Today, I am going to tell you 15 tips to take great selfies at home. During quarantine, you have probably already taken a lot of pictures in an embrace with your favorite camera phone. It’s time to diversify the usual poses and scenery for selfies. I consulted experienced photographers and wrote down their recommendations to guarantee home photography to be interesting.
15 Simple Tips to Take Great Selfies at Home
1. Use the Space of The Apartment
When we take selfies, we often shoot ourselves at arm’s length and end up with hundreds of identical images. Try to move further away from the phone – this will allow diversifying the photos.
I try to use both interior details and the space of the apartment, which often turns the frame into a more cinematic one.
2. Don’t Try to Improve Yourself
When we look at our image in the camera, we often automatically (like in front of a mirror) try to improve ourselves: by raising our chin and eyebrows, stretching our lips, making an expressive look, turning the working side. But, by controlling the result, we get a lot of the same type of pictures that do not characterize us.
Try not to create a decisive moment, but to catch it – for example, arrange a series of shootings, during which you will move, talk to someone, and generally do household chores.
3. Get into Bathtub with Your Clothes
Shooting during quarantine is an opportunity to see a well-known space in a new way. Try to look at your apartment not from the point of view of the usual functionality but a new angle.
You can get into the bathtub while wearing your clothes, climb onto the dresser, hide in the wardrobe, or step into the bridge on the kitchen table.
4. Change Clothes
When it comes to portraits, I try to shoot people in monochromatic things without prints, inscriptions, and decorative elements that can easily attract the viewer’s attention. But if you want to come up with an image for yourself, then carefully selected clothing is a must.
Although, ultimately, the most important thing is that you like yourself: it doesn’t matter whether you choose a T-shirt with pajama pants or a pink fur coat and boots.
5. Add Details to The Frame
When detail appears in the lens, the image becomes more precise and expressive. I recently filmed a gorgeous red-haired girl out of sorts during the entire shoot, so when I saw a stand with kitchen knives behind her and jokingly asked if she wanted to take a photo with them, she happily agreed.
I suggest you choose some object you like – a designer lamp, an unusual souvenir, an old suitcase, a scooter, a fancy vase – and think under what conditions these objects could appear in the frame.
6. Change Poses
Poses can be completely different – it all depends on your personality. If you are pliable or even flexible, you shouldn’t miss out on the possibilities of your body: standing on the bridge, you will find a great crop of curves. If this is not close to you, do not come up with anything superfluous and be yourself, natural poses look no less beautiful.
You may also like to read: Ultimate Photo Posing Guide: Why Posing is the Only Skill You Need for Best Photos?
7. Choose A Background
I don’t like clutter, so I prefer a laconic background. Large plants, plain walls, vintage wallpapers look good on it.
8. Rearrange the Mirror
A selfie in the mirror is a commonplace thing, but you can add aesthetics. Order a beautiful mirror and move it around the apartment – look for interesting light, sit on the floor, stand in your favorite outfit or underwear.
Do not forget about the fingers holding the iPhone: try not to look pinched; relax your hand.
9. Reduce Exposure
Shoot during the day. Be sure to focus and lower the exposure slightly so that the picture comes out with soft natural light and less contrast, then the texture of skin and clothes will be readable. It makes the images almost tangible, which means it brings them closer to the viewer.
10. Shoot Close-Ups
Experiment with the size of the frame, try different compositions and take huge photos of body parts.
11. Find An Interesting Shadow
What is photography? It is a light painting. From this, the first idea is born – to find an interesting light. Blinds, palm trees, colander – all these can provide amazing shadows.
To capture the most significant contrast, it is worth taking pictures in the midday sun. And don’t be afraid to experiment with tools and textures.
12. Show Only One Body Part
It would seem that selfies in the mirror have become mainstream for a long time, but they still collect a ton of likes and saves. The mirror can be used outside the box and show only parts of your body: lips, collarbones, moles. It will turn out to be very atmospheric.
The mirrored surface can be made more textured by staining it with cream or detergent.
13. Buy A White Sheet
There is nothing more versatile for creating a series of beautiful and sensual images than white bedding. You can work wonders with one white sheet.
14. Apply A Mask to Your Face
In quarantine, we have a lot of time to take care of our skin. Cosmetic brands have long ceased to produce just healthy products; they offer glittering eye patches and face masks with prints – all so that it would be pleasant for you and me to show them on social networks.
Don’t neglect marketing tricks – use them in your photoshoot.
15. Smile
An essential thing in people is emotions, the most exciting photos are emotional. Don’t be afraid to smile, even a little idiotically.
