How To Take A Good Selfie : Some tips to consider for selfie
1. Lighting is Everything
It sounds obvious, but the first rule of selfie-ing is to pay attention to your lighting. You need good lighting. Natural lighting. As vlogger Jordan Liberty puts it, "Light is undoubtedly the best beauty product you don't have to pay for." Instead of facing your computer screen or television, turn toward a window with natural light. Or better yet, go outside and bask in the sun's glow (with sunscreen on). Good lighting can actually make undereye circles and shadows totally disappear.
If you're shooting your selfie inside, beauty blogger (and frequent selfie-taker) Michelle Phan advises that you find a window. "Having nice, natural sunlight streaming in will make for a good selfie. Another thing I do is take a piece of white paper and hold it underneath my chin, which creates a natural bounce of light, illuminates the face, and also reduces the double-chin effect."
2. Take a Lot of Selfies...and We Mean A LOT
Kylie Jenner's best selfie tip is just to take selfies. A lot of selfies. She's said that she takes "like, 500 selfies" before she finds one she likes enough to post. "Sometimes I regret putting one up if I find a better one later. I'm like damn, that's a better photo, but that's the only thing I regret," she has said. Try tilting your head in different directions and changing the angles up slightly between each shot so there's a wide variety to choose from. And don't forget to make sure the camera's focused before snapping away.
You can film your selfie session instead of taking standard pictures. Press record on the video option instead and pose away. After a minute or two of this, you can scroll through the video and freeze a frame with the best selfie. It sounds silly, but you can actually pull out the best selfie poses this way (and no one will ever know the difference!).
3. Show Yourself in Water
Float on your back in a pool and shoot down at your face. Or prepare a bubble bath, lie down in the water, and take a shot of your face framed by bubbles. Be careful, though, not to drop your phone!Showing yourself in water can be really fun, and it also makes the photo more unique than the typical point-the-camera-at-me-while-eating-a-cheeseburger selfie.
4. Selfie of the Selfie
One really fun idea that I haven't seen very often is to have someone take a picture of you taking a selfie. It's a really flattering look and is really interesting. If you're buying a selfie stick, I happen to really like this selfie stick from Improve Photography because it's well built
5. A self-portrait that looks professionally
Sometimes we don’t want others to know that we have taken a photo of ourselves. In these cases, it is nice to be able to discreetly take a self-portrait that looks professionally done. Whether you want a professional-looking photo for social media, professional sites, or personal use, it can be helpful to know a few hints for getting a self-portrait that looks like it was taken by someone else. That’s why I’ve compiled a few hints for you to use in order to get a fantastic self-portrait.
black and white self portrait
“Self Portrait II” captured by Melissa Rowat (Click image to see more from Rowat.)
Self-Timer
Try using the self timer on your camera instead of depending on the length of your arm. This way, your face will be much more relaxed during the photo (you won’t be straining your arm!), and you can get a wider range of view in the photo. If you can afford it, a remote shutter release is even better.
6. Scenery
An easy way to spot a self-portrait is by noting the background of a photograph. Many people take photographs of themselves in their bedroom or other areas of the home. The problem is that most of these areas contain clutter and other objects that might distract from the subject of the photo. To solve this issue, you can use two different approaches.
outdoor self portrait
“Self Portrait 4” captured by Shovona Karmakar (Click image to see more from Karmakar.)
If you want to take photos in your home, try to hang a plain-colored sheet somewhere in an uncluttered area. You can then use the sheet as a backdrop for your self-portrait. For best results, hang the sheet so that a foot or two of the material can cover the floor, thus creating a seamless background from the floor to the wall.
Otherwise, the best solution would probably be to go somewhere besides the home to take a self-portrait. A local park is a wonderful place to take photos, and you’ll have lovely scenery behind you instead of the inside of your room.
