Ever wondered how all those successful Instagrammers take such amazing selfies? Well, keep reading for a few key tips and tricks to make yours just as great - if not better!
1 Great Lighting
When it comes to selfies, lighting is everything! If you're at home, take the time to experiment a little bit and you'll find that different rooms have different kinds of lighting, for example, usually the bathroom is great for natural light. Take a couple of 'test' selfies in each room and have a flick through them, deciding what level of lighting you prefer
Frequently asked questions
2 Plain Background
If you're aiming to take better selfies, it's best to stay away from busy, chaotic backgrounds. Anything like this will take attention away from you and more towards the busy background. To prevent this from happening, take a selfie against a plain wall, preferably white, so all eyes are on you!
3 High Quality
Sometimes selfies can look low quality due to a couple of factors such as lack of lighting and sharpness. To ensure you get the best quality possible, make sure the amount of lighting works for you and try to keep the camera as focused as you can to prevent blurring.
4 Variety of Poses
To get a better selfie, try out different poses to find what works and looks best for you. You can easily do this by taking a couple of photos of one type, like smiling with your teeth showing, and then taking a couple of different ones, like smiling with your mouth closed. Next you can try tilting your head to different angles, and looking slightly away from the camera (maybe just past it) and then a couple more of the opposite of these.
5 Natural Smile
You can tell a unauthentic smile in a photo from a mile away as it doesn't look engaging in the slightest. However, a real and genuine smile will make the photo 100x better! It shows that you're happy and having fun, just being yourself which a great thing to show to other people.
6 Edit when Necessary
You can make a selfie better by doing small things to it such as increasing the contrast, brightening it generally and deepening the shadows. But remember the key here is 'small' changes, because you want to tweak a couple of minor things to ensure it's a great photo but still looks natural at the end of it. Be aware of the changes you're making by keeping a copy of the original photo so you can use it as a guide to stay close to.
7 Avoid Effects
A truly great selfie is one that has no obvious effects on it. Even though it may be tempting to use one of these, try to stay away from them as they're quite obvious when applied to a photo and take away from the natural beauty of you! Keep it as natural looking as you can by opting for no filters or effects.
8 Don't Be Center Frame
It might be compelling to stick your face right in the center of the frame to draw attention to you. However, a rule of thumb for photographers as well as selfie experts, says to put your face in the top right third of the frame. This allows for the best angle as well as helps you avoid looking like you're in a mug shot.
9 Different Angles
Try different angles of camera placement as well as shoulder placement to find your best side. Just like a variety of poses is good, having the camera at different angles allows for the best look.
10 Accessorize
Throw on a hat, wear some sunglasses, or pop on a necklace that stands out, just accessorize to help add an extra element to your pictures.
