You Can Finally Take the Perfect Selfie Thanks to This Phone Case
Never take a bad selfie again with the case's built-in, front-face lighting.
— -- Finding the right lighting, putting on makeup or even having cosmetic work: There’s no limit to what people will do to take the perfect selfie.
But now, thanks to LuMee, an illuminated smartphone case for the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S, the perfect selfie is finally within reach.
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“We’re solving a problem that lots of people didn’t even know they had,” Allan Shoemake, 57, one of the creators of the LuMee case, told ABC News. “It’s great when you’re trying to take a selfie with a background that’s light or inside a cab or restaurant -- mostly low-light situations or at night.”
The Boonton Township, New Jersey, father initially came up with the idea for the LuMee case when he was using Skype to video chat with his daughter, who was studying abroad in Italy.
“I said, ‘I can hardly see you. Why don’t you go by the window?’” Shoemake recalled. “I said to my wife, ‘Why don’t they have a light out there to help light up cellphones or computers?’”
Using foam board, Shoemake plugged in Christmas lights around his computer to light up his screen.
“So the next time we used Skype with my daughter, she was like, ‘Why do you guys look so good?’” said Shoemake.
After working with an electrical engineer to perfect his idea, Shoemake was able to develop his patented LuMee smartphone case, which is available in black or white on Amazon and the LuMee website for $39.95. Samsung Galaxy S6 owners also hoping to take the perfect selfie can buy a LuMee case this October.
While most smartphones come with a flash for the camera, the LuMee case has built-in lights at the front of the case that stay on while you take a selfie, put on makeup or even when you’re taking a photo of your food.
“I’ve been a photographer for 30 years, so I was really picky about the lights and the color temperatures,” Shoemake said. “The beauty of not having a flash is what you see is what you get.”
The case is powered by its own battery that takes 30 to 45 minutes to charge. It can last as long as 2.5 hours on its highest setting and 36 hours at its lowest setting. To adjust the brightness, users can press and hold the dimmer at the back of the case.
“Now they don’t have to search around the room for the best light," Shoemake said. "They could just turn the case on and look beautiful.”
Shoemake is also developing a similar case for the iPad and other tablets.
“There’s nothing like it out there for the perfect selfie, the perfect food shot. It's multifunctional,” Shoemake said. “We’re not going to appeal to every case out there, but everyone needs good lighting.”
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