attention to the wheelchair. Just enough. Suggestions?

Hi @donabbey - I haven't tried this due to my range of motion, but reading your post made me think of 'selfie sticks' that you could use for wide/extended selfies to capture some of your chair depending on the angles.

[pureligo]

Nov 28, 2018 10:25:50 GMT -5 Mets said:

I think the term “selfie” basically implies itself that it’s not going to be a great photo. Sometimes selfies can be fun and silly and cute, but I wouldn’t expect a selfie to be a genuinely nice photo of someone.

Your best bet is to have someone else take the picture, and lighting is everything in determining the quality of a picture. It might seem like it’s more about the right expression or pose or background, but I promise you a well-lit photo with a simple smile and boring background will standout out among all our crappy pics with a great pose or scenery.

As far as featuring the wheelchair, it’s a little awkward to frame the entire chair, so I’d suggest cropping around your waistline or even just cropping the bottom 10-20 inches off the ground. Assuming a manual chair, it’ll be nice to see the big wheel on an angle of sorts, but the area where the chair meets the floor is a lot less exciting.

Exactly. A good picture and a selfie are usually mutually exclusive.

[ContingentlyComposite]

I'll add that I think it's good to have a picture taken of you in your chair that's kind of at eye level so that it's not like you're being looked down upon by the photo taker. If that makes sense.

[californiapara]

Nov 28, 2018 5:57:36 GMT -5 donabbey said:

I was born with my disability, but I’ve only been in a wheelchair for a little over a year. But it just so happened that any selfies I took didn’t really show the wheelchair very much. I didn’t plan it that way. I consider myself a good looking guy, but a while back I rolled past a mirror and caught a full view of myself in the wheelchair. All I could think of is, OMG that’s the wheels I’m rolling in? So I customized it. Gave it some paint and changed out to more high performance parts like spoke wheels, billet hand brakes. It’s a work in progress. I feel indifferent about how I look in it. But does it really even matter. Because I dated a woman that was not only attracted to me, but the wheelchair as well. It led to a different sort of experience when we were intimate. I’ll leave it at that. How in the world can I take a decent selfie but also include the wheelchair? Something flattering but not to much attention to the wheelchair. Just enough. Suggestions?

Why not have someone take a photo for you? I could do that for you if you’re anywhere close to Southern California