During quarantine, I spent (admittedly, too much) time looking at pictures on my phone and reminiscing about “the way things used to be.” Scrolling through all the photos of my friends and I - hugging, standing right next to each other, smiles in full view - was bittersweet. When Notre Dame announced that students would be allowed to attend home games this season, I wasn’t about to let a gameday go by without a photo shoot, even though it requires a bit more persistence than in previous years.
For the best socially-distant gameday pictures, be sure to come ready with your phone’s selfie camera timer, something to prop up your phone with, and an openness to unconventional poses. Here are some corona-approved picture ideas my friends and I have tried this semester:
Holding up the Dome requires precision and is VERY hard to coordinate, especially when you don’t have a third person to tell you where to position your hands. But, when done right, the outcome can be pretty ~golden~.
The “High School Musical jump” is extremely fun to do. Although it’s difficult to get the timing right (burst is the way to go) and a bit overdone, getting to feel like the cast of HSM definitely makes up for its downsides.
The “Touchdown Jesus” is a Notre Dame classic AND easy to do, making for a great photo option.
I’m always down to give my feet a break on gameday - standing for hours in the stadium is not the most pleasant. Since less people are taking gameday photos this year, there’s a lot more space on the sidewalk than usual - perfect for a picture while laying down.
We were aiming to do a cool b-boy move, but our result was just a *tad* off.
The “Fighting Irish” is an ode to our mascot and an easily-replicated pose.
I like to call this one “Tik Tok queens,” because I feel like every popular Tik Tok-er starts with this pose. (Also I promise I don’t get Tik Tok dances on my for you page, I just see them on Snapchat and YouTube.)
I don’t know if there’s a name for this pose (“ta-da,” maybe?), but it really draws attention to the Dome, which is always appreciated. Plus, it gives you something to do with your arms, because figuring out what to do with them in socially-distant pictures is a struggle.
The bro pose is beloved by frat boys everywhere and adds a little *quirk* to your gameday pictures. (Shoutout to the random guy who jumped in our photo.)
I don’t really know what this one is, but it gives me Athena origin story vibes. (Basically, we ran out of ideas and started doing random things.)
The sorority squat doesn’t have quite the same effect as it did in the pre-COVID era, but it’s still a solid option for those seeking a sense of normalcy in their gameday pictures.
When all else fails, the only thing left to do is just stand. Spice it up by putting your hands on your hips, or go arms down for a bold look. (Note: my roommate and I are the ones hugging, which we’re allowed to do because we’re in the same household!)
Happy picture-taking!