Everyone loves to capture special moments with friends and family with great photos, especially with selfies!
At Cherry Hill Programs, we are the industry leaders in experiential photography and know how to make you look good. So, we've got lots of helpful tips on how to capture the best selfies! Get ready to strike a pose with these 7 easy tips.
Strike a pose + choose your angle
Two of the most essential things to master are finding the right poses and choosing your best angles. Everyone is different, so an angle that works great for you might not work for someone else, and vice versa.
In general, selfies tend to look better when the camera is slightly above you and tiled down again. But don’t hold the camera *too* high! You may also want to experiment with turning your face slightly to the side, rather than looking at the camera straight on. In some instances, you might even want to try laying down.
Perfect your lighting
Light is one of the most important aspects of photography of all kinds. The best lighting is often natural lighting. Try taking pictures during the golden hour – just after sunrise or just before sunset – to get perfect, natural lighting. Stand facing towards the light, so that your face is illuminated and there’s no glare behind you.
Try to avoid overhead or up lighting when possible. This goes for both natural and artificial lighting, since either way you’re likely to get some unflattering shadows on your face.
If you do need to use artificial lighting, try to avoid fluorescent lighting. LED lights are great options if you’re interested in purchasing lighting. Ring lights are also becoming more widely available and affordable, too. Avoid using the flash on your phone if possible.
Choose your background
Sometimes we snap a selfie with our loved ones spur of the moment, while other times we have a little bit more time to plan. Try selecting the ideal background, which is free of clutter and distracting elements. That way, the viewer will be drawn towards the most important element in the photo: you!
If you want to purposefully include background elements in part of your selfie, such as a famous landmark, make sure your image is framed well. No one wants to take selfies in front of the Eiffel Tower, only to find out when looking at your photos later, that half of the tower is cut off! This could be because the image in the background is partially out of the frame, or because you and other people in the photo are blocking portions of it.
If you’re taking a picture on a more solid background such as a wall, select one with colors that will complement your skin tones. Otherwise, light may bounce off and affect your appearance in your photos.
Use the back camera
We call them selfies because you’re taking a picture of yourself, of course! To take them, you're likely using the front-facing camera on your mobile device. But typically the back-facing cameras on phones and other devices are going to give you much higher-quality images.
Ever wonder why taking selfies in front a bathroom mirror is so popular? It’s not just because the lighting tends to be great: but because you’re using the front back-facing camera!
But you don’t have to take selfies in front of a mirror to take advantage of using the camera on the back of your phone. Just use your time! Set your phone on a flat surface and frame up your shot and guesstimate where you’ll be posing. If you need to, take several pictures to make sure you get the best result using this method.
Try filters
Play with filters available on your phone or an app. One of the best filters for portraits specifically is the “portrait mode,” which will soften the focus of the background of the focus to put the emphasis on you!
You can also play with other settings to adjust the brightness, contrast, saturation, and black point to ensure that your pics pop as much as possible.
Be careful not to overdo it with the filters and effects, though. People can usually tell when a photo has been doctored up, and the more changes you make, the more obvious it will be. Keep your edits minimal.
Practice, practice, practice
One of the best ways to get better at taking selfies is to practice. Practice taking selfies by doing some photo shoots alone that are JUST for you.
You’ll get a sense of what makes you look good and feel more natural in front of the camera when you don’t feel pressured to share pictures with others or embarrassed that others are watching.
And make sure you get your practice in before you go to any important events or you take that special vacation. That way, you don’t miss any once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunities.
Be you!
The most important part of taking an amazing selfie is to be you! Nothing is more attractive than self-confidence, so never be afraid to be yourself.
Ready to take some great selfies now that you’ve read our tips? Smile and get ready to make magic in front of the camera, you got this! And for more tips and tricks to create and capture magic all year long, hit the subscribe button below.
