5 Tips for Taking the Best Selfies

Everyone takes selfies -- but not everyone is taking the best selfies, until now. I've been a photographer for over seven years and when I see people's selfies on Facebook or other social platforms, I cringe. I cringe because with a few simple tweaks, people's photos could be 10 times better if they fixed their lighting arrangement or used an angle that truly complimented them -- but not everyone is a photographer so they end up with bad selfies. I can help!

Do you want to stop bad selfies? Good! Do you want to take better selfies? Yaaaas!

Here are my 5 tips for taking better selfies.

1. Get a window.

Many selfies are taken indoors which can be horrific unless you have proper lighting. You can fix all this by finding a window (excellent source of natural lighting) and standing in front of it. You face the widow and the phone or camera is between you and he window and SNAP! Instantly, your selfie will go from a 3 to a 10, I guarantee!

2. Get rid of the clutter.

No one wants to see your dirty room, nasty kitchen, or other things I won't even dare to mention. Find a spot that's clutter free, not only will it make you the focus of the photo--it creates an over clean aesthetic to the picture. If you can't find a clutter free spot -- make one. I personally don't believe in picture clutter.

3. Strike a pose.

C'mon, it's a selfie, so we know it's not a candid pic so stop trying to act like, "Oh, what? a picture of me?" Nope. Discover the right pose for you and you'll be set for selfie life! You may want to bring the camera up higher so you're looking up at the camera when you snap or you may want to prop your phone on something at the same eye-level height as you and set the timer--either way, give us your best pose. Smile, smize, or sulk -- whatever works for you but stop the act! LOL.

4. Make it pop!

Depending on how close up your selfie is, wear something that pops! Humans are attracted to color so it makes sense that you wear something that makes you stand out. Even if you're a black-wearing New Yorker, give us a color splash every once in a while! There have been several psychological studies done on how colors affect our life. Throw on some red or a bright blue top and snap, snap, snap.

5. Don't post that selfie.

Yes, not until you get someone else's opinion (that you trust). Why? New studies show that how we see ourselves is not how others see us. What does that mean? The pic you think you look "hot" in, really isn't. It might be a different photo (one that you overlooked or rejected) because people see you in a different perspective.

In fact, one study had people select five photos of themselves. Out of the five pictures, they were asked to choose the best one. Then, all five pics were presented to a group of strangers.

96% of the time the "best photo" the person chose was not the same photo the strangers picked out!

What? Yes, it means, you don't always know which pic makes you look the best, you're only picking the pic YOU like the best. Once you know the style, pose, etc of your best selfies, then you can start to trust your gut.