Taking pictures of oneself is like amateur lomography, meaning, out of 24 exposures, only 3 are acceptable. I like to do “stolen” shots of myself but I can’t do that if I’m the photographer too! So I usually depend on other people to shoot my profile pictures and it’s really hard not to look contrived in profile pictures. I stumbled upon this Koreanwebsite where it gave tips on taking self pictures. The Koreans apparently have perfected this method and even coined a name for it – SELCA, meaning self camera.You don’t need to look like a supermodel or all made-up for a selca. Selca is all natural and fun posing.

Here are the tips for SELCA:

1. Check yourself out. Make sure that no hair is sticking out, or no food stuck between your teeth and your lighting is good. If you can’t find a good lighting, you can always tweak the settings of your camera by choosing sepia, black/white or tungsten, etc.

2. Never look directly into the camera. Looking directly into the camera makes your face look big. Here are ways to make your face look slimmer in front of the camera:

Look up at your camera. By elevating your camera 20 cm, you are forced to look up, which makes your face look a lot slimmer and your eyes bigger. The key to this trick is making sure that your chin is down while your eyes are looking up to the camera. And make sure that you keep your eyes wide open- like you are surprised.

Look down at your camera. Instead of elevating your camera 20cm, lower your camera 20cm and look straight down at it while keeping your eyes wide open. Because you are looking down, you are forced to lower your chin. This creates the necessary angle to keep the face looking slim. Although this sounds easy, the results are not as flattering as looking up at your camera.

Tilt your head. Tilting your head without looking into the camera can be a little bit difficult as you can out-frame yourself in the shot. But with practice you can achieve that perfect “stolen” shot. Make sure to get a flattering side view of your face before you go shooting yourself. And don’t appear as someone who’s picture is being taken as this would ruin a good selca moment.

3. Express yourself. Not every shot should be about your perfect smile and teeth. Put on a funny expression. Accessorize yourself in the picture. Be goofy but pretty goofy. Some funny expressions can be scary and unflattering so avoid those shots!

4. Practice practice practice. Selca is an acquired skill. Always keep your camera handy and practice whenever there’s a spare time in your day eg. while shopping, before going to sleep, or while waiting for your pictures to upload, or while driving (provided your car’s stuck on a traffic).

5. Don’t take selcas in the locker rooms or any public changing rooms. This is common sense. Selcaing in these places can include accidental shots of some naked person in the back of your pic!

6. Don’t take touristy pictures. Instead put yourself in the spotlight and just enjoy what’s in the background.

Happy Selcaing!