Selfies, you love and hate them at the same time. It’s the photo you aim to take a couple of times but in the end, you’re left with about 60 pictures of yourself making almost the same exact face. Pictures that you will slowly scroll through and examine for the perfect one to share. We all go through it, even Beyonce. But what if I told you I have a few tips that I use to help me take the perfect selfie in fewer than five shots.
Let’s get into them.
Lighting is Everything
First things first, in order to take the perfect selfies you’ll need good lighting. The key is natural light, not artificial. Go near a sunny window, or head outdoors. Taking a selfie outside on top of making you look fabulous, will also reduce blemish areas and create beautiful illusions. Now if there is too much sun pouring into your window hold up a white sheet of paper in front of the window to filter the brightness.
Extra Tip: If you want to take the best photo go outside shortly after sunrise or just before sunset. It’s called the golden hour. It’s when the light in the sky is softest and the light has various hues to them instead of the blue light during daylight hours.
Get Out of the Shadows
Unless you want your selfies to look like you’re in a creepy basement come out of those shadows. Not only will taking a selfie in the shadow be dark it will also create dark areas on your face and body that aren’t there. Who wants that? No one. So how do you get perfect lighting in dark areas? Easy! Get a selfie light. They’re portable, fit on most phones and have a few settings to give you the brightest to a muted light. So long dark hard to make out party pictures.
Watch Your Surroundings
When posing for a selfie it’s easy to only focus on you but this is when you should take the time to really analyze your background. Is your house a little messy? Unless this is apart of the frazzled look you’re going for you should tidy up or move into a less messy area. If you’re outside take a look around to see what’s happening behind you. Is there a bad reflection, people walking past or worse a photobomber. You don’t need anything in your photo taking the focus off you.
It’s All About the Angles
This is the real secret to getting the perfect selfie. When taking a selfie your head should be slightly down and your phone should be held a little high. Also, try angling your face slightly away. Hardly anyone looks good looking straight into the camera so try to avoid that as much as possible. If you need help with your angles get a selfie stick. Yeah, they seem lame at times but trust me that stick will have you looking right since it can twist and turn in ways your arm/hand may not be able to especially if you’re going for a full body shot.
Extra Tip: Ditch the duck lips. That’s so early 2000’s.
Don’t Go Edit Crazy
With so many apps out there to help you edit your images, you have to be careful to not over edit them. If you want to touch up little things like your teeth color or brightening colors is fine. But be mindful of overediting yourself. Your friends want to see you, not an exaggerated version. Resist the urge to photoshop too much of yourself away.
Filter for Flawless Finish
Filters are our friends. They’re the perfect touch to a great photo. Using the right filter will take your photo to new heights. Stick to filters that don’t wash you out or are too bright. I have a couple of filters that use but I like Lark on Instagram. Filters are also great if you want to hide if you’re having a bad makeup or hair day.
Extra Tip: Instagram lets you save your favorite filters by hiding the ones you don’t like or use. This takes away the guessing game of trying to remember which ones make your melanin pop.
Have Fun!
Selfies are about having fun, so you should be doing just that!
Reminder! Clean out your camera roll of all of those previously unused selfies they’re taking up space for more selfies.
What are your go-to tips for taking the perfect selfie? Tag me in your photo using #TMABlog on social media so I can see your selfie skills.
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