But first, let me take a selfie! This was probably what participants of the White House tour did last Wednesday, when finally, the so-called "people's house" lifts its decades-long ban on photography.
For the past 40 years, taking photographs was prohibited during tours for concerns that old camera flashes would damage oil-based paintings that are all-over the building, NBC reports.
First Lady Michelle Obama made the announcement in an Instagram video, which now has almost fifty thousand likes, in her social media account where she's seen literally tearing the "no photos or social media allowed" sign. The post was captioned: Big news! Starting today, we're lifting the ban on cameras and photos on the @WhiteHouse public tour. Visitors are now able to take photos and keep those memories for a lifetime!
The White House also released a memo which says, "Effective today, guests are now welcome to take photos throughout the White House tour route and keep those memories for a lifetime," theverge.com reports.They even encourage visitors to take selfies and use the hashtag #WhiteHouseTour when sharing their captured moments on social media.
But, some prohibitions still apply. The ban remains for video cameras, tripods, tablets, detachable lenses, flash photography, live streaming, and the selfie stick or what the White House refers to as the 'camera stick'. For short, visitors are only permitted to use phones or compact cameras that have lenses no more than 3 inches.
The ban was eliminated not even two years after the White House Correspondents Association disapproved and protested the rule.
"As surely as if they were placing a hand over a journalist's camera lens, officials in this administration are blocking the public from having an independent view of important functions of the Executive Branch of government," the Association said of the ban in a letter sent to Jay Carney, then-White House press secretary, The Blaze reported, according to newsmax.com.
Want to see some of the first ever selfies taken immediately after the ban was lifted? You can check them out here: News Max and BBC.
