"Let me take a Selfie!"
With news that Tour De France riders were less than impressed with eager selfie-taking fans during the Yorkshire leg of the race, to shots surfacing showing Eurostar passengers grinning and bearing yesterday’s delays by shooting selfies in the channel tunnel, it’s clear the selfie craze is here to stay.
Samsung Electronics UK has therefore devised a short guide to achieving the perfect selfie:
Set the scene
Good lighting is key to taking the perfect selfie. Keep the light source in front of you, slightly above eye level for the most flattering shot. Natural lighting always works best with early morning or late afternoon the ideal time for soft, flattering light. Worth remembering that backlighting is the least flattering light of all!
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
As Kim Kardashian recently revealed, mirrors are your best friends when it comes to taking the ultimate selfie. Using a front facing camera on your smartphone will help you control exactly how you look, ensuring a smouldering pout every time.
It’s all about the angle
Rather than taking a picture head-on, why not experiment with different angles to show off your features. Holding the camera or phone pointed slightly downwards will make your eyes look bigger. Result! And remember shots angled upwards from below NEVER look good.
Take two
Select the ‘burst’ shot option on your camera or smartphone to capture a quick succession of shots, allowing you to filter out all the blinks and bad-hair days until you find your perfect, profile-worthy pic.
Check what’s behind you
We’ve all had that perfect shot ruined by unassuming bystanders pulling weird faces or cheeky friends doing bunny ears behind us. Look around you before snapping to avoid any surprises! Also be aware of potentially odd intersections that will appear in your shots, like a beam or tree that snapped would look like it was growing out of your head.
Often with selfies, the setting is the reason for the photo. If that’s the case offset your face so there's room in the frame to capture the scenery.
Need for speed
Invest in a camera with high shutter speed to avoid any disappointing photo finishes. Blurry selfies are not cool.
Lights, camera, action!
Flash can turn a murky overcast day (which let’s face it we have plenty of during the British summer) into a glorious light show, but be ‘flash wise’ and keep it switched off to avoid an unflattering glare.
Barking Mad
Finally, it’s not just celebs and sporting heroes who are getting in on the action – research from Samsung reveals that 63% of Brits admit to regularly taking ‘petsies’ of our furry friends with celebrity petsie fans including Miley Cyrus and Amanda Seyfried . Keep picture stabilisation switched on to ensure those wagging tails don’t blur the photo.
For more information on Samsung’s range of cameras and smartphones, visit www.samsungmobilepress.com