The Frazzled Scribe

This post goes out to a friend of mine who seems to think I take decent selfies.

Now, depending on the day, my propensity (read: addiction) to taking selfies draws either praise and compliments or heckles and good-natured sarcasm. So let me put this out there so that we are clear: yes, I am narcissistic. Yes, I do like looking at myself. No, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

And I believe that’s the first step to taking a winning selfie.

Be full of yourself

Well perhaps not narcissism itself but the confidence that tends to come with. I think everyone knows at least one person who is either obsessed or extremely preoccupied with how they look. You ever notice those same people are very confident? They think they are handsome or pretty and worthy of being depicted as such in a photograph – so they will accept nothing less.

For my part, I mostly take selfies because I like the angles I get of myself better than those others get of me. Short of a few friends of mine, most folks I know take really bad pictures. They don’t know angles, rule of thirds, good lighting, etc., etc. And I’ve got an image to maintain. Hey…speaking of good photography sense…

Know your picture-story

In essence, why are you taking a selfie? Do you like your make-up that day? Are you wearing a cute outfit? Are you in a cool location?

Knowing this will tell you a few things about your selfie. I see many folks who want to draw attention to their face who take mirror pictures. No. Turn on your reverse camera, get into some good light and make sure the camera is close enough to capture what you are trying to highlight.

For outfit photos, the mirror may be the best option. Yes, these shots can be cheesy but my best tip for these is this: don’t look at the phone as you are taking the picture. Look at the mirror! If you are doing a close-up on the reverse camera, don’t look at your image on the phone, look at the phone’s camera (that seems like a no-brainer but look at most selfies and you’ll see people inspecting their own faces on their phone screen…not cute).

Let there be light

This is a biggie. Good lighting makes or breaks any photography. In fact, after taking my fair share of photo workshops I’ve deducted that 95% of photography is manipulating light. The other 5% is knowing a good subject when you see it and placing that subject in a way that tells a story.

At any rate, pictures outside on a sunny day are almost always going to be a winner. Don’t take pictures in the middle of the day when the sun is strongest. Your picture will look washed out and you’ll look squinty. Early to mid-morning or late afternoon will give you just enough good sunlight to get a clear image. It makes a difference!

Utilize your phone’s edit features

I will say up front that I’m not the biggest fan of filters unless the filter is part of your picture story (that’s another post entirely). But if you feel like a filter will help create a better tone for your picture use it.

Most often I use the cropping feature. Especially for mirror pictures, I crop out the borders of the actual mirror! I also remove any extraneous stuff that will detract from the photo subject (me!).

Get playful

Selfies don’t always have to be standard issue, you in front of the camera looking awkward. Play around with angles and what you are actually doing. Be intentional about the expression on your face and the direction in which you are looking (yes, I know I just told you to look at the camera but sometimes there are exceptions). Here are a few examples of when I’ve played around with a selfie:

Depending on who you ask the story this picture tells varies. My story is that this is what will happen when I discover the zombie apocalypse has started and Zar is its first victim...but still. This picture always gets people talking! (And yes, I took the picture).

...and not to play favorites but this is my all-time favorite selfie ever. Zariyah (my youngest child) took this of herself and used a filter. I think it gives a little window to her soul. She's a thoughtful kid. She gets happy but she's also very contemplative and I think this picture rings so true to who she is!

So there you have it. My best selfie pics. Now go forth and be self-centered!!!

The world seems to move fast

Yet I move so slow

The reason for this?
Hell, I don’t know!

I’m young but I think I’ve got an old soul

I guess it just goes to show

I’m a home-town girl with a wandering heart

A “round the way” girl with a ton of book smarts

A victim of about a million false starts

Starting over is my art

I thank God for the sun

Dance in the rain

I live to laugh

But I thrive in pain

It’s quite possible that I’m just insane

But then again, what’s in a name?

For right now I’d rather go undefined

Live above the fray

And between the lines

That way what I amass is mine

To have and to hold in my space and time

Embracing my pen and a glass of wine

I wait in silence for my time to shine

My life is good, no reason to whine

Cuz as bad as it can get

Damn…I’m fine

And conceited

But that’s my line

;)