Guide: how to take a beautiful selfie on a smartphone | Lesson | Photo, video, optics, Phones

Selfies have become an integral part of our lives. Every day, 1 million of these photos appear on social networks. Every 10 women have at least 150 «selfies». And as many as 200 photos a day were taken by a British teenager who developed an addiction to a smartphone.

This is already a separate direction in photography, and we need to put up with it — it will be with us for a long time. But how to take a selfie on an iPhone or any other phone? Now we will tell you a few secrets and share interesting ideas.

How to take a photo of yourself? Enough good phone and a little imagination. Photo: newsroom.mastercard.com

How to take the perfect selfie camera

How to take a great bottom selfie

Photo accessories

How to take a beautiful selfie at home

Selfie equipment

How to take the perfect selfie camera

— Always wipe your smartphone first. The chamber must be clean. You can use a microfiber cloth for this.

— The light must be right. Selfies are not taken under an ordinary lamp in a room, in a dark room, against the bright sun. Good light in the shade (on the street), by the window in the room. To create the right lighting, you can use a ring lamp.

— The camera should be positioned slightly above eye level. If you put it higher, there will be a big head and a small torso. If lower, the eyes will be visually smaller and the jaw larger.

— The head does not need to be tilted up (and then the camera). Otherwise, the face will look distorted.

— 3⁄4 is usually the best angle. Experiment and determine which side of the face is «working» — it looks the most advantageous.

To understand which angle is the best, you need to take 9 different selfies from different angles. Head straight — photo from above, evenly, from below. The head is turned to the left — the photo is above, straight, below. The head is turned to the right — again 3 photos from different points. Illustration: YouTube channel Vi Luong

— The face will be more slenderif the hairstyle is lush and the hair is visible in the frame.

— Layered photos look more interesting. Add hands, glasses, an animal to the frame. Let something stand in front of you or vice versa, behind you. So the photo will no longer be the same type.

— Use a monopod or tripod. So you will not be limited to only one angle, you will be able to move away to the desired distance from the camera.

— Important: the farther the phone’s camera, the better the picture will be. This will get rid of the «fisheye effect», an unnatural distortion of the face that occurs if you hold the phone too close to it.

— If you use a tripod, it is not necessary to shoot from the waist. A selfie is a photograph of oneself, a self-portrait. You can film yourself as a whole or show only part of your body.

— Watch your hands. It is not necessary to squeeze them into fists, to press them strongly to the body or face. This demonstrates insecurity, fear and visually enlarges you in the photo. It is better to show the brush with an edge towards the viewer, so the hands look more elegant. We also have a whole hand posing guide that you should check out.

Do not be afraid to raise your arms, separate them from the body. So the pose will be more relaxed and graceful. Photo: behance.net

— Shoulders do not need to be compressed. It is important to ensure that they are omitted. This is especially important if the person is wearing high-collared clothing. Otherwise, the neck will seem very short, and the torso — shapeless.

— If there is not enough light at the window, you can use a professional reflector or a white cloth, foil, sheet of paper. You need to put it so that the light is reflected on your face.

— Remove debris from the frame. And it’s not just real trash. This concept includes scattered or ugly things, «visual noise» — hundreds of color spots that do not fit together. The background should be either neutral (like a wall) or thoughtful and stylized. For example, a studio with a good design, where all things fit together.

— Plot. A selfie that gets a lot of likes cannot be «empty». You can show: a pet, a new purchased item, an unusual place (and yourself against its background), a non-standard interior, makeup and hair, jewelry or bow, a person you met.

How to take a great bottom selfie

We wrote above that the angle from below is not the best. It really is. But if you want to get a beautiful photo, you can experiment.

In this case, the phone should be tilted as low as possible. For example, at the waist level. Illustration: YouTube channel Thamizh Selvi

If you like the angle from below, you can generally lower the phone to the floor to take an unusual selfie. Illustration: YouTube channel Thamizh Selvi

Photo accessories

You can make the picture more interesting with the help of objects. Any thing can be played. Wear glasses? Take them off, take them in one hand and see what they are in the camera.

An example of how you can make an ordinary selfie more interesting just by picking up an object. In this shot, the girl is holding a red glass cup in front of the camera. Illustration: YouTube channel Sorelle Amore

Accessories can not only be held in your hands, but also glued on yourself. For example, you can take special beads or rhinestones. They are designed for make-up and non-standard makeup. They have an adhesive backing. There is no need to apply anything else to the skin. It is enough to remove the jewelry from the substrate and attach it to the skin.

Beautiful makeup is a great idea to take a selfie. And non-standard accents with the help of beads and rhinestones will make the image memorable. Photo: tr.pinterest.com and avrorra.com

The easiest way to attract attention is with photos that show beautiful makeup or hair. You can stand out from the many similar photos with the help of sequins. With their help, you can hide flaws and place bright accents. Such glitter is usually applied not to glue, but to any wet base. For example, on a fat cream or aloe gel.

Glitter selfie example. Photos: uhd.name and asia.be.com

How to take a beautiful selfie at home

For these photos you need a tripod. With it, you can take not a simple waist-length shot, but a full-length photo. This means that we are not so limited in angles and poses, we can take a comfortable position.

Option 1. You will need a chair. It needs to be placed closer to the window so that natural light falls on you from one side. If it is not enough, additional light can be placed near the smartphone. You need to sit on the first 1⁄3 of the seat. If you sit deeper, the torso will appear short and the bottom heavy.

You can take any position: cross your legs or vice versa, spread them wide. You can lean on the armrest or tilt your torso closer to the viewer. Illustration: YouTube channel Sorelle Amore

Option 2. The next location to shoot is the bed. How to take a beautiful selfie on your phone here? Now we’ll tell you. On the bed you can take a picture:

• lying on the back, stomach, side;
• sitting (photo front or back).

You can hold the camera in your hands, put it in front of the bed or even above it.

Selfie on the bed from one of the highest paid models in the world Gigi Hadid. Photo: idei.club

Option 3. By the window is the most popular location. But not everyone has the perfect background. And he can ruin the photo. What to do in this case? Use a thick curtain. Ideally, it should be monophonic and combined with your clothes. You can simply stand between the curtain and the window and smile at the camera, wave your hand, try to cover your face or body with part of the curtain.

An example of a photo in the curtain by the window. Illustration: YouTube channel Sorelle Amore

Option 4. How to take a beautiful selfie at home? Take a photo on the floor! Optimally — near a window to the floor or a glass door, so that a powerful stream of light from the street completely illuminates the entire figure. But if there is not so much light, it can be replaced with an artificial light source. A smartphone on a tripod must be fixed above your head. The angle of inclination is adjusted depending on what kind of frame you want to get.

Nice selfie on the floor. Illustration: YouTube channel Sorelle Amore

Selfie equipment

For a cool picture, not only a creative idea is important. The quality of the technology used also plays a role. To take a beautiful selfie at home, you need:

• smartphone;
• lighting;
• tripod.

How to choose a smartphone for selfies

It should have a good front camera. Rear (main) in this case is not important.

What is a «good» camera? You need to look at the resolution (from 20 megapixels) and additional features. For example: the presence of optical stabilization, autofocus, artificial intelligence (AI). The more the front camera «can do», the better. The lower number of megapixels is compensated by the AI.

For example, it better adapts to the lighting and selects the desired mode, automatically adjusts the white balance. Due to this, the photo is more clear and high quality.

Good decision:

— cheap options: Xiaomi Mi A3 (front camera 32 MP), Xiaomi POCO X3 Pro 8 (20 MP);

— average budget: Vivo X50 (32 MP), HONOR 50 (32 MP);

— expensive options: Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (40 MP), iPhone 12 PRO MAX (12 MP, but there is artificial intelligence that makes photos clearer, brighter, and colors deeper).

To take a beautiful and high-quality selfie, you need a smartphone with a good front camera. Photo: fakulteti.mk

Lighting

There is not always enough light when shooting indoors. But how do you take a good selfie at home without bright natural light? Using another source. For example, Raylab F002. This is a simple, cheap, desktop LED light. Gives diffused, neutral white light. A more expensive option is a ring lamp. For example, Raylab RL-0112 Kit. It has 10 brightness modes, and the stand extends up to 160 cm.

Tripod selection

Option 1 — monopod or selfie stick. For example, the Bakeey selfie monopod. The structure is simple and foldable. The phone is attached to one edge, the stick is held by the other edge by hand. Control via Bluetooth.

If you do not want to hold anything in your hands, you can choose a tripod. It does not need to be held in hand. It is enough to fix the smartphone and move to the desired distance. For example, a special YUNTENG VCT-1388 selfie tripod is suitable. The kit includes a remote control. This tripod is suitable for both smartphones and phones.

And if you decide to take a selfie not with a smartphone, but with a camera, then pay attention to our selection of monopods. They are lightweight and compact. And with their help, you can take cool photos and videos.

Sets lighting + tripod

There are 2in1 options — a good solution for those who do not want to look for equipment separately. You can choose an option for any budget. For example, the budget kit BlitzWolf BW-SL3. Includes tripod with smartphone mount, ring light and remote control.

And the Raylab Blogger Kit 3 already includes not only a light and a tripod, but also a set of color filters. With their help, you can make selfies special by adding color accents to them. And we told more about colored light in our blog.

We hope that our material will help you take a beautiful selfie at home and conquer the audience on social networks.