How to Take a Perfect Selfie:5 Selfie Tips To Consider -By Summaya Aamir

Go to your camera roll right now. Scroll the short distance to the last time you were taking selfies. Now pause to observe. Chances are, you banked somewhere between five and 450,000 shots until you got the right one. We all do it. That's because nailing the perfect selfie isn't easy—it's about the right combination of light, angle, setting, and photo filters.                                                                                                                                              Read on for seven tips that will help you take your selfie game to the next level.      

1. Lighting is Everything

It sounds obvious, but the first rule of selfie-ing is to pay attention to your lighting. You need good lighting. Natural lighting. As vlogger John Libert puts it, "Light is undoubtedly the best beauty product you don't have to pay for." . Good lighting can actually make undereye circles and shadows totally disappear.

Michelle Phan  advises that you find a window. "Having nice, natural sunlight streaming in will make for a good selfie. Another thing I do is take a piece of white paper and hold it underneath my chin, which creates a natural bounce of light, illuminates the face, and also reduces the double-chin effect."

2. Avoid Shadows

"There is nothing worse than having a huge shadow cast over your face," says photographer and style blogger Candice Lake. "When in doubt, face directly into or away from the sun. If it's the middle of the day and the sun is high, the shadows can look like bags under your eyes. The golden hour to shoot a photo is during sunrise or sunset, when the light is low and the most beautiful."

3. Smile Like You Mean It

"Flash a real smile and no image will look bad," says Lake. Don't contort your face into a grin that's too big or forced. Natural smiles are always better. On the other hand, if you're going for slightly more serious selfie, pull a Tyra and "try smiling with your eyes." Lake's advice for perfecting the smize? Practice in front of the mirror until you get it right. You'll get the hang of it!

3. Know When to Use Flash

While finding natural light and avoiding shadows are key tips to how to take a good selfie, there are times when you want to take a selfie and it's dark. Whether you're in the club or just on your couch watching Netflix, how do you get a great selfie in little to no light? Turn to Snapchat. The app has a flash feature for the front-facing camera, while the regular photo app on iPhone does not. In Snapchat, hit the little lightning bolt on the top left corner and then take your selfie. The screen will burst bright white light on your face. It won't look perfect by any means (it gives the photo a subtle blue cast), but at least you'll be able to see your face. Once you save it to your camera roll, you can play with the tone to make it a little less blue.

4. Play to Your Angles

 When it comes to selfies, keep your chin down and the camera up. There are about five people in the world who look good when shot from under their chin, and we haven't met any of them. When taking a selfie, hold the phone so that the bottom of it is level with your eyes. Or better yet, use a selfie stick. They're ridiculous in every way except one: Because you hold them up high, they make everyone look svelte and supermodel-y in photos.

5. Be Mindful of Your Background

The best selfies have either interesting backgrounds (Oh, you're just casually selfie-ing while skydiving? Great.) or really, really simple ones. The middle ground is what's deadly. And beware of photo-bombers.