These Are the First-Ever Tourist Selfies Taken at the White House

The White House has lifted a 40-year-old photo ban for tours.

ByABC News
July 1, 2015, 1:03 PM

— -- The first photos are beginning to trickle out on social media of people enjoying the first White House tours free of a photo ban.

In what appears to be the first selfie shared on Twitter from a White House tour, a woman poses with a bust of George Washington and tweets “a quick selfie with George W before the Secret Service get me!”

This is the first time in over 40 years that people have been allowed to take photos during White House tours and the White House is encouraging visitors to share their photos using the hashtag #whitehousetour. Under the new rules, visitors are allowed to snap photos on their phones and small cameras, though selfie sticks and video cameras continue to be on the "Prohibited Items" list.

The first tour group this morning consisted of bloggers, individuals and organizations with large numbers of followers on social media, a White House official said, so as to make sure that the first photos reached a wide audience.

Upon entering the White House, visitors were greeted by Obama family dogs Bo and Sunny.

Visitors were also shown a video that First Lady Michelle Obama posted earlier today to Instagram announcing that the ban was lifted and a sign reminding visitors that “Photography is Encouraged. But please remember to turn off your flash and no video recording or streaming.”

“If you’ve been on a White House tour, you may have seen this sign,” the First Lady says in the video as she holds a sign that reads “NO PHOTOS OR SOCIAL MEDIA ALLOWED.” The First Lady then says “Not anymore!” and rips through the sign.

In another photo shared on Instagram, several women posed for a group selfie: "When @whitehouse lifts the photo ban, you obviously have to #selfie. #WhiteHouseTour"

And then there were those who took their selfies to the next level, enshrining the act of selfie-taking itself by getting someone else to snap a photo of them taking a selfie.