You don’t always need a photographer
Recently Youtube suggested a video detailing some of the many ways in which you can take amazing portraits without the need to get a photographer to follow you around and capture moments in your life.
So why not save the selfies for the stories on Snapchat or Instagram and take some self portraits for your controlled posts on all your social.
You can see the particular video here:
We’ve been thinking how so many of us don’t have great photos of ourselves in a unique portrait style way. We’ve got dodgy selfies but often this isn’t the best way to portray your personality, especially with a low grade camera that is showcasing your bedroom in the background. In this day and age we often see so many staged photos that we’ve been thinking what other ways can we suggest to people to take great self portraits.
Firstly, it’s key to look at the suggestions noted in the video above.
- Stabilise, frame and trigger
- Nail your focus
- Natural movements and interval timers
- Creativity is key: long exposure, poses, flash and props
Buy a tripod today
If you haven’t got a tripod already, go to a local store and grab one. You can often buy them relatively cheap and they help no end in setting up a shot / portrait before you get into position. You can then work out what you want to fit in shot / how close to the action you want to position yourself.
The great thing about selfies is that you put your face at the forefront of an image, so why don’t you set up the self portrait so that you’re at the forefront of the image as well without having to hold the camera up. This could be by putting your camera on top of a shelf or chest of drawers. Raising the camera allows you to get your face properly into the shot. Selfies are all the rage and so why not get your face in the front and centre of the image.
This photo above, despite not just raising the image so that the subject is upfront and centre but it also incorporates our next idea.
GET A POWERFUL BACKGROUND.
This means stay away from boring single colour backgrounds. You never share selfies with boring backgrounds, you’re always sharing selfies with something going on; either a place you’ve been or people you’re sharing a moment with. Why wouldn’t you up your game by getting out and getting in front of something exciting. You’re probably wondering what kind of things you should be getting in front of. Always think outside the box. But here’s some ideas:
- Graffiti
- Nature - think plants, rivers and the sky
- Shopfronts - don’t feel shameful use it to your advantage
Use a timer but also burst a set of photos
All our cameras, even phones now can burst shoot photos. Take advantage of this and set it to take 10, heck even 30 photos. All you need is one gem.
On an iPhone all you need to do is hold down on the burst photography setting. It’s that easy to take a ton of photos that may contain one gem. Just a single photo could be the exact one you want to share, don’t wait for the right moment. Take enough to make the right moment now!
Honesty is the best policy.
Now, in contrast to what this entire post has been about we want to draw your attention to using your friends. Just be honest. Say something along the lines of:
“Can you take a photo of me, don’t want to be spamming instagram with selfies”
Be the tourist and share the moment. As long as you’re keeping your feed different and original and keeping your personality behind it. You’ll find that you’re happy with the photos you’re sharing. Without the need to have a photographer or feel like you should be trying harder to make the best look of every moment.
