DRONIES ARE THE NEW SELFIES

MAKE WAY IN YOUR INSTAGRAM FEED FOR FLYING-CAMERA PANORAMAS

BY EVIE NAGY

quishing yourself into a cameraphone frame with your bestie is so early 2014. Why rely on your outstretched arm when you can include a sweeping vista and aerial approach to your selfie?

Camera drones are gaining popularity for educational and business uses such asbeefing up real estate listings with high-flying photos. But if you trust your remote drone-steering skills enough not to take your own head off, they can also offer flexibility and artistic options for creative selfies. A group of NYU students recently set up a "dronie booth" at the ITP Spring Show, and Vimeo has launched a channel dedicated to dronies.

Now, direct-to-consumer efforts to sell the appeal of dronies are stepping up. The staff at photography site and online store Photojojo took a "workcation" this week to Costa Rica and made use of the Phantom 2 photography drone for a pretty impressive group shot on a (terrifying-looking) bridge over the rainforest.

The Phantom 2 retails for $1,299 (or $959 with a GoPro mount), so they probably won't be filling the skies at concerts or baseball stadiums in the immediate future. But heads up.