The Marriage of Technology and Technique
When you get a good selfie, you might find yourself using that image for varying purposes a long time after you took it. We all have our favorite pictures, and we tend to circulate them around.
The more skilled you are in both capturing and tweaking photos, the more you’ll want to use them. Beyond use, there are the associated advantages for your social media account to consider.
Here’s the thing: if you’ve got the best technology in the world, but you take pictures of subject matter that isn’t very interesting, the tech won’t matter. Likewise, if you take the best pictures, but can’t use technology to share them, no one will know. The perfect selfie is borne of the alliance between technique and technology. You need both for the best outcomes.
With these things in mind, following we’ll briefly explore five tips to help you take the best selfies in 2022.
1. The Rule of Thirds
The way you organize a photo’s subject matter should incorporate the rule of thirds. This can apply to selfies, too (see tip number 3); though it’s generally a tip for photographers. Basically, try to center your face in the middle third of the picture. You don’t have to do this, but if there isn’t enough space around you, the selfie can seem too “close”.
A distant selfie is hardly a selfie, by contrast. The idea is to have a balanced picture that helps others see what prompted you to take the picture in the first place.
2. Lighting is Better From the Top
Now you can control the lighting of your selfie when you take it by finding a well-lit area, but there are also software tools you can explore to simulate lighting digitally. Sometimes you’ll want that sort of option for selfies that look good, but for whatever reason didn’t capture the right light
When digitally exploring this option, find options that simulate top-down lighting. When you can control lighting, get it from the top. Lighting from the bottom is ghoulish and makes shadows change the way a face appears to the viewer.
3. Tweaking That Smile to Perfection
To edit a smile in a photo, there are some amazing apps you might want to explore. Essentially, these use software tools to subtly change aspects of a face until it looks just as you intend.Today it’s possible to digitally simulate people so effectively, real humans have trouble telling the difference between fake selfies and real ones. That sort of tech is at your fingertips.
4. Filters for Clarity or Artistic Expression
Software filters can reverse the color palette, making your selfie look like it came from the dark side of the moon. You can also make a picture look as though it were captured at the height of some fantasy era right out of a Tolkien novel.
Beyond artistic expression, filters exist to change lighting and color saturation, allowing you to choose the best option. After you get a good selfie, use filter software to make sure it’s just how you want it to be.
5. Take as Many Pictures as Convenient
Obviously, you can’t spend your whole day taking selfies; not unless you’re a Kardashian or something. All jokes aside, you do want to have a lot of selfies to choose from. Take dozens from multiple angles; top, down, head-on, left, right; you get the idea. Use the rule of thirds, then ignore it
When you’ve got dozens of pictures, you can more effectively determine which is best to edit further. A sculptor looks at a block of stone and sees a statue inside which he helps free from the stone. Well, your selfies already have the outlines of a fine picture in their visual DNA, if you will. With a “block” of pictures, you can “hew out” the best possible selfie.
A Selfie You’ll Share for Years to Come
Take a lot of pictures, use filters as convenient for clarity or artistic expression, tweak your smile if you need to, apply proper lighting, and make use of the rule of thirds. Such steps will help you take the perfect selfie in 2022; one you’ll cherish years after the fact.
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