How to Take a Good Selfie

Let’s talk about selfies. We’ve all taken one at some point in our lives. In fact, some of us may have an entire camera roll full of selfies—no shame, ladies, embrace the selfie! Self-portraits have evolved over time from the staged photography of eras past to the oh-so-embarrassing bathroom mirror shot of MySpace days to a candid snap of yourself shared on Instagram, Facebook or your social media platform of choice.

But, what is the trick to taking the perfect selfie? We did some research. Hundreds of selfies later, this is what we realized.

How to Take a Good Selfie

Taking a good selfie requires three main things: the right camera angle, flattering lighting, and a great pose.

• Shoot your selfie from above so you are looking up at the camera. Keep your chin down, but slightly raise your eyebrows to help make your eyes appear larger.
• Choose lighting that is bright enough to highlight your best features.
• Make sure your pose reflects your personality—you want to look your best in a selfie and usually people look their best when they’re happy and confident.

Other Tips to Master the Selfie

Now that you have the basics of a good selfie down, here are some other things you can do to make your selfie really stand out.

Touch Up Your Makeup

Before to take a selfie, just peak in a mirror (or your phone’s front-facing camera) to see if you need to touch up your makeup from the day’s wear and tear. Our Limited Edition Snap Happy Makeup Kit is perfect for this because it includes Whisper PurePressed Blush, Brown Sugar PurePressed Eye Shadow Triple, and PureMatte Finish Powder to get rid of unwanted shine.

Pick a Cool Background

Selfies are as much about your lovely face as they are about telling the stories of the places you’ve visited. So, choose a memorable background so you’ll have a great story to tell when you share the picture with your friends and family.

When In Doubt, Crop It out

After you take the selfie, give the image a once-over before you post it. If there’s something you don’t want to show, just zoom in and crop it out!

Feel the Love

Just like everything else in life being with someone you love or doing something you enjoy makes everything better. Why does this apply to selfies you ask? Because it makes you happy and when you’re feeling happy you always capture your best selfie. Jane and Cookie love this tip!

Share Your #SnapHappySelfie & Win!

Now, you have our best selfie tips, we want to see them in action. Starting March 18, 2018, show us your beautiful selfies for a chance to win $250 worth of jane iredale makeup and an instant film camera. Here’s how to enter:

1. Take a selfie that shows off your personality.
2. Head to Instagram or the #SnapHappySelfie contest page, and upload your image.
3. Tell us which jane iredale makeup you’re wearing in the photo (if you aren’t wearing our products, let us know which ones you want to try).
4. INSTAGRAM ONLY: Make sure to tag #SnapHappySelfie in your post.

The contest ends on April 9, 2018, and three winners will be randomly selected!