Snapboost advice on Selfie

How to Take a Popular Selfie 

Only five years ago, “selfie” was just a cute way of calling someone selfish, and taking a photo of yourself with a camera was seen as ridiculous. The obvious question arising: don’t you have anyone to take that photo of you? However, thanks to the Kardashians, Facebook and forward-facing phone cameras, this has changed. 

Whether it’s sunny outside or you feel like you have #makeuponpoint, taking selfies has become an essential part of daily life. Studies show that we take approximately 1 million selfies a day. With that many of our “self portraits”, or “egoportraits” as the Canadians call them, it is no surprise that taking a good one has become an art in itself. Best selfie takers enjoy more attention on social media and are able to build their personal brand faster and with greater success. 

Here are some of our tips on how to take the best selfie possible: 

1) Pay attention to your lighting and location. It can affect the whole look of the photo. If you stand in natural light, your facial expressions will appear clearer and the light will eliminate your best features the way a reflector would. Make sure you’re not standing against the light as that will result in dimmer photos. If you want to make your photo stand out, consider which background you are using. Make it something worth mentioning.  

2) Make sure you take the photo with the best quality camera on your phone, which will probably be the back camera. Remember not to take a photo from a mirror, unless it is a full body selfie. For easy of use, press the top volume button to take a picture instead of the actual camera button. 

3) Consider who will be in the photo. If you want it to get more attention, get more people in it and they will share it to their social groups increasing your exposure and, therefor, the number of likes. However, watch out for photo bombers and make sure you know who and what is in the background to avoid embarrassing selfie fails. 

4) A recent selfie by Ellen Degeneres at the Oscars was the most reposted selfie in the world with over 3 million shares. But that was until Carter Wilkerson, a 16-year-old high school student from Nevada in the US, took a selfie of himself eating a chicken nugget. He managed to get the photo retweeted 3.5 million times in a bid to persuade Wendy’s, the fast-food chain, to supply him with a year’s worth of their famous chicken nuggets. As with all self-promotion, leveraging the social media reach of a popular brand will surely get your selfie noticed, whoever you are.  

5) Finding your best angle is key to a good selfie. Kim Kardashian, the undisputed selfie Queen (has anyone read her 445-page book, Selfish, consisting entirely of selfies?) says that she owes her selfie-success to keeping her chin down and holding the camera higher than face level when taking a photo. If you haven’t found your angle yet, take photos with a few different poses and see what works best. You can also try model Tyra Banks’s “smize” method. That’s “smiling with your eyes” for the uninitiated. Try not to pout as that’s a giveaway sign of you feeling uncomfortable. 

6) If you are a man taking a selfie, definitely avoid the pout. Go for a squint or look serious. If you’re smiling, make sure it’s in the context of a happy or special event. If you don’t want to show off your abs, try the Blue Steel pose from Zoolander.