Perhaps I’m not the ideal blogger to write about the art of the selfie. I’m not a big influencer on social media.

Tips And Tricks – Art of the Selfie

Perhaps you’ve seen the music video, #SELFIE by The Chainsmokers.

There is nothing about the main woman in this video that I find at all appealing. I also don’t think duck-lips are attractive. That’s why I’m probably not the person you’d want to take advice from on taking a selfie.

But if you think the photos I take of myself are worthy of trying to replicate, here are my tips:

1. Don’t worry so much about your hair or what you’re wearing. Your “connection” with the camera will override what most people see. I’m wearing a t-shirt and still have bed hair in the photo above.
2. If you can position your phone so that you’re not holding it, it usually takes a better photo. I will often prop my phone at about eye-level with the back-camera facing me. I can then use my Apple Watch to make sure I’m taking a photo of what I want.
3. If you must hold your phone to take a selfie (like I needed to with today’s feature photo), hold the phone up and to your right (or left if you’re taking the photo with your left hand).
4. Don’t look at the screen when you’re taking the photo – look at the actual camera lens to get a more intimate looking photo.
5. If lighting isn’t flattering in your first photo, change your positioning with regard to the direction of the light. Cross-hatch light versus direct, forward light, versus back-light all make a difference. Choose the one that works best. And if none of them shows you with a smooth complexion, take your selfie in a different place or at a different time.
6. Use Portrait mode on the iPhone if you can.
7. Make edits to your photo. Often, I will use the magic wand to see iPhone’s idea of the best photo and make tweaks to that. Here are some of the tweaks I often make:
   • I will crop and level my photo so that it has the composition I’m looking for. And this could vary depending on if I’m using it for Instagram or the blog feature photo.
   • I prefer a darker, lower Brilliance setting.
   • Usually I increase the contrast photo.
   • Sometimes I will increase the color Saturation and Vibrance
   • If the photo is taken with inside lighting, I often find it too yellow, so I will modify the White-Balance/Temperature to make it cooler (more blue).
   • Since Jamie told me about modifying the depth of field on a Portrait-mode photo, I will often reduce the depth of field to have only my face/hair in focus.

Here’s what the original photo looked like before I edited it.

Not significantly different, but I would suggest that it’s significantly better. No?

Any tips you have for taking a good selfie?

Current Knitting

Moving right along with the Sweet Surrender Wrap.

This is a really nice design and I love the yarn I’ve chosen for it. Though, I think the designer may have misunderestimated the amount of yarn B (the sage kid mohair). She calls for 410 yards an a total of 8 sections in that yarn. I think I’m only going to get 7 sections…maybe.

Not sure if I’ll order another ball of this yarn or just make a shorter wrap. Stay tuned.