Ever since the Oxford English Dictionary has chosen the word ‘selfie’ as the ‘Word of the Year’ in 2013, everybody seemed to have a mild obsession over the use of the word. And as the years pass by, the craze has extended more on how to take one perfectly. It has also become much easier to take as many photos because of the rise of smartphones.
Now there’s no need to worry about the extra photos taking up much space on your phone’s memory if you know how to take them perfectly on the first few tries. This is a simple guide on how to do that:
Find the Perfect Lighting
The first essential step in taking photos of whatever begins with finding the perfect light. You would be surprised as to how much the perfect lighting changes the selfie-game or even any picture-taking game.
Natural light is also highly recommended, not only because sunlight is healthy, but it is less complicated looking for it when you have it as your guide right beside windows. Ring lights could also be used as an alternative, but it’s for desperate times only, like when the sun has come down, or you’re photos are taken at dark places.
Know Your Angle
Another important thing to know when taking photos or selfies is to know your angle. This works especially when you’re taking photos of yourself. You know your face better than anyone so knowing which sides of your face look the best on camera wouldn’t take much time. But knowing your angle doesn’t only mean knowing your face’s angles, it could also be for taking pictures of beautiful surroundings! It is advisable to take wide shots of beautiful scenery while also being mindful of the angle while you take the picture.
When also taking wide shots, the most recommended rule to follow is called the ‘rule of thirds.’ Dividing the images horizontally and vertically into three sections allow you to place your subjects strategically and easily to the angle you want. The lines may be imaginary, but some cameras (even on smartphones) have these feature so you wouldn’t have to worry!
Let Other People Take it for you
As much as you want to be in control of what your pictures might look like, the perfect images still look great when other people take it for you. For instance, your graduation portrait looks dashing since a professional photographer took it, or your family portrait taken by your family photographer looks nice since everyone’s smiles look realistic and believable. These professionally-taken pictures are what we hang up on our walls at the end of the day, and all the digital ones remain as eye-candy for people who wish to get to know you but limited only to what you allow them to see online. These photos on our walls somehow have deeper and personal meanings attached to us.
Use Flash only when Outdoors
The natural light outdoors could be harsh, creating unwanted shadows. Therefore your subject could be darker than the rest of the outdoor surroundings in the pictures. You may use your camera’s flash to help eliminate these shadows and brighten your subject and skip one step in the filtering area for the finish.
Taking photos has become a habit for most people. If you follow these steps, you may already have aesthetically-pleasing photos stocked on your Instagram and gain all those likes!
