It’s amazing to be feeling yourself one day and it’s even better to perfectly capture it. There is a certain amount of work that goes into crafting the perfect selfie. It can be more involved than you think.
Here are some of the secrets to perfecting your selfie.
1. Lighting
Natural light is the best kind of lighting for any picture, including selfies. Indoor lighting creates harsh shadows on your face, and can even make you look older. It’s easier to see imperfections and it’s also easier for the wrong areas to get the most attention.
Indoor lighting makes your face look more sunken in than it really is, and it can even diminish some of your greatest features. You can’t see how white your teeth are or how bright your eyes are if you’re not in the right lighting.
Natural lighting is the best because it can flash out some of the wrinkles and other imperfections that you’d rather people not see. Your eyes look instantly brighter because the light enables little fragments of light to bounce off your eyes and show every different color. It can also make your smile look whiter.
2. Check your surroundings
We’ve all seen those selfie fails where people don’t check around themselves before they take their picture. You do not want a messy room, your own reflection, or anything obscene to ruin your beautiful selfie.
You don’t want your background to distract people from you, being the subject of the picture and all. Make sure your background is simple enough and doesn’t have anything going on that you don’t want people to see.
3. Give a real smile
There’s nothing worse than looking back at pictures and seeing that you look like you’re in pain. Make sure that your face doesn’t look strained while you’re taking a selfie. You want your face to look relaxed and as natural as possible.
People can tell the difference between a real smile and a fake smile in a second. It’s not just in the smile, it’s in the eyes. When a person gives a real smile, his or her eyes light up and wrinkle at the ends. It’s the real way to see a genuine smile from one that’s not so genuine.
4. Be confident
You can tell when someone is uncomfortable in a picture. Save that for pictures you never really wanted to be in, not for pictures of yourself doing something you were enjoying!
You’re taking a picture of yourself, so don’t look like you’re nervous about how it’s going to turn out, just have a confident air about you. One like you know you look good.
You need to own your beauty. No one is watching you. Even if they are, who cares? Have fun with it.
5. Edit
You don’t have to go crazy, and I am in no way saying that you need to edit yourself to look better. Cameras tend to wash people out and don’t always show the colors as vibrant as they are in real life.
Just have fun with the contrast and the lighting options on whatever app you have, or even directly on Instagram. If there was anything you didn’t like about your selfie, then you could easily just crop it out.
Once again, editing doesn’t mean you have to change anything about yourself. It can solely just be something to give your selfie a little bit extra “umf”.
6. Angles are important
No one needs to see a picture of your phone covering over half of your face. This is hardly a selfie. Consider the angle before you snap the picture. We all know that there are certain angles that do NOT look good on us.
Try to avoid any angle that doesn’t make you feel good about yourself. You don’t have to reach above yourself to get a good angle, either. There is nothing wrong with either of these angles if it’s something you feel like you look good in.
Just play around with your angles and have fun experimenting with different ones to see what you like the most. Your selfies can turn out pretty interesting when you switch up the person’s view of yourself.
7. Be candid
No one wants to feel like they’re trying too hard to look good. You don’t have to look perfect in your pictures, in fact, no one is actually expecting you to look perfect anyway. Just have fun with it.
Don’t look like it’s something you’re being forced to do. Try different faces and poses, just have fun with it. The most beautiful side of you is the side where you’re actually enjoying yourself and having fun.
8. Don’t use your phone as a prop
You don’t have to constantly take mirror selfies. They often end up covering up part of you and actually distract people from actually looking at you. They’re great for taking pictures of your outfit, but if you want everyone to see your amazing makeup (that one time your cat eye liner is actually on point), front facing camera is pretty great when it doesn’t creep up on you when you open Snapchat on it when you’re not ready.
Look straight at the camera if you do decide to take a mirror selfie. Don’t just stare at your phone because it makes it seem like the phone is the subject of the picture instead of you.
9. Make sure everything is right before you take the picture
Don’t go in blind when you’re taking a selfie. Take your time to make sure everything is the way you like it before you snap the pictures. It makes it easier to sift through pictures when you know what they will turn out to be instead of just guessing. It saves a lot of time.
10. Always just be you
Don’t try to be someone who you aren’t. You’re taking a picture of yourself that will show who you are as a person, and that day. Don’t try too hard. You don’t need to do it. Embrace your faults and embrace your quirks. They are what make you unique and beautiful. Never try to change yourself to get more likes or more attention. There’s no need for it.
Some people think that selfies are just, well, selfish. They are wrong. There is nothing wrong with feeling yourself and celebrating who you are and what you look like. If you are proud of yourself, then you deserve to show yourself off. Use these tips and show us, and everyone else, your amazing self(ie)!
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