The term ‘selfie’ was first used in 2002 in an Australian forum and in 2003 is named Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year. The dictionary describes the word ‘selfie’ as «a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a Smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website».
However, the term has been known for decades in the photo family as ‘self portrait’ and many photographers have dealt with this difficult type of photography. And don’t forget the self-timer button that many old cameras had. On the other hand there are a only few photographers who resisted the temptation to take a photo of themselves, or to include themselves in a picture by just capturing their shadows.
Which is the first ‘selfie’ that was ever shot? According to all indications, it is a self-portrait that was taken by one of the pioneers of photography, Robert Cornelius in October 1839, the same year that photography was invented.
Read more about Robert Cornelius