With courses on David Beckham, Harry Potter and politicizing Beyoncé on offer at prestigious universities, it comes as no surprise that students are now able to learn the art of the perfect 'selfie'.

    继知名高校开设研究贝克汉姆、《哈利波特》或“碧昂丝政治学”等课程后，近日又有一门“奇葩课”诞生——帮助学生掌握完美自拍的艺术。

Budding photographers will be taught valuable life skills to prepare them to face an expectant world which could present a photo opportunity at any point as part of a new City Lit course in London.

伦敦著名在职教育机构City Lit开设了一门新课程，旨在为初级摄影师传授必要的生活技巧，以适应这个随时都需要拍照的社会。

As well as offering guidance on the most flattering angles and lighting, the course - officially called 'The art of self portraiture' – promises to 'improve your critical understanding' of the 'selfie'.

除了教学生选择最佳的拍摄角度和光线以外，这门名为“自拍艺术”的课程承诺将会“帮助提高对自拍的批判性理解。”

The path to the perfect profile picture will cost you just £132 (£106 for seniors) – but potential students should be warned that it does not come with a free 'selfie' stick.

学会拍出完美大头照只需132英镑（老年人只需106英镑）——但有兴趣的同学别忘了该课可不提供免费的自拍杆。

It is open to all, including those who have only 'engaged in self-portrait –even in the most casual way'.

该课程未设门槛，所以只要对自拍感兴趣——甚至无拍摄功底、只有非正式场合经验的同学也可加入课程。

But the 'selfie' enthusiasts must be prepared to share their snaps, as organizers said a critique of students' work would form an important role in the learning process.

但自拍爱好者必须有分享自己作品的心理准备，主办方表示总结学生的作品将是这门课教学过程中的重要组成部分。

Over four sessions, students will be taught to 'use light and significant detail' in their work and 'explain ideas of space, place and surrounding issues'.

据了解，经过四个阶段的学习，学生将学到正确的采光方法和重要的摄影技巧，并懂得拍摄与空间、位置和周围环境的相互关系。

There will be a brief exploration into the notions of 'identity, self-hood and memory' as well as the opportunity to 'develop new ideas to make your photography more relevant to your aims'.

此外，课程还将对“身份、自我以及记忆”等概念进行简单的探讨，还有机会发展出新思路，从而令每个人的拍摄技术更贴近自己的要求。

It is ideal for those who have an understanding of ISO, aperture, shutter speed, white balance and how to change these on your digital SLR or bridge camera.

这门课同样适合那些懂得ISO感光度、光圈、快门速度、白平衡等摄影知识并能用自己的数码单反或桥梁相机设置这些参数的同学。

The 'selfie' phenomenon is so widespread that it was only a matter of time before courses started offering guidance on the most flattering angles and lighting.

如今，自拍已经成为一种潮流，所以设立传授最佳拍摄角度和用光技巧的自拍课程是迟早的事情。

Twitter declared 2014 as the year of the 'selfie' after Ellen DeGeneres' star-stuffed Oscar photo was retweeted more than three million times - a Twitter record.

而且，自从2014年奥斯卡颁奖典礼主持人艾伦·德杰尼勒斯（Ellen DeGeneres）发起的奥斯卡自拍照在著名社交平台Twitter上获得超过三百万的转发量（创下Twitter的转发纪录）后，Twitter更将2014年封为“自拍年”。

The trend became so popular that it even inspired a song, '#SELFIE' by The Chainsmokers, which racked up 267 million views on YouTube.

现在这股潮流越来越火，甚至为美国电子组合The Chainsmokers带来了创作灵感——名为《#SELFIE》的歌曲在著名视频分享网站YouTube上获得了2.67亿次点击量。

（译者：佳木China，编辑 Helen）