Selfie Time!

Every month I team up with U.S. Cellular and share a little about my Samsung Galaxy S7 Smart Phone. This is one of those posts.

According to a recent U.S. Cellular survey, 71 percent of cell phone users keep themselves entertained by taking photos and posting on social media.

In fact, there’s now a national day to celebrate it on June 21 (that’s tomorrow): National Selfie Day.

To participate, all you need is a smartphone with a good quality camera. The key to a good selfie shot is to make sure that your device has a front-facing camera.A front-facing “selfie camera” which has Smart Auto Focus to track faces and make sure everyone in the selfie is clear and in focus.

Me…I’m not the best selfie taker and definitely need some help. Check out this photo I took of me and Carver awhile back….UGH. I need selfie help for sure.

Here are some suggestions from U.S. Cellular that will help us all take better selfies.

Use the right light. Selfie-takers should avoid fluorescent lights and instead opt for natural, indirect light such as outside or near a window, and be sure the light is coming from behind. The best lighting is the golden hour before sunset – that natural glow can’t be beat.

Work the angles. You can experiment with different camera angles by tilting the device slightly off center and sideways to find the “good side” of your face. While it may seem unnatural at first, selfie professionals recommend leaning your head to one side or, alternatively, angling the camera. A selfie taken at an angle is almost always more flattering than one taken straight-on.

Spotlight activities. With U.S. Cellular’s high-quality network, capturing and sharing selfies from a hike, vacation, concert, trendy new restaurant, or with best friends is easy and quick.

Crop before posting. Selfie-takers should remember that for a perfect “photo finish,” they should pay attention to what’s happening behind them to avoid any awkward backgrounds.

Here’s selfie of me and Kelli…we took their advice of tilting the camera and working to find good angles.

We did forget to crop though. You can see the picture would look better had we taken the time to crop it.

There are many helpful apps that can improve selfies, enhancing the contrasts, smoothing skin, and embellishing them with cool edits and designs. One such app is Perfect 365, a virtual makeup app, allows users to improve their complexion, hide imperfections, add blush, mascara and other cosmetics virtually. Experiment with different app options and see which is best.

Until a year or so ago I never dreamed of taking selfies. I always hated pictures of myself. I’d do the whole self image thing of “who wants to see those chubby cheeks of mine and the like”. I’m trying to get over that…having my 20-30ish year old kids is helping. They often want a picture and I’m so bad at saying no to them….so I do it. All in all, I’m glad I have. I know there are others like me who don’t like getting their picture taken but I think it’s time we start. Years from now, after I’m gone, I want my grand kids to see in the everyday…not just in a posed picture. This little snap shot selfie of Kelli and I, that’s how I want them to see and remember me….so ladies, take a few selfies…our families will be glad we did.