As shown by Instagram Analytics, the third most popular hashtag of this social network is #me. As for #selfies hashtags, there are more than 16 million publications with it on Instagram. According to the Oxford dictionary, in 2013 “selfie” became the word of the year. However, even after time, the term has not lost its relevance. We decided to tell you about what a proper selfie is and how to stand out from millions.
Selfies, as a kind of self-portrait, started to gain popularity with the advent of mobile phones with integrated cameras, although photos of own reflection (which can also be considered as selfie) appeared in the early XX century.
Now the most important question is how to take a good selfie? It’s very simple, all you need to know are the basics of photography. It’s better to take pictures in maximum light. If you take pictures on a sunny day, you need to shoot yourself with sun behind you. And you should use flash only if you are on the move (e.g. traveling by boat or riding in the back seat of a convertible). Flash helps avoid blurring the object.
Also it is important to hold the lens at eye level when shooting. And make sure that you (as a main object) don´t melt into background.
Selfie is not necessarily a picture right here and right now. You can use Instagram scheduled post and upload photos at any time. Let’s remember the recent nude photo of Kardashian, which caused a storm of emotions of followers. According to Kim, she took the photo without clothes a year before publication.
Schedule posts for Instagram tool is also beneficial because today many celebrities´ Instagram accounts are managed by their representatives. Meaning, that celebrities themselves take selfies and send them to their PR assistants, who post them to the account using the schedule for Instagram feature.
Selfie stick rather creates mistrust. Therefore, allow yourself only two kinds of selfies - standard one with the front camera or a photo in the mirror using the main camera.
And finally, selfie as a tool of promotion can be used not only by celebrities, but also by brands. For example, you can organize contest with a unique hashtag and the object of your brand on camera. Or make a selfie with a star on a corporate party. It all depends on your imagination. Just remember to be careful with selfies, post a reasonable number of portraits and don’t flood the whole feed with them.
