by Zara Mohammed, Entertainment Columnist
Published in Entertainment on 9th April, 2019
If you've got an Instagram account and you want to increase your followers and popularity but don't know how, I have some great tips to take your self-portrait photography to the next level so that you can grab people's attention and get your message or story out there.
Keep reading to find out how to take amazing selfies for your Instagram feed.
Obviously you know what a selfie is, and if you don't, which rock have you been hiding under?
Let's take a look at the literal definition and try to figure out what Selfies are really all about. I always think it's important to consider why you want to do something before you actually go about doing it, so let's think about why taking a great selfie for your Instagram feed is important to you.
According to English Living Oxford Dictionaries (which was the first result that showed up in my Google search), a Selfie is:
A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and shared via social media. Occasional selfies are acceptable, but posting a new picture of yourself every day isn't necessary.
I have no idea whose little quote that is on the end of the definition, as it doesn't specify, but I think it totally ruins the simplicity of the initial basic definition, which has annoyed me.
Judgement simply isn't necessary when all we want from a dictionary is the literal factual meaning of a word so that we can understand and interpret the use of it for ourselves, am I right?
Let me re-write this definition for the benefit of all if the selfie and social media addicts reading this article:
A Selfie is a personal representation of identity taken and presented in the form of a photograph which is often posted on social media.
That's better. Far more empowering, don't you think? You can quote me on that if you like.
I know an older woman who started posting a selfie every single day in order to develop her self esteem and a more positive image of herself as a beautiful and independent woman after being in a abusive relationship for years.
She went from not recognising herself, to knowing exactly who she is and what she stands for. A simple selfie can indeed be a powerful thing, and I think that taking one every day is absolutely fine. You do what you gotta do.
Okay, let's move onto how we can achieve amazing selfies.
The first thing you need to know before you can start taking the best Selfies, is how to take a decent picture of yourself.
Get to know your camera, and consider the camera settings or modes and the available light before you start snapping away. Smartphone cameras are pretty intuitive and have some great features to help you create the best pictures, so take advantage of them!
Wherever possible go for natural light. If you aren't able to shoot outside at least try to stand by a window. Alternatively you can experiment with different kinds of light to see the different effects light can have on the ambience of your photographs. Play around with lamps that you can point in different directions.
There are some easy technical tutorials on Youtube that can help you to understand how you can use light to make your photographs look better. Candlelight can also create some fun, moody selfies.
If you are feeling extra experimental you can even play with the patterns created by casting shadows over your body or the background with objects. Large plant leaves for example are perfect for creating artistic selfies when you use them to interrupt the light shining on you from a lamp.
You can also play around with angles. Make yourself look slimmer, taller, sad, powerful and much more, simply by changing the angle of your camera.
Pro Tip: Plan and set up your scene first, and then place your camera on a timer and put yourself into the shot.
Once you have mastered how to take decent, flattering, and attractive photographs of yourself in your environment, you can then move onto increasing the creativity of your selfies. In order to do this you have to think about the intention of your desired image.
The intention is essentially the story of your picture. What do you want your selfie to say? How do you want your audience to feel when they look at it? When you are able to provoke emotions with your photography, suddenly your selfies will step up to the next level, because they are not just snaps of your pretty face anymore.
Now they convey meaning and they give people something to relate to. You are now creating art.
Before you snap another Selfie, have a think about what kind of picture you want to create. Here are some ideas:
Selfies are a powerful tool not only to increase your self esteem, meet people online and grow your followers, but also to evoke emotion and tell powerful stories. So now that you have learnt the basic skills of how to take amazing selfies for your Instagram feed, how are you going to use your new superpower?