Illuminated iPhone case lets you take the perfect selfie - even in the dark

Home »Illuminated iPhone case lets you take the perfect selfie - even in the dark

Illuminated iPhone case lets you take the perfect selfie - even in the dark

Posted by sciencetech-blog on Wednesday, August 27, 2014 Label:

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Selfie fans know that even the best filter action can't take the place of good lighting.

But flipping the camera around on a smartphone means you're often left in the dark, or squinting against a front-facing flash.

Now a new smartphone case, which can illuminate the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S, means that a flawless selfie can be taken anywhere.

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Dubbed the LuMee, the iPhone case was the brainchild of 57-year-old Allan Shoemake from New Jersey

Dubbed the LuMee, the device was the brainchild of 57-year-old Allan Shoemake from The Boonton Township, New Jersey.

He came up with the idea while he was Skype to video chat with his daughter, who was studying abroad in Italy.

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'I said, "I can hardly see you. Why don't you go by the window?"' Mr Shoemake told Alexa Valiente at ABC News.

'I said to my wife, "Why don't they have a light out there to help light up cellphones or computers?"'

With that in mind, Mr Shoemake plugged in Christmas lights around a foam board and attached it to his computer.

Mr Shoemakec ame up with the idea while he was Skype to video chat with his daughter, who was abroad. the photographer has now created the LuMee case which currently sells for $40 (£24) on Amazon

Bad selfies? No lighting? Check out the LuMee case

To adjust the brightness, users can use the dimmer at the back of the case. The lighting lasts around two and a half hours on its highest setting of brightness and 36 hours on the lowest setting

Taking the idea a step further, the photographer has now created the LuMee case which currently sells for $40 (£24) on Amazon.

The case has built-in LED lights at the front, is powered by its own battery and takes around 30 to 45 minutes to charge.

To adjust the brightness, users can user the dimmer at the back of the case.

The lighting lasts around two and a half hours on its highest setting of brightness and 36 hours on the lowest setting.

The cases are made in China and Mr Shoemake says he is now producing around 18,000 cases each week.

Samsung Galaxy S6 will be able to buy a LuMee case this October, and a similar case for iPad and other tablets is currently in development.

TAKE A LOT OF SELFIES? THEN YOU MAY BE MENTALLY ILL, STUDY CLAIMS

Celebrities take them to show off their lavish lifestyles and normal people use them to document their movements on social media sites.

But experts have linked selfies with mental illness and have suggested that people regularly searching for the perfect angle from which to portray themselves could in some cases be ill.

One leading psychiatrist said the majority of patients he sees with Body Dysmorphic Disorder take a lot of selfies.

Dr David Veale, a consultant psychiatrist in cognitive behaviour therapy at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust told MailOnline: 'Taking Selfies is not an addiction - it's a symptom of Body Dysmorphic Disorder that involves checking one's appearance.'

Selfie fans with BDD can spend hours trying to take pictures that do not show any defects or flaws in their appearance, which they are very aware of but which might be unnoticeable to others.

Often, people who take selfies take several photographs until they find their best angle or pose, but picking out small details can make people very self-conscious about the tiniest of 'flaws'.

In one extreme case, a British teenager Danny Bowman tried to commit suicide because he was unsatisfied with his appearance in the selfies he took.

You Can Finally Take the Perfect Selfie Thanks to This Phone Case - ABC News

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