Summer of Selfies Challenge: FINAL Week & Giveaway

Are we really at 6-weeks already? Time flies when you're shootin' selfies! So, how'd it go? Was it easier than you thought?  Harder?  I will admit that even I was getting a bit weary of posting everyday... but I did it and I'm hoping to finish strong this week!

Here's your FINAL list of prompts! Use them or feel free to make up your own.

I'm also having a fun little giveaway as a way to say "thank you" for joining me in this experiment! These mugs are SUPER ADORBS and I knew that one of you just had to have them (I got a set for me too!!)!!

Here's how to enter to WIN (gotta do 'em all):

1. Follow me on Instagram. CupcakeDD (comment on this post to let me know you did)
2. You'll need to post at least 4 selfies this week (7/26-8/1) and come back and let me know that you have .
3. Leave a comment letting me know what you've learned during Summer of Selfies. Did it change the way you see you? Did you find your "good side"? Did you discover a favorite technique or app?

Easy peasy, right? I'll pick a winner on August 3rd! Now, have a GREAT WEEK and keep clickin' those selfies!!!

WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER: Taffi Graham!!!!

Here's where it all started: Summer of Selfies Challenge

 

Summer of Selfies Challenge: Week Five

Week Five is all about technique! Strike a pose! Try something different.

For most of us, one side is more attractive than the other. Tilt your head to the left and then the right as you view yourself on your phone’s screen to find out your “best side”. Also, try extending your neck forward to accentuate your jaw line and get rid of the double chin effect.  You can also shoot high or hold the camera slightly above you and look up… that technique can help with a multitude of things! Most importantly, try and try again. Just keep clicking and figuring out what you like best and what is most comfortable for you!

Here are this week’s prompts with a little more explanation:

The Two Fisted Selfie - Hold the camera with two hands, away from your body. It’s easier to take a selfie this way because you can steady your camera with one hand and push the shutter release button with the other.  Be careful not to cover up the lens.

Standing In The Light - Pose in an area with good lighting, like inside near a window or outside. Gorgeous lighting = a more flattering selfie. The best time to shoot for lighting is “the magic hour”—one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset.

The Full Monty (with clothes please!) – Do a full body shot! Strike a pose in front of a mirror or experiment by holding your camera at different angles (over your head, off to the side, etc..). Angle your body to the left or right, that's usually more flattering than shooting straight on.

Feet First – A selfie isn’t just about your face… try snapping a fun shot of your feet or another body part (keeping it clean!), like your hands, your shoulder, knees, etc.

Get Tight – Don’t like that “I’m holding my arms up to take a selfie” look? Crop in tight on your face. Zoom in on your phone just slightly and hold the camera far away from your face. You’re features look proportionate, you declutter the background and you can’t see those arms at all!

Accessorize – Try wearing a hat, throwing on some sunglasses, don a wig, or sport a mustache… the possibilities are endless.

Express Yourself – Let’s break away from the duckface and try a good old fashioned smile! Not feelin’ it? Pout, frown, smirk, laugh, be goofy!

 Just a little heads up…. We will be having a giveaway in Week Six to celebrate completing the challenge! There will be a few rules, but nothing you can’t handle! Stay tuned and keep up those selfies!!

 

 

 

Summer of Selfies Challenge: Week Three

Keep it up... WEEK THREE, the half-way point! You may have gotten a little behind with your selfies, but don't give up!! Why not challenge yourself to post at least THREE selfies this week!

 

Y'all are ROCKIN' the selfies so far!!!

 

 

 

 

Summer of Selfies - Week Two

Soooo.... how does it feel, week one taking selfies? Awkward? Silly? Hard? Stupid? Fun? Wonderful? Fantastic? Well don't give up. It may take some getting used to. It'll get easier. Don't think that every day has to be some well thought out, well staged, perfectly coiffed shot. That's not the point. Be you, in that moment. Not feelin' the prompts? Then do your own thing - ain't nothin' wrong with that! And don't stress if you miss a day, you won't be kicked out of the challenge or anything! Just pick back up the next day! If you haven't started yet, no worries! There's always time to jump on this party train! (It all started HERE .)

We wanted to post next week's prompts a little early so you can be thinking about them! Hope you like 'em and have fun!! Week Two starts Sunday, June 28th. We'd also love to hear how you're feeling throughout the challenge, so feel free to leave us a comment!

One more thing... we've changed the hashtag to #SummerOfSelfies2015, so don't forget to add it when you post your pics!

Now go, be FABULOUS!!

Summer of Selfies Challenge

There’s much being said about selfies lately.  I’ve put in my two cents about them (Me, Myselfies, and I).  Yes, sometimes they can be a bit over the top or even annoying, but are they really hurting anyone?  For me, selfies aren’t a “rub it in your face” or “look at me, look at me” kind of thing, they’re more of a “wish you were here to share this moment” kind of thing.

Selfies have also been a learning experience for me. When I started posting my “Faces of Chemo” selfies, I had no idea the world it would open up for me. I posted my daily pics as a way to chronicle my breast cancer journey. That turned into 154 consecutive selfies posted (plus other “unofficial” posts). They weren’t meant to be pretty. It was just me, how I was feeling on that particular day.  Don’t get me wrong, there were rarely one-click-and-post shots and many re-shoots (I always go with the “law of three”, take at least three shots and pick the best one… take three more if needed), but something got posted every day.  And they weren’t all selfies in the traditional sense, I would from time to time enlist someone to snap the shot for me… sometimes my arms just aren’t long enough… still pictures of my “self”.  Anyway, back to the “learning” part.  As time went on, I started to become comfortable, comfortable with me.  I began to accept myself and how I looked (although the chemo clean slate of no hair, eyebrows, or eyelashes wasn’t ideal).  This is me, today. I’m ok with that.

You don’t need to go through something like cancer to have that kind of self-discovery. It just takes giving yourself a little bit of grace every day.  Embrace your flaws, they’re what make you YOU.  Don’t hide who you are.  Don’t be so hard on yourself.  And the people who know you, they see you anyway (in real life). They love you and a less than perfect picture isn’t going to change that. If anything, it will help them share in your day, your up’s and down’s, your fun, your frustration, your adventures, your success and your losses, life.  That’s not a bad thing.

Still not convinced?  Well, my friend Christine (my partner in selfie-crime) and I would like to invite you to join us in a “Summer of Selfies” Challenge. A selfie experiment, if you will.  Beginning on June 21^st (the first official day of Summer) and running for 6-weeks, we will post prompts each week for daily selfies (like “sleepy selfie” or “at work selfie”). You would then post your selfies to Instagram and/or Facebook with the hashtag #SummerOfSelfies.  No worries if you miss a day or two (or three…), just pick right back up when you can.  It’s not a big deal that will require hours of pre and post production. Just do it and just be you.  Why should I, you ask?  Why not?!  It’ll be fun!! And let’s just see if you start to look at yourself a little differently when it’s all done.  Maybe you’ll decide you’re not so bad.  Maybe you’ll kind of start to like what you see.  You’ll never know unless you give it a try!

Here are the prompts for the first week... start posting June 21st!

Me, Myselfies, and I

“Have you seen Julie’s pictures on Facebook lately?”
“She takes way too many selfies!”
“Is she having a mid-life crisis?”
“I bet you there’s trouble at home!”
 “She must think she’s all that and a bag of chips!”

No, I’m NOT having a mid-life crisis.  And things are FINE at home.  And I DON’T think I’m “all that”, (well, maybe the bag of chips…). I’m fine. I haven’t gone off the deep end.  Not that I should have to explain myself, but maybe it will quiet some of the chatter. Even so, to quote my nemesis Taylor Swift, “haters gonna hate,” and I know not everyone will appreciate what I have to say. Here goes anyway…

For most of my 44 years on earth I was a wallflower, happy to go unnoticed. When I got old enough to be self-conscious, I didn’t like getting my picture taken anymore (if I remember correctly, that was around 6^th grade when I puffed up like the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man – before that, I was quite the little ham). I didn’t mind flying under the radar.  I did dabble in dramatic theater in junior high where I played “Jack” in an adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”.  I then moved on to musical theater of sorts at church and then singing solos… but that was the extent of my time in the spotlight.  Fast forward to my 42^nd year…

Most of you have already heard the story, so I’ll keep it brief. I got breast cancer. I underwent about 7 months of chemo/surgery/radiation.  During that time a few things happened: 1.) I felt a little isolated, so I reached out via social media to share my journey, 2.) unsure of how chemo was going to affect my body, I started taking daily selfies to chronical my “change”, and 3.) I kicked cancer’s ass.  Social media made my world a whole lot smaller and I felt extremely loved and supported.  My “change” didn’t end up being much of a change on the outside (aside from going bald and having no eyebrows or eyelashes), but on the inside I was learning to be comfortable in the skin I was in by posting pics of my face EVERY SINGLE DAY for something like 150 days – talk about stepping out of your comfort zone… but that’s a whole other blog post! I quickly realized that people were watching! Oh, and the ass kicking part! Chemo shrunk the invader down to almost nothing, surgery cleaned things up so the twins got to stay together, and radiation made sure the area was all clear.  Then I was ready to make up for the time I had lost to cancer - “The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts...” (Joel 2:25).  Baby steps at first as I tried to figure out my new “normal” and then at full speed, making up “normal” as I went and pausing for a nap from time to time.

I had chosen the word “shine” as my post-cancer mantra. “You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world… shine!” (Matthew 5:14). Whatever I did, even the smallest thing, I wanted to shine with everything God had done in me and through me. With that came more pictures and in 2015 I chose a new mantra, “joy”. With everything I had been through, how could I not find and choose joy? Not just that, I also wanted to share joy. To me, that meant living life to the fullest. Taking advantage of opportunities that came my way. Trying new things. Doing things that made me happy (naps included). Eating things that made me happy. Spending time with family AND friends… all the while posting more pictures.

My posts were never meant to brag or be showy. I’m sure there are some who got tired of seeing me and some who probably “unfriended” me.  Here’s the thing, I can’t go back to being a wallflower! It was my hope that I could make someone smile, share some joy, give some hope, make someone feel better about what they were going through, share faith, share fun, share friendship, share strength and courage, share love. That’s still what I hope for. God has been so good to me! Look deeper than the silly faces, the donuts, the mud covered body (if you don’t know, don’t ask), and see a girl who is thankful.  See a girl who loves life, her family and her friends.  See a girl who loves the Lord. See a girl that has chosen JOY. Don’t judge or jump to conclusions. If that’s just too hard to see or I’m too much for you, I understand… you can “unfriend” me. I won’t think any less of you. For those that stick around, thanks! I hope you enjoy the ride! And to all you wallflowers… it’s time to blossom!!

For more on my breast cancer journey and beyond, check out my other blog: Stupid Cupcake Cancer

Join my Summer of Selfies Challenge!