Do you have two pictures of yourself, one looking good and another looking terrible? For this reason, you might be having this compelling feeling of taking another selfie of yourself with the best outfit, but when you try to take a snap, the result is so messy that you discard every photo immediately.
Good news for you. It has been proven that you can create thousands of beautiful versions of yourself by just understanding angles, perspective, and lighting. In this article, we will go through innovative ways to achieve perfect selfie lighting at home. After reading this article, you will be able to take dozens of Instagram-worthy selfies that you can caption “I even look good in a broken mirror” and earn a hundred thousand likes. Without much ado, let us dive into it.
Contents
Take Full Advantage of Natural Light
Researchers and photographers have a common solid conclusion that the best lighting scheme for taking selfies is the soft and diffused natural light. So if your home has a window that can let in indirect light, that is the best place to take your selfies. If you are outside, you can stand in some shade so that natural light reflects directly on your face.
While making use of natural light, it is good to note that the camera quality matters. The better the phone’s camera, the better the photo taken. Low quality equals more imperfections like lines and blemishes. Also, you should make sure that you wipe your front camera clean before taking selfies.
Ring Lights
A ring light is an essential tool for those who have a self-interest in taking portraits. A selfie ring light is essentially a ring that you place around your camera lens. The ring light helps to eliminate shadows and acts as a uniform supplier of light to the object. This tool will enable your photos to have natural lighting where you can adjust the warmness and intensity of the light.
Reflectors
Reflectors help in bouncing back or redirecting the light to the person. So when you want to take selfies, it is paramount to have a reflector to redirect the available light to yourself and remove the shadows in your photo. The good thing is you can make homemade ones for that studio look. You just need some cardboard that you either cover with white paper or foil. Both will reflect light and enhance your image.
Lens Hood’s
The worst thing you can do is shoot into the sun. But, sometimes the subject you want to photograph happens to be facing that way! Streaming light or lens flare effects might be attractive if that is your goal, but it frequently washes out your image, removing contrast and color richness. A paper lens helmet will shield your lens from this type of stray light, and all you will need is some black cardboard and – you guessed it – tape. Make a funnel out of the cardboard and put it around your lens for an immediate lens hood. Do you have a DSLR camera? Consider using a coffee cup sleeve.
Lightboxes
Another valuable feature for taking good selfies is the lightbox. When photographing clear backgrounds, a DIY lightbox will provide you with precisely what you need. You will need white cardboard, tape, and a few spare light bulbs to construct your own. Turn a hamper into a lightbox for a simpler version.
Conclusion
Selfies give you a glimpse into your personality. Do not limit your selfies to what is ‘trending’ or the most popular on your page. Experiment with your camera, colors, backdrops, shadows, various accessories to see what unique combinations you can come up with, and you will be shocked at how much you can convey with a selfie by just tweaking the lighting a little.
