This tutorial details five handy tips to take awesome selfies.
Unless you’ve been living as a hermit for quite a long time, you probably know what selfies are. Essentially, a selfie is just a self captured (hence the name) image of a person, taken using a handheld imaging device (a digital camera, a smartphone’s primary or front facing camera etc.). Selfies are all the rage these days, and social media websites of all types are littered with countless such photos of people (and anything and anyone including their friends, parents, pets etc.) being taken and uploaded on a near daily basis. This selfie craze has grown so popular that Oxford dictionary declared it word of the year. And if even that weren’t enough, smartphone manufacturers are now making devices with dedicated “selfie” cameras (essentially just better versions of the front facing cameras). It’s almost absurd how the Internet can make almost anything popular, no matter how ridiculous it may be.
I’m sure almost everyone of you likes taking selfies, apply some random effects to them and post them to any (or all) of the major social networks. So for all of you folks, here’s a list of five tips to make sure that those DIY mug shots of yours turn out awesome. Keep reading to find out more.
How To Take Awesome Selfies?
1. (Try To) Look your Best
Granted, selfies these days are so popular that people take them while doing almost anything (sleeping, being half asleep, using the restroom etc. being just some of them), but it never hurts to check yourself out to see how you’re looking. A selfie is essentially a photo, with you as the subject. So the standard rules of photos apply here as well. Try to get yourself together (sort out your hair, your clothes, and stuff like that), and look your best. After all, a photo is generally as good as its subject, right?
2. Get That Mirror Out Of The Way/Proper Lighting
Out of all the selfies that are posted on a daily basis on major social networks, an exceedingly large number include people standing in front of a restroom mirror with their smartphone in their hand(s), and taking pictures. More often than not, this results in the camera flash (restrooms don’t exactly offer the most ambient lighting for photography) being reflected off the mirror, resulting in all sorts of weird selfies. So make sure to take a selfie in a well lit environment. Apart from that, try not to use the mirror to compose your photo. Instead, practice a bit with your phone’s rear camera facing you. It will take a while, but it’ll be worth it.
3. Watch Out For Photobomb(ers)
Ideally, the word selfie itself means that the photo should consist of only “self”, i.e. you. However, most of the times, this isn’t the case. People don’t realize that there are all sorts of weird living and non-living objects hanging around behind them (especially in public places like parks, beaches etc.). This can include anyone and anything from old clothes, stuffed (and real) animals to beer bottles (and hence, passed out buddies). So make sure there are no photobomb(ers) in the background, as that certainly can’t be good for that perfect selfie that you’re going to share with everyone out there. If they do make their way to your otherwise fantastic selfie, use this fantastic guide by Viveka to remove objects from photos (works on living breathing things too).
4. Find That Perfect Angle
Almost all selfies include people holding their smartphones in one (or both) of their completely outstretched hands, making all kinds of faces. When every single selfie of yours is different from the other, why should the way it’s taken be the same. Try experimenting with different camera angles (e.g. hold your imaging device over your head, or maybe below your shoulder level) to find out the one that works best for you. After all, you never know which random pose might click (pun intended) with the social media crowd. And you can actually take selfie by putting the phone a bit away as well.. the awesome Whistle Camera app comes handy for that.
5. Good Optics/Image Post Processing
No matter how frakkin’ awesome an image’s subject (which is you, in this case) looks and how incredible the backdrop is, you just can’t get a good picture if you don’t use a good quality camera. Although there are now smartphones that come touting dedicated “selfie” cameras with XX megapixels resolutions, most of the people just use the average low quality VGA cameras, which results in grainy images. To get this problem sorted out, you can either get a device with one of the better front facing cameras, or use the normally more capable rear (primary) shooter of your phone.
Finally, after you click that perfect selfie, take a while to check it out. If you think that some aspects of your photo (brightness, contrast etc.) can be adjusted to make it look better, by all means do it. After all, a little bit of post processing never hurts (use Instagram and Instagram like apps for that). And the fact that most smartphones (and even digital cameras) these days come pre-equipped with basic to extremely complex image editing capabilities, makes touching-up your photos even easier. And if your smartphone doesn’t have that capability, you can always find one of the many editing apps to get the job done, no matter which smartphone OS platform you’re using.
Conclusion
The Internet, can turn almost anything and everything into an overnight sensation. The “selfie” mania has taken over the (social) world by storm ever since it started, and is still as popular as it gets. And I’m sure since almost everyone of you loves to take selfies these days and post it over to social networks, these tips would surely help you out getting that perfect shot. So go ahead, give these tips a try, and let me know your thoughts (or better yet, take a selfie and include a link to it!) in the comments below.
Image Courtesy: Austin Kirk via Flickr
