Why can no one take a decent “selfie” of me?

Definition: “A selfie is a photo of oneself take by oneself.

In this article, we shall expand the word “selfie” (in quotes) to also include casual photos of oneself not necessarily taken by oneself using a phone camera.

Let us go ahead and exclude professional photographers the caliber of @Truthslinger and @WhiteAfrican from this definition

Now I love photos. Offer me photos of myself when I’m looking halfway decent and we have a deal.
And I love taking photos. I am the one forever taking “selfies” of my friends and they go “niiiice”, then when it’s my turn we do 1 blurry, 1 dark, 1 where I am too far and 1 just plain weird before I give up and take an actual selfie!

So for public service purposes, here are some tips.

Fundamentals of taking a good photo

Composition

Take a photo of something, not of everything. Let’s say you are at a friend’s wedding. Do not try to document everyone who attended in one photo! Not only will you not succeed, this will  also not make for a good photo. Focus on specific things, each photo  should tell a story.

 

Rule of thirds

Not everything has to be smack in the middle of  your photo. For awesome photos, employ the rule of thirds. This is where you divide your photo into 3 and place your subject into either the left 1/3 or the right 1/3 of your screen.

 

Focus!

Here is the sequence. Aim – focus – shoot. That sequence does not change and is not interchangeable.
It’s amazing how many people do not focus before pressing the shutter. When you aim at your subject, the most phone cameras nowadays will start to focus. Let it! Typically it will be shown by square brackets or a square that will turn green once it has achieved focus. At this point, shoot! After you have shot, hold the phone still for at least 3 seconds (or until you see the photo in the gallery preview) and say goodbye to blurry photos forever ☺

To flash or not to flash (lighting is key)

Most of us acknowledge a Higher Power, who is responsible for nature. The Greatest Artist so to say. It then follows that when you do take a good photo, it should look natural. I’m all for taking out the spots and zits and making faces all sophisticated. But it should look like you.

If your are taking a mirror shot, or a glass shot, turn off your flash (see below)

 

The photo should be bright, and of good quality when you take it. I never fail to be amazed at people who bring dark, grainy, or blurred photos and ask me to Photoshop it and make it all better. Here’s a newsflash,  (pun intended) the photo needs to be good quality (read high resolution. We are professionals, not miracle workers 😉

Now thee forth and take decent selfies.

-her royal geekyness-