TIPS & TRICKS FOR THE PERFECT SELFIE + EDITING SECRETS - INSTAGRAM SERIES #5

Girls and women nowadays are always wondering how to take the perfect selfie, aren't they? With good reason! I think it's important to have some good pictures of yourself but it's definitely easier said than done to take a great selfie. Continue reading to find out my personal tips and tricks for the perfect selfie ⟶

HOW TO TAKE THE PERFECT SELFIE?

1. GOOD LIGHTNING ➡ You probably have heard about this already but it's definitely the most important thing when it comes to taking selfies. Good lightning is the key to a great selfie! Always take your selfies in front of the window (facing towards the window) when it's still light and sunny outside. Don't ever stand with your back to the window, as the light is going to be terrible then. Try it out! You'll see the difference.

2. PLAIN BACKGROUND ➡ I used to always take my selfies in front of my window without any background, so you could always see all the mess behind. There's one simple trick I always do while taking selfies: Using the curtains as a background. Simply put them behind your back and you're ready to shoot! The selfie is going to appear much clearer and the focus is on your face, instead on some things in the background.

3. ACCESSORIES ➡ Especially if you're not much of a make-up fan, selfies can look quite boring sometimes. So always try to choose some fun accessories like statement earrings, a nice choker or a pair of sunglasses.

4. KEEP AN EYE ON DETAILS ➡ This step is even more important ever since Instagram invented the zoom. You don't want anyone to zoom in your selfie and discover something they don't really want to see like scruffy nails, leftover food between your teeth or a big red pimple. So always make sure your nails are nicely manicured (only if you're planning to do the t-rex hands for the selfie), teeth a brushed and any pimples are covered.

5. USE THE FRONT CAMERA ➡ I know that some people hate front cameras because of the quality but honestly, the iPhone5/5s/6/6s/7 front camera is really good in my opinion, so I always recommend going for this variant. It's much easier for you to see how you look and if your whole face is in the screen etc.

6. KNOW YOUR ANGLES ➡ Definitely know your angles when taking selfies and use this knowledge to the positive like keeping your head more to the right side or taking the chin a bit more up or down. Just these little things you'll find out when taking some picture with your front camera in different poses.

MY SELFIE EDITING SECRETS

The picture on the left is completely unedited!

1. GET RID OF SPOTS, FLIES OR BRUISES ➡ Now, since we don't want to over edit our selfies it's important to look at the small things. As you can see on the before picture, there was randomly sitting a fly or something behind me on the curtain, so I got rid of it with the patch tool in FaceTune. Super easy but makes a huge difference (especially if you're a perfectionist like I am!).

2. SMOOTH OUT YOUR SKIN ➡ Getting rid of any wrinkles and small imperfection can be perfectly achieved with the smoothing tool in FaceTune. It gives your skin an flawless finish without looking too fake and makes your selfies look more professional.

3. WHITEN YOUR TEETH ➡ Also in the FaceTune App there's this whitening tool which is perfect to whiten your teeth a little bit and make them pop. You can also use the whitening tool over any other white spots. For example: I whitened the curtains in the background a little bit since they appeared a bit grey-ish.

4. COLOR CORRECT ➡ If you chose some mirrored sunglasses for your selfie like I did in the one above, it can stupidly look something like this⬆︎ on the left side. The reflection is just not that great on the picture. You can easily correct that with the ''tones'' tool in FaceTune. And voila! Both sides are the same color and reflection.

5. EXPOSE, CONTRAST, HIGHLIGHTS & SHADOWS ➡ As you can see on the left unedited picture, the light is not really that great. I love to use Afterlight to make the whole picture more bright, change the contrast and give it some highlights and shadows.

You might be interested in the 'How To  Edit Your Instagram Pictures Like A Pro' Article!

xo.