How to take a better selfie

Dream it. C it. Do it.
Aug 13
2 min read

Did you know that Buzz Aldrin was taking EVA selfies (‘extravehicular activity’ is any activity performed by an astronaut or cosmonaut outside a spacecraft beyond Earth’s appreciable atmosphere, such as a spacewalk) as far back as 1966?

Selfie culture only really became popular outside of East Asia in the 2000s. Prior to that, the genre had taken off in the form of Japan’s purikura booths (a bit like passport photo booths with the option of adding graphics) and later, when front-facing cameras were added to phones.

The word ‘selfie’ was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013 and, the following year, officially accepted for use in Scrabble. Which means that selfies are here to stay.

In short, we’ve had a good few years to perfect our selfie-taking skills. Thankfully, your smartphone or preferred social media app has many useful selfie tools and tricks to smooth, blur or animate your features.

But there’s always room for improvement, so here are a few other pointers to take better selfies.

Minimise distortion

One study found that selfies taken at a distance of 30 centimetres can exaggerate your nose by as much as 30%. The recommended distance for taking a photograph and minimising distortion to the face is 1.5 metres.

Try a selfie stick or even a drone (selfies made with a drone are called ‘dronies’!). These are particularly useful if you’re struggling to hold the camera steady or need to fit more than one person in the frame.

Experiment in advance/in private

Save yourself (and your friends) some time and experiment in advance with different camera angles and the sides and tilt of your face. Remember your preferred setup so that you can replicate it for your next selfie and feel confident it will be a decent shot.

Be consistent. Or not.

There are many reasons you might be taking a selfie. Using filters to the extreme might just be part of the fun (including poking fun) and games for you. But if you want to be taken seriously, don’t stray too far from your natural features. If you do opt for a filter, be consistent so that you don’t end up with 101 versions of yourself.

Find a celebrity

If you can entice a well-known personality or industry star to join you in the frame, the selfie will be worth its weight in likes (in other words, it will mean all or nothing to you depending on how you feel about social validation. But if it’s to promote your business or brand, it can bring some valuable free publicity).

If you can’t find a celebrity, a quokka on Western Australia’s Rottnest Island is always a welcome addition to any selfie.

Be safe

In 2015, it was reported that more people were killed taking selfies than by shark attacks. Yes, this is a highly contested stat, but it’s true that there have been many fatal injuries, including electrocutions and falling from precarious positions...all in the name of selfie fame. Double-check your surroundings and be sensible.