If you've been to any major tourist spot recently, you've probably dodged the selfie stick. It seems everywhere, from Hollywood to London Bridge to Times Square, people are trying to capture the moment in a way that could never have been imagined a decade ago. Now the selfie has got its own museum in Los Angeles, offering selfie-lovers the chance to learn about the history of the self-portrait. CGTN's Phil Lavelle has the story.

Selfies and exhibitions don't really go together. At least not for this poor woman, who lost her balance.

PHIL LAVELLE LOS ANGELES "But you know, they do here. That's kinda the point."

A modern museum for the modern day.

TOMMY HONTON CO-CREATOR, MUSEUM OF SELFIES "It's very primal, being obsessed with what we look like."

The Selfie Museum. Tips for taking them, a look at the selfie's story.

TOMMY HONTON CO-CREATOR, MUSEUM OF SELFIES "We can make people learn all about this weird, interesting thing that is surprisingly rich in history."

And even some new - and familiar - backdrops to really stand out in a world increasingly seen through a lens.

PHIL LAVELLE LOS ANGELES "The idea behind this place is not only to explore the most popular places for taking a selfie. You've got the stereotypical gym. In here, of course, the bathroom. Great if you've got a six pack and good lighting. But also to look at why we feel compelled to take photos of ourselves. And share them with anybody who'll look."

TOMMY HONTON CO-CREATOR, MUSEUM OF SELFIES "You can capture very personal, very intimate, very fun, very proud moments, very quickly and there is something about the candour of it, the naturalness of it, that's really exciting. Yeah, vanity plays into it at some point, but the fact that anybody can take them, there's tonnes of reasons people do it."

PHIL LAVELLE LOS ANGELES "You could say it's appropriate that the selfie museum has found its home here in Los Angeles. A place seemingly obsessed with the aesthetic. The place where arguably - and this is very arguably - part of this current phenomenon began."

No, we're not talking about them. Or her. Or her. We're talking about him - the guy on the right.

LESTER WISBROD HOLLYWOOD CAMERAMAN "I did selfies with everybody."

TV cameraman, Lester Wisbrod. Said by some to have created the now-popular selfie-with-a-star. He started in the 70's and has thousands of pictures taken in the days when you just pointed the camera - and hoped for the best.

LESTER WISBROD HOLLYWOOD CAMERAMAN "Most of the time, when you held the camera out, people would rush up and say 'hey, let me take that for you and I'm like. It's OK' but the celebs would be like 'is this gonna work?' 'You can see on Clint Eastwood's face. He's kinda going. Errrr."

People will say the day selfies are taught at university, the world has gone mad.

"Has it?"

PROF. MARK MARINO UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA "Yeah, I think the world has gone mad, first of all."

Also in LA, the selfie course. It's a thing. Or, at least, it was. The University of Southern California, zooming in on the science behind the selfie. The class is finished now. But boy, was it popular?

PROF. MARK MARINO UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA "When we presented the class to the students, they also got these wry smiles on their faces. Like 'are you really gonna ask us to take selfie?' 'Do you realise that this is a university course?' But quickly it became an opportunity to think about identity and all those different aspects of identity that we produce consciously and subconsciously when we present versions of ourselves through these selfies."

PHIL LAVELLE LOS ANGELES "You take a selfie, people say 'you look a mess' or negative things, there could be a downside, right. This could affect your self-esteem."

MIKE SINGTON POP CULTURE JOURNALIST "It could - that's why it's very important how you post selfies. I mean, you gotta take many pictures, post the best ones, do a little editing, and hopefully, that will increase your self esteem. But people do post selfies that if they don't get 50, 60, 70, 80 likes, they'll delete it and post again."

And so, while getting the perfect selfie may take time - and a lot of practice.

"I'll never be a Kardashian!"

There is now at least somewhere you can learn all about them. Human, animal, it takes all sorts. And they're taking pictures - in this very modern of ways. Phil Lavelle, CGTN, Los Angeles.