So, you want to take better selfies for your blog or social media accounts? Then you’ve come to the right place.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in this day and age, the right photo is worth 10,000 words!
With Instagram and Snapchat growing in popularity over the years, followers love to see a great image to share, like, and comment on, and as a result, your blog or account continues to flourish.
This only opens the door for more advertising revenue for brands looking to promote themselves online, so the bottom line is that every image you take of yourself is important.
To discover how to take better selfies, follow these useful tips and tricks.
Pick your weapon
Most blogs will tell you that a digital SLR camera is the only way to take good photos if quality is your main concern. However, the latest models of smartphones like the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy do a pretty great job of giving us outstanding quality in a convenient device.
Of course, SLRs will still give you the best final product and are easier to put on a tripod, but smartphones also give you the option to use the front-facing camera to check your pose before taking the image, and you have it ready to post to Instagram without any file transferring.
Read also: How to Use Your iPhone to Take Good Travel Photos
Step toward the light
The best digital SLR or smartphone is nothing if your lighting is off.
Most expert bloggers or influencers recommend standing near a window for natural lighting, as you can choose which part of your face gets the most light and switch things up as you go.
For outside shots, try not to shoot directly in sunlight or in the shade, as the shadows are either too deep and full and your face is way too illuminated.
A sunny day with a bit of cloud over the sun, or even during sunrise or sunset are the best times to shoot outside, with sunset giving you a nice, golden glow that is hard to replicate.
For indoor shots, a piece of white paper is a great budget option to bounce back light onto your face and remove dark shadows.
You can also invest in a ring light if the window lighting just isn’t giving you what you need. In terms of background, the simpler, the better, as a distracting background can often take away from your selfie.
Play around with angles
After taking 200+ photos for your blog or social media account, it’s far easier to pick your favorite when there are lots of different options to choose from.
Scrolling through 200 photos of the same angle with the same lighting will not only bore you, but make choosing one a bit of a nightmare. Play around with the camera height, where you position your face, which way your neck is turning, if your shoulders are straight, and so on.
Also, try out a selfie stick! They give you yet another great angle to try from. Some people hate when the camera is straight on their face, as it looks too much like a passport photo.
Play around and find your “good” side. With your face slightly down and the camera positioned above you, female influencers say to look up for a striking, feminine pose that suits nearly every girl.
Shoot video instead of photo
Why would you take a video if you’re after a great selfie? Well, if you’re really struggling to take a good, natural photo, then film yourself instead and then use one of the stills as a photo.
You might find that you’re more relaxed and more “in the zone” with a video, and then you don’t have to take so many photos if you’ve got a 3-minute video with different expressions and angles.
Move around a lot, smile, laugh, be coy, jump, do whatever you’ve got to do for a great screengrab from the video.
Read also: 7 Creative and Easy Ways to Repurpose Blog Content
Don’t be afraid of editing
You don’t have to edit the photo within an inch of its life or anything. But little tweaks here and there turn a good photo into a great photo. Instagram’s own editing section is solid, as the filters, brightness, and sharpening tools do a nice job of improving a photo.
For a bit more power, Facetune can get rid of bags under eyes, blur out bad skin, and much more. You might be against changing your image that much, but Facetune is still useful to have sometimes.
Adobe Photoshop is the king of editing software, but if it all sounds too advanced, try Instagram or even the VSCO app for general tweaks.
In the end, have fun with your photos and don’t think of it as a job, as you want the image to have that little extra something to stand out from the crowd.
