How To Take An Amazing Selfie.

Lets face it - selfies are endless fun, and living in the social media age

we are all doing them.

 In case you have been living under a rock or on a desert island for the past few years, and don't know what I'm talking about,  a selfie is a picture of you, taken by you.

Even Presidents and Prime Ministers take selfies!

Selfies can be a very crafty marketing tool or a screaming need for approval. And they are madly narcissistic - rather than a visual communication with friends, they invariably are about getting "likes" on Instagram or "thumbs ups" on facebook from people you don't even know.

I was just reading that your selfie to other stuff ratio should be 1:8, beyond that, you are considered a narcissist.

Uh oh...

One article I read said with regard to etiquette and taking selfies:

Essentially, ask yourself, "What would Kim Kardashian do?" Then do the opposite.

I'm still laughing over that one!

If you scroll through Instagram, or go to the #selfie hashtag, or twitter's #selfiesaturday hashtag,

you'll see that some people always look fantastic in their selfies, while others, um .. don't. 

So here are 10 tips to help you look totally amazing in your selfies.

Miley Cyrus selfie

1. Check yourself first.

Easy enough to do, as you already have your camera in hand. Give your makeup a quick once over to make sure there's nothing drastically wrong going on, but more importantly look at your hair.

In pictures hair often reads flat, especially dark hair. Light has a hard time moving through it, which can make your glossy, fabulous locks look like a helmet. A quick fluffing up of your hair, giving it a little volume can make all the difference.

Also check out whats behind you - the background is often far more interesting than the selfie. Where are you, what are you doing, and why? - that's what makes a picture interesting.

2. Lighting

Lighting is everything in pictures. You can look sensational in person, but photographing yourself in the wrong light can leave you looking washed out and bland, and can intensify every bad feature you ever had.

Selfie with Kelly Cappelli

Conversely, you can be looking like the devil, but by angling yourself into a good light, you can make yourself look fabulous.

Ideally natural light is the most friendly, fluorescent light is generally the enemy.

Angle yourself to the light, without having bright or intense light directly on your face. If the light source is behind you your complexion will look darker, and the shadows you want to hide, such as under your eyes, will be intensified. 

3. Take Your Phone Cover Off.

Although your phone cover has a hole for the lens, it catches the camera focus in the periphery, making the image less clear, and often a little blurry. You will get much sharper clarity without it.

(I got my phone cover in Paris. Its incredibly fabulous, but has become somewhat attached to my phone. Taking it off would break it, so what the hell - I'll settle for blurry pics!)

4. Angle Your Body

When your body is square to the camera, everything looks wider. Angling your body can hide the bits you don't want the world to see, and is much more flattering. 

5. Know Your Arms.

Men typically want their arms to look bigger and more buffed out, so keeping the arm against the body, or crossing the arms and pressing the hands up under the biceps can be key in making them look bulkier.

Girls, on the other hand, need their arms and torsos to look leaner, so keeping the arm slightly away from the body lets light create separation between the two, making you look slimmer and less bulky.

6.Flip The Camera

If you have a phone that allows you to flip the camera, do it, so that you can see yourself and what you're doing, rather than guessing.

Nicole Ritchie and Khloe Kardashian taking a selfie

7. Hold The Camera High

The lower the camera, the wider you look. Hold the camera slightly above eye level, so that you have to look up into it, and angle your head to about 45 degrees. This slims your face (and body), clears out your under eye area, and chisels your jawline.

 Take a look at model's selfies - they have this move down!

Taking a picture from outer space can really trim you down after a summer of eating your way through Italy

Selfie with fashion photographer Kelly Cappelli. I swear she took 20 lbs off me by holding the camera high high high.

8. The Pose.

Unless you are a Kardashian, don't try to pose like one. The dead gaze and the puckered lips look mad on most people. You're better off being yourself and keeping it (at least a little bit) fun and interesting.

Kim Kardashian selfie

Kim Kardashian selfie

Kim Kardashian selfie

Kim Kardashian selfie

Researching this was a scream. Kim Kardashian is the undisputed queen of selfies. But do you see how flat and boring it becomes if you are just doing the same thing over and over? It doesn't look like anything interesting is happening, Her expression and pose just look indulgently bored.

Don't do a duckface either. Its doesn't look sexy or moody, it just looks stupid. Unless, of course, you are Derek Zoolander.

9. Imagine Something Naughty

Don't just stare down the camera.

Before you take the shot, imagine something fun or even better, something really naughty! This will immediately make your eyes smile, and captures your face in a really beautiful way.

10.Use A Filter.

Before you post your selfie, run it through a filter or two. You can download endless apps with fabulous filters, or, if you are using Instagram filters, the black and white Inkwell and Willow can both take you from looking crap-tastick to fantastic, and can be great when you haven't had enough sleep or just look worn out.

Rise gives great skin tone, Mayfair can really lighten and brighten, and then there's the gold standard XProII which givess a slightly candlelit effect while sharpening bone structure, lips and eyes.

Ultimately, try to keep it interesting

Rihanna red lip selfie

and keep your pants on. Don't blame the tequila....


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