how to look better in selfies

Oh hell YES dudes, babes, and fellow humans – we are going to take 7 minutes today to be ABSOLUTELY vain, and we’re not going to apologize for it! Honestly though, this post is about more than how to look better in selfies – it’s about equipping you with tools you can use to feel confident being in photos, because as a business owner it’s important to show your face online.

Why? Because it builds trust with your audience. It shows them you’re a real person who is willing to boldly stand behind their offer. It also allows potential clients to connect with you on a human to human level instead of a human to business level, which we all know is not nearly as fun OR as effective when it comes to building relationships.

If the thought of posting photos or videos of yourself on your website or social media scares the shit out of you, congratulations! You’ve found a new comfort zone. Below, I’m giving you some tools to break out of that comfort zone so you can use your online presence more efficiently in your business. Scroll down to learn how to look better in selfies!

1. Be a poser

Angle your body about 45 degrees and put your weight on your back leg. Slightly bend your front knee and drop your front shoulder just a tad. Bring your front arm out about 1/2” from your body (a good way to do this naturally is to hold something in front of your belly button). Lean in toward the camera (just a little bit) with your torso & face. Tilt your head down a bit.

We have a tendency to subconsciously move ourselves away from the camera, making all our body parts look squished together. Leaning in separates your face from your neck, which instantly shows off your jawline! Oooooh if Tyra could see you now!

2. Movement is your BFF

You know when you stand in a group photo waiting for someone to take the picture and they take WAY too long and your body starts to get stiff and your smile starts to feel fake? It probably looks stiff and fake, too.

Keep everything loose by tilting your head back and forth, shifting your weight from one leg to another, or even giving a soft little laugh until the photo is taken. This will feel especially absurd if you’re taking a selfie, but IT WORKS!

3. Find the light

Side & top lighting creates harsh and unforgiving shadows. Put the light in front of you instead: face a big window if you’re indoors, or the direction of the sun if you’re outside on an overcast day. You can find out where the sun is by holding out your hand in front of your face with your palm toward you – look at your palm and spin around until the creases on your hand look smooth. You will look like a total weirdo, but it’s a trick professional photographers use all the time, I promise.

If bright sun is coming through your window, wait to take the photo or move to another window. You can also step back from the window until it isn’t so bright. If you’re outside on a sunny day, find some shade or put the sun behind you.

4. Peep that lens

If you’re using a phone, look at the lens instead of the screen! Staring at the screen is easy since we can see exactly how we’ll look in a photo, but don’t forget to either look back at the lens OR look completely away from the phone before the photo is actually taken. Otherwise it’ll just look like you didn’t know where the camera was omg how embarrassing!!

5. Clear the room

A clutter-free background is going to be the most pleasant to look at, and a solid background is best. Use portrait mode on you camera if you have that option – it helps blur the background to keep the focus on the subject – you! If you’re inside facing a window, make sure all the lights are OFF behind you.

All light is a certain color temperature, and if you have more than one color temperature in a photo it tends to look messy.

6. Edit your photos

Nofilter is almost a bragging right these days, but here’s the truth about not editing your photos: when you take a digital picture, your camera is simply gathering the information it gets from the lens and giving you what it thinks is the best the picture can look. Usually your camera is quite wrong. Edit your damn photos. Lightroom mobile is a fantastic app for editing, but it does come with a learning curve. Some other decent options include Snapseed, Afterlight, VSCO.

Every single one of these tips on how to look better in selfies will take a bit of practice. But overall they’re simple tweaks to get you looking and feeling DAMN FINE in your photos; photos that are non-negotiable when it comes to building your business online.