The Art of the Selfie

Unless you’ve spent the last decade in a particularly deep coma, you’re familiar with selfies. They populate your social media pages, exhaust your cellphone’s data allowance, and are taken everywhere you can imagine: in cars, at museums, in lines, and famously, at the 2014 Oscars.

But they’re mostly pretty boring.

The average selfie you see countless times a day is just a person standing there. Maybe she’s making a face, or he’s enhanced with a fancy filter, but there’s usually nothing special about the shot. If the people behind the cameras want us to look at these images, shouldn’t they make them more interesting?

The good news is you can help. Here are some ways to “level up” your cell phone self-portraits.

Mind Your Angles
You probably know which is your “good side”: so keep that in mind when you take your photo. Shoot from slightly above to slim your face. And angle your body away from the camera instead of straight towards it. You’ll look thinner without having to skip dessert.

Use Good Light

The flash on your cell phone camera can wash you out. So whenever possible, use natural light.  Stand near a window or go outside. A beautifully lit photo will stand out in a sea of overly bright or way-too-dark shots.

Think of the Whole Picture

No one wants to see your dirty laundry, or the trash you should have taken out last week. Stage your selfie against a beautiful background. Find a funky mural or a picturesque park, so the entire photo is something your audience will love looking at.

Display It

You might take a ton of selfies to get a great one. But that doesn’t mean you should post them all. No one wants to scroll through 17 images of you in the exact same pose. So choose the photos with the best composition, lighting, and visual interest.

And while you’re at it, think beyond Facebook and Instagram. Pair your perfect selfie with a great frame so it can be a focal point in your home or office. American Frame makes it easy to print and custom-frame your photo to elevate it from ordinary to artistic.