7 things you need to do to take your best ever #selfie
Love it or hate it, we are all a part of the selfie generation. Not only was the term ‘selfie’ added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013, it was also picked as their word of the year. Check any of your social media news feeds right now, and no doubt you’ll find oodles of examples of this self-loving artistry, and what a breath of fresh air that is.
In a world where we’re constantly being told we aren’t good enough, the selfie gives us the chance to present our best side; to create an online persona we can be proud of and profile pictures that don’t make us cringe. Kim Kardashian is well known as the ‘queen of the selfies’ (particularly after that white swimsuit picture), and there’s no doubt she looks beautiful in every photo she takes. But you’ve got to ask yourself, how much of it is selfie skill, and how much is simply because she’s stunning from any angle? And if it’s the latter, what help is there for us mere mortals of taking a selfie to be proud of?
Thankfully you don’t necessarily have to be a supermodel to take a cute selfie. Sure, you can’t actually perform plastic surgery with your phone cam, but you can take advantage of some little tricks and tips to make every shot just a little bit better.
Set the scene
When you’re thinking about your selfie, consider what, other than your face, is going to be in the shot. As much as you might be keen to snap a laid back selfie at your dressing table in the morning, the sight of last night’s underwear draped over the chair behind you is probably not something you wanted to share. Having something amazing in the background is always a plus, but if you don’t happen to be at a Beyoncé concert at the time, think about natural beauty such as trees and sky, or subtle, stylish and underwear free locations at home.
Kiss and make up
Getting your make up just right can make the difference between looking stunning in your selfie and being entered for the ‘clown of the year’ contest. Sure, you can go a little heavier on the makeup than you might normally, as only a fraction of what the eye sees is successfully transferred to camera. But avoid going OTT and ending up looking like an embarrassed panda, because once that image is out there, you can’t take it back.
Light your fire
Good lighting is crucial, not only to help your camera capture the pigments and colours in the shot correctly, but also to flatter and enhance your natural colouring. Natural light is always flattering, but avoid direct sunlight if you don’t want to look washed out. Fluorescent strip lighting is the worst, so if you are indoors try and go for LED lighting with a warm white hue to bring out your best angles.
Strike a pose
What to do with your face is always a bit of a conundrum. Our advice: Don’t do the duckface. It might give you cheekbones, but it’s horribly fake and makes you look rather silly. If all else fails, go for a natural, cute smile, flashing a bit of teeth and nice wide eyes.
Untangle the angle
The default angle for the perfect selfie is with the camera just a bit higher than your eye level and with your face turned at a three quarters angle. This universally looks good, so if in doubt, get this one off pat and you’ll be safe. Feel free to experiment too in order to pin down your own ‘best side’ though.
Filter wisely
There is nothing quite as attractive as a #nofilter selfie taken in good, natural light. However, sometimes we all need a little extra help, and that’s where your filters come in to play. A popular choice is Valencia, which doesn’t do too much to change your skin tone but effectively irons out the creases and shadows from the night before. It’s just a pity there’s no Valencia filter for real life!
Everything in moderation
There is no shame in taking the odd selfie. We all do it. What is a big no-no, however, is continually clogging up your mate’s news feeds with streams of self-indulgent images of yourself to the point that they start blocking or unfriending you as a result. The best things in life taste sweetest when taken in moderation, and the humble #selfie is no different. By all means have a happy snapping moment when you’re on your way out, when you’re with your bff, or to mark an important occasion, but keep it to a reasonable level if you don’t want to look like a prat.
We’ll certainly be watching our news feeds with interest to see how you get on in putting our top selfie tips to the test. Enjoy your selfie adventures!
Posted in collaboration with All About Electrics.
Young Couple Selfie from Shutterstock
Some really great tips to taking the best selfies, setting the scene and lighting is so important 🙂
I know that this is one of your older posts, but it still stands. Great tips, especially the lighting.
it so hard to to take if screen does not flip round, like on tablets..it just guessing game then..
Fab tips! I always need to take loads of selfies to get a good one! Filters definitely make them look better though 🙂
I take selfies rarely because I’m so bad at them! It’s hard for me to “pose” for myself for some reason. These are great tips though … didn’t know that about the Valencia filter but it’s good to know. I love experimenting with all the different filters with almost all pics I take!!
I am pretty useless at trying to look good in selfies as I’m not exactly photogenic but I will give a few of these tips a go! Look out for FB pics!!!
I have such an aversion to getting my picture taken, especially when it comes to selfies. But with your tips I just may pull one off before the new year.
I am not the best selfie taker. I need major lessons– thanks for this.
I do not take a lot of selfies. I never look right when i take them. Now i know these great tips i will try taking some selfies tonight.
Yay! I love taking selfies lol I include the kids too though 😉
Greta tips, but i really hate taking selfies. I know, I must be the only person on the planet who does
Love this. My friends have dubbed me the Selfie Queen 🙂 This is an awesome breakdown of tips.
Thanks for the tips. I’m not the best at taking selfies so I stick to taking pictures of my kids. lol
Great tips, I have seen some pretty bad selfies. Selfies are great with the right lighting and backgrounds.
I love this post! Yes, please, please, please, DO NOT do the duck face! I don’t know why that ever caught on.
Love the tip about the background – I love looking at peoples photos and seeing what’s in the backround!
i take selfies but never share them with anyone, im so bad at taking them lol.
I doubt that I will ever get good at taking selfies. It really is a difficult thing to get a picture just right, from any angle. I think I will leave it to my little Peanut.
It cracks me up that we now live in a world where the “selfie” is actually an art. Nonetheless, it does seem to be an art that I have yet to master. Thanks for the tips!
I think I spend way too much time as it is trying to make sure that all my selfies are just right. I’m glad there is a science to it.
I rarely take selfies… maybe once a week. j/k. I mean, like once a month and normally is FOR something. I don’t get the desire to take a picture of yourself just for the sake of. But that’s just me. These are some great tips to remember. I have a great picture of myself, but it was in a car, and I now HATE that it’s in a car. Bad location.
I always find that my lighting is horrible. I’m not sure if it’s the lighting in my house or I’m doing something wrong.
Oh goodness, I am way behind the game LOL I can’t remember the last time I even took a selfie, much less set one up! HA!
These are great tips! I take a bunch of selfies but never seem to be super happy with many. You would think by now they would mastered, haha.
Great tips! I take a fair amount of selfies but don’t like too many of them!
Setting the scene is definitely important for a selfie. I’ve seen so many with messy backgrounds that totally took away from the cute picture they had going on.
You would think that after having a cell phone for as many years as I have I would have the perfect selfie mastered. But, that’s a nope.
I just got the Galaxy s5 and I was so excited about the 16mp camera…. but then I realized that the darn thing it so big and my hands are so small that I can’t hold it and reach the button to take a selfie. So silly, I know.
These are great – and much-needed – tips. I take the absolute worst selfies and end up looking totally ridiculous!
I never seem to take a great selfie.
Filters and angle are the keys for me. But mostly the angle!
I can’t take good selfies to save my life. I’ll have to have another go having read this blog x
I am totally hopeless at this, I end up looking really miserable x
I wish I knew who started this craze, It’s really not one of my favourites. But all tips for making myself look slightly less horrendous when I do need to take a selfie are much appreciated. Thanks!
I take horrible selfies. plus I only have an android phone do not sure how the filter thing works.
My friends and I use Snap Chat a lot, so selfies are a big part of my day. Some are silly, some are serious, some are just a smile. I think this list is something everyone should read. Please, no more fish or duck faces!
Ha oh sorry the first on made me laugh. But so true, I took a selfie with my daughter it’s such a lovely picture but looks like I have a bright red coke can floating on my head!
I take plenty of selfies, but I never seem to get one that I am happy with. It takes me about 45 tries before I get one I like.