PRO TIP
The dos and don’ts of taking the perfect selfie
Pose. Pout. Snap. Repeat. We all love a good selfie, but are you really making the most of your vanity shots?
Whether they’re destined for harvesting likes on Instagram, sharing with friends via a Messages group chat or simply helping you savour a memory, here’s how you can upgrade your selfies.
DO make the light work for you
Your selfies don’t need to suffer if the sun’s hiding or you find yourself in a dimly lit room. Instead of settling for bland, flat memories, ProCam 8 lets you alter your camera’s ISO – the amount of light that the sensor is exposed to – to more naturally lighten or darken your shots.
Capturing a shot on a gloomy day? Up the ISO, flood your camera with light and enjoy the added detail that’s exposed. Sunning yourself on a beach with a bright, whited out sky as a backdrop? Lower the ISO to reduce the amount of light hitting your camera’s sensor and bring out the dramatic shadows.
DON'T settle for the ordinary
You can nail your perfect angle, capture a perfectly composed picture, but sometimes a bit of unexpected flair is needed to raise a selfie’s game. And that’s exactly what stickers are for.
Filled with thousands of photo-enhancing images, PicsArt lets you add all manner of eye-catching effects to make your selfies stand out. While its frames draw the eye and text options let you make a statement, the app’s stickers – all of which can be resized and positioned to fit your photo – help show off your personality.
DO add a bit of drama
Grey skies are gonna clear up – just probably not in time to bring a bit of a summery feel to your shot. But don’t worry, even on the greyest of days Lightleap can help you add a bit of drama to your selfies.
Using the app’s ‘Sky’ feature you can replace blank, lifeless skies with something a bit more eye-catching. With dozens of options to choose from you can go from realistic fluffy clouds on a bright blue vista to dramatic night scapes – via out there offerings such as the Northern Lights.
DON'T over edit
Editing to enhance your selfies is fine – a touch up here, a bit of colour rebalancing there – but take things too far and it’s all too easy to end up with artificial-looking images that stand out for all the wrong reasons.
Because it’s important to always keep your original shot in mind when editing, Infltr lets you instantly see the changes you’ve made. By long pressing anywhere on your image you can flip between original and edited shots – a move that gives context to your changes and ensures you’re enhancing your image rather than straying from the truth.
DO pick the right shot
If your finger is hovering over the share button, stop! Yes that might be the pick of the day’s 42 selfies, but if you’ve captured a Live Photo, an even more perfect still could be available – one where you’re flashing just the right amount of smile and you’ve got the perfect serving of windswept hair.
Having captured a Live Photo, tapping Edit in the top right corner of the image page lets you view a frame-by-frame breakdown of your shot. Simply slide through the image run, find your perfect still and tap Make Key Photo to give this image the attention it deserves.