Ok, maybe you think selfies are silly, or maybe you don’t. Whatever your opinion, you need to start learning how to take them. It’s not as simple as picking up phone, point at a face and click, then post the pic somewhere. 99% of the time you will look terrible unless you already have an eye for images. People these days, especially on social media, judge you by your pictures, as that is really all they get to see of you. You might spend all that money getting a great haircut, and wear the right clothes, but if you can’t show that in a picture? You might as well not even bother. Women will judge you faster (and worse) than you would believe. If you just learn a few simple rules and make a little bit of effort, it will make a world of difference.
Only you
Feel free to take group pictures, and pictures with family and friends, or even your girlfriend, but a selfie is just you and nobody else. Make sure you are the focal point in the image. You are selling you, so make sure that you are the main image.
Lighting
This is one of the hardest things to learn, but once you learn it, it’s simple and will reap dividends. Try not to use backlighting, unless you are going for some artsy look. If you are really going to work it, you should use the same lighting that the professionals use. The easiest is 3 lights, one on the left, very bright, one on the right not quite as bright, and one above your head. This has been used for years to give the most flattering look to your face. When in doubt, go brighter. If you are outside, make sure you are facing the sun, and it is not too much over your head or you will get a lot of shadows on your face that are generally not flattering. If you have to squint to see because the sun is in your eyes? You are in the right place.
Something interesting
It’s always a good idea to add something interesting in the background of the picture, as long as you don’t make it the focal point. It is fine to take pictures of wherever you are but we are talking a selfie here to promote how great and handsome you are. So, whatever is there, make sure you are the focus. The items in the background are just to add interest and let you take a lot of different picturess without them all looking the same.
Far or close
It’s fine to take a shot where you have more of your body in the image, assuming your body is something you want to show off. Our suggestion is to do both close and far, you want people interested in you and not to get bored. Change it up, change angles of the pictures and make it all interesting.
Love the camera
You hear it in all the model shoots, “love the camera”. What that means is really love the camera, look at it like it’s the love of your life. Imagine someone you love or loved, and pretend the camera is that person. Your natural smile will come out. Most people cannot fake a smile well, and then they can, it’s usually the same smile every time like a clone. Go for some real feelings, laugh, smile, imagine.
Posture
Most of us don’t have the best posture, but, if you are taking a selfie, you can fake it for a few moments. Stand up tall, shoulders back. Imagine you are superman. Another good trick is to push your head forward toward the camera. This may feel funny, and look funny from the side, but to the camera, it will come across as flattering giving you a better line to your neck.
Have fun
Play with making the selfie, eventually, you will get over any self-conscious feelings you have. Laugh, sing, dance, hold a can of soup over your head. It doesn’t really matter. Have fun, and it will come across in the pic.
Take a hell of a lot more pictures than you think
Don’t just take one selfie, take more than you think you need. Look through them all and you will see some that you like better than others. Professional models literally get hundreds of pictures taken in a session just to find one that is usable. Learn to do the same.
Get a second opinion
You might hate some pictures, and love others, but, you see your face a lot and have pre-conceived notions of what looks good and what doesn’t. We used to post pics on Hot-or-not back in the day to see what people would pick. It was quite surprising, the ones we thought looked awesome got a score of 4, and ones we hated got up in the 8 zone. It shows you are not always the best judge. So if you are trying to look good for the ladies? Ask some ladies you know to help pick some pictures for you. After a while, you will get the idea by what they pick.
Cheating
When in doubt you can always cheat and use a filter? We never like to do this, as it makes too many changes. A light filter might be ok to help smooth some skin tomes and such, but people over filter too much. I am sure you have seen some girls that look like Hollywood models, amazing, in their pics, but then in a few of the family or group shots, they look totally different and nowhere near that model you saw before. Most filters are designed for the female as well, so unless you want to look good with eyeshadow and lipstick, you might have a hard time finding the right one anyway. You can use them but we don’t suggest it.
A selfie is your reputation online. If you look good, confident and happy (and real) people will want to know you more. It is a sad thing in this world, but being attractive and confident is important. I know everyone says just be happy with who you are, and we agree, but, we also think that you should build what you have and use it to the best way you can. A great selfie is a start.