How To Create Magical Selfies With Stunning Poses & Light

If you want to know how to create magical selfies you need to understand two things. First, you need to learn how to pose. Second, you need to understand light. Finally you have to put these two together. When you do it right you'll make magic.

What makes a selfie magical? It's the ability of your selfie to make people stop scrolling. In other words, magic is all about grabbing attention. It's of course true you can grab attention in many ways. However, lighting and posing allow you to do so every time.

Before we start, please understand that I'm not going to give you a bunch of poses. Instead I'm going to teach you how to create selfies that work for you no matter who you are. Ultimately you'll be able to create your own magic in any picture after reading this article.

How To Create Magical Selfies

The way to create magical selfies is to use the power of posing and of light. Let's first talk about posing. Maybe you've already got a few poses that you know work. However, do you know why they work? If not I'll tell why here.

Magical Selfie Poses

Posing for selfies, or any photo really, all comes down to a few things.

1. The closest thing to the camera will appear larger.
2. Shapes and lines can work for or against you.
3. Be real & relax because fakeness and tension shines through.
4. Let go of your phone, the best selfies are not handheld.

1. Closeness To The Camera

Whatever is closer to the camera will appear larger. It doesn't matter what magnification you use, this is always true. That said, using the 0.5x magnification (wide angle) lens you'll see this exaggerated.

Therefore whatever you want to show off, needs to be closer. On the other hand, if you're trying to hide something put it farther away. Play around with your camera. Once you figure out how to do this you're going to take massively improved selfies.

What Are You Proud Of?

If you're really proud of your bum, turn it to the camera. Also, don't take the photo from up above your head. Hold your phone near your waist or slightly above. As a result your hips and booty will look bigger. That said, be careful, if you love your hips but don't like your belly you've got to do some real magic to get one without the other.

If you're trying to hide your belly the above the head pose will help you do so. Too, you can sit sideways, stick out your hip, and lean towards the camera. As a result your belly will disappear while your hip, shoulder, and chest will be closer to the camera.

2. Shapes and Lines

Use shapes and lines to create a stunning selfie poses. If you're curvy and want to show that off use those lines to draw attention where you want it. Make sure to read about how to use light to do this below. Also if you're not curvy but want to look more like you are, stick out those hips. Too, point one shoulder towards the camera. Basically, contort yourself all up. Then see what works. I know it sounds silly but you've got to learn what looks you like. Master this and your selfies will always look great.

The Meaning of Shapes

Different shapes mean different things. Squares make people think about order, stability, and are pretty conservative. Circles invoke feelings of completeness, unity, eternity. At the same time triangles invoke strength, spirituality, masculinity when pointing up and femininity when the point is down. As a result learn to look for shapes in your poses. These will invoke those emotions in your selfies.

In addition to these geometric shapes organic shapes can take on their own meaning. How you position your body can give a sense of power or passivity. Too, you can invoke nature, the line of a river, of hills and mountains, etc. Plus, we can suggest specific emotions with how we pose ourselves.

Read more about the meaning of shapes here.

Leading Lines

Lines can lead eyes into a photo. They can also lead the eye around a photo. Too, they can lead eyes right out of a photo. Make sure the lines in your photos are pointing at what you want people to look at.

Take this photo for example. The lines in the bricks draw the eyes into the picture. As a result you're drawn to this man's face.

Also look at how he's standing. He has one foot and shoulder forward. His shoulder is also "pointing" towards his head.

Lines And Shapes Work Together

Of course you can see shapes at play here too. In fact the rectangular shape of where he's standing, mixed with his stance looks wrong. As a result we're conflicted when we look at it. He looks trapped in this rectangle but he's telling us he's not trapped.

The triangle created by his jacket sits in the middle of the triangle formed between his hands and face. All of these things make this picture uneasy to look at. As a result we're actually drawn to it even more.

3. Relax and Be Real

Selfies are the perfect time to goof around. Take as many as you want. After all you can always delete bad selfies. Plus nobody needs to see them. After taking a bunch you should get more relaxed. Remember to goof around. Try new stuff. Most things won't work. That's okay. When you find the poses that will work it'll all be worth it.

Also you want to be real. What does that mean? It means if you know you're faking it so will everyone who sees your selfie. That said, if you want people to think something specific about you make sure you feel it. For example, want people to think you look sexy? You need to feel it first. Do you want them to see you as powerful? Again, you need to feel powerful.

4. Sit Your Phone Down

The best selfies are taken without holding your phone. All phones come with timers. Use your timer to take selfies. Sit your phone down and strike your pose. Alternatively you can use a remote. This will allow you to get into your pose easier. That's because you don't need to run back and forth after pressing the button.

For the most magical selfies a remote is a must. I'm a fan of this remote which comes with a selfie stick and some other accessories. That said, I still prefer selfies taken without a selfie stick. However, they're really helpful at times.

Picture More Of You

Sitting your phone down also means you can get more of you in the photo. As a result this opens you up to so many better selfies! For example, you can incorporate action and movement. If you're worried about how, get a tripod. Of course if you do buy a tripod make sure it's as tall or taller than you. After all, you don't want to take every selfie with it below your face do you? That's how we get Zoom face. Nobody wants Zoom face. Right!

Controlling Light In Your Selfies

Posing helps you look good but controlling light is critical to how we create magical selfies. Light is the basis of all photography.

Light is everything.

As a result learning to control it takes a lot of work. Too, most people don't have a bunch of powerful lights sitting around. Professional photographers use very bright flashes. Most household lights can't match them. Therefore it's better to take selfies outside if possible.

How To Control Light In Your Selfies

1. Learn how to use the sun
2. Reflections are your friends
3. Darkness is powerful
4. Color affects emotions

1. Use The Sun In Your Selfies

Because it's the biggest and brightest light use the sun. To do this we need to understand how the sun impacts our selfies. The sun looks the best when it's lower in the sky. We call this golden hour. Because the light is directional and warm it looks nicer. Conversely, at high noon, direct sunlight usually looks terrible.

Try to take selfies outside close to sunset or sunrise. Also, you can take outdoor selfies any time of day in the winter. That is, unless you live in the tropics. This is because the sun is lower in the sky.

In addition to golden hour we stand just inside the shade. This is because, reflections are your friends.

2. Reflections Are Your Friends

If you've ever had professional photos done the photographer might have used a reflector. Reflectors are shiny and usually circular. They bounce light towards you.

In the example on the right you can see the sun is behind him. This is lighting his hair and shoulder. However his face needed to be lit up too. That's where a reflector comes in handy.

You can buy a really inexpensive reflector for selfies. Most come with silver and gold sides. Too, some have black to block light. This reflector is one I really like. It's a great price. Plus it's reliably made. You don't need to be a professional photographer like me to use them. That said, folding them up takes practice.

3. Darkness Is Powerful

Darkness draws attention to your selfies. Learn how to use darkness to create mysterious selfies. Too, you can use it to isolate yourself in the picture.

If you're here reading how to take great selfies you've probably read other articles too. I've seen a lot of them. Most give you a bunch of rules to follow. I'm here to tell you there are no rules. Take this selfie for example. Her eyes are barely visible. However the image has a sense of mystery. Too, it's interesting and attention grabbing.

Ultimately you can create selfies that follow the rules. Or you can understand the rules then break them. The key is to know when and how to break them. By breaking the we can create selfies that are far more interesting.

4. The Power of Color

Different colors evoke different feelings. Therefore, we can create specific emotions with color. Obviously most photos we take will be color photos.

That said, understanding the potential of those colors helps. In the west, brides often wear white. This is because white in the US and Western Europe is a symbol of purity. Green is a color that means health, abundance, peace, and renewal. As a result this bridal photo (not a selfie) tells a specific story.

If she were wearing black and the leaves had fallen, the grass was brown etc. the photo would feel very different right?

There are other things to be aware of with color. For example, warm colors (red, orange, yellow) feel like they're coming towards us. On the other hand, cool colors, (greens, blues, and purples) feel like they're moving back away. Therefore we can combine these to add a sense of depth to our selfies.

Go Create Amazing Selfies

After reading this you know how to create magical selfies. That said, actually doing so takes practice. Too, you'll likely get frustrated. Then that frustration might grow if you don't have help. Therefore, you should sign up for a class. For example, a phone photography class. Too, private lessons can be a big help.

Learning how to create magical selfies takes time and practice. Also, it's important to remember to have fun with it. Again, you're going to take a lot of terrible photos. That said, don't stop. Keep going. In the end you'll find your poses. Then you'll figure out how to use light. Finally you'll be a selfie master. You might not be able to wave a magic wand. However you'll know how to create magical selfies if you stick with this advice. Contact me with questions or just to let me know if this article helped you!