Getting the perfect selfie can take hours. You have that mini photo shoot by your window and you are working it in your room. Maybe you have some music going and you’re channeling your inner Kendall and Kylie. Somehow it always ends up taking too long and you spend even more time going through and picking your favorites to then finally spend hours editing. What a process, right?! A-List is here to help you shave a few hours off this process and make you look like the fabulous selfie queen you are!
1. Lighting Is Everything
Lighting is your best friend. Make sure you find some indirect, natural light. Find the right light and your eyes will glisten a little brighter and your skin will glow. If your lighting is wrong it can be way too harsh and it will ruin the entire photo. You can look like a million bucks IRL but harsh, direct sunlight can leave you looking like a nickel in your pics. If sun is an issue, try to use your head to block the sun. Make sure any bright light is directly behind you.
2. Be Yourself
Let’s be honest, not everyone feels comfortable taking selfies. So, whether you’re a pro or tend to avoid them, don’t force it. Being natural is the best way to get those one-of-a-kind pictures. You can’t force candid. Fake laughing pics are overdone, faux serious/thoughtful shots are cheesy…you get the idea. Just be yourself! You are beautiful and the camera will capture that!
3. Angle to Elongate
Are you a model? I’m certainly not. I have to work all the angles in the book. If you follow this one simple rule, you’re already halfway to a selfie that will rock your world. Always hold the camera slightly above eye height and tilt your head down. A simple way to achieve this is to put the camera in line or above eye level so you have to look up at it. This elongates the neck and jaw line. Another tip we use is to hold the camera closer to your face, and don’t angle the camera from above – hold the camera straight and adjust your body to create the angles. After that, just keep trying new poses and angles until you find one that works for you. Again this can change depending on the lighting, but try out a bunch until you find what is best for you.
4. Take multiples!
Practice makes perfect, so don’t give up! Now that you have that perfect lighting, just keep snapping pics as you make slight adjustments to your angles and expressions. As you snap away, you’ll ensure that you have plenty to choose from and you’ll start to see a pattern of what angles are best for you. So put some lip gloss on, fluff your hair and have fun with it!
5. Use the Right Apps and Filters
Wondering why your friends’ Instagrams always look so perfect? Well it’s probably because they have an arsenal of apps and filters that they use on the sly. Here are some tools that our team uses:
6. Consider Your Background
Photobombing is so 5 years ago, but when we selfie it’s unavoidable sometimes. Nothing takes away from a great selfie like an awkward dude eating a pretzel in the background. Be aware of what’s going on around and behind you in your shot and make sure nothing is in the background when snapping your selfie to create the best picture possible.
7. Crop to Perfection
So now that you’ve tried to control what’s in your background, you can’t always change your scenery. With this in mind, the crop tool can save the day. Don’t be afraid to crop. Crop out the weird random article of clothing on the floor behind you, crop out the weird photobombing dog, you get the idea. With that said, don’t crop too much. There is nothing worse than a poorly cropped photo. You know when it’s too much so don’t push it more than you need to.
8. Don’t Overthink It
We know how it is. We’ve all sat there staring at our camera roll or photo gallery scrolling through 100s of selfies, thinking, “OMG that’s what I really look like?!” Give yourself a break, maybe wait 5 minutes and look at them again. I promise 1 of the 100 pictures from your mini backyard photo shoot turned out great! Don’t be so hard on yourself! If you follow all of these tips you will definitely have a few keepers in the mix.
9. Get a Nice Camera
If all else fails, invest in a nice camera. Have you ever wondered why the Kardashians look so fire in their selfies. Well, hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but those pictures are taken on thousand dollar cameras with professional editing. So next time you compare your selfies to them, remember you’re making gold with your iPhone and the flattering lighting and angles.
10. Add a Little LuMee to Your Life!
If you can’t afford an expensive professional camera, this Lumee iPhone case is perfect for taking pictures when you can’t find good light. Available at apple.com, it does double duty – protects your phone and gives you light when you need it. These come in handy in dimly lit venues for formals and date parties!