People judge millenials for being too self-involved and taking too many pictures of themselves. This is a whole topic for another time, but I actually think there’s an enormous amount of pressure for this generation to cultivate a “presence” and that in no way means they have higher levels of self-esteem. That said, I think the act of the selfie is a revolution that’s here to stay!
Photographers and artists have done self-portraits for centuries. Frida Kahlo painted herself over and over, and I believe that was an act of self-love. Now we have these amazing cameras at our fingertips where we can essentially take as many free pictures as we want, so if we’re “feeling ourselves”, why wouldn’t we want to document that moment, visual, and feeling?
An Uncustomary Babe asked for a list of ways to take a selfie and a bunch of people were like hell yeah make that! I let it sit for a long time, because for some reason I just didn’t know how on earth I was going to make a list of how to take a selfie. I wasn’t thinking creatively enough! I brainstormed with Joe, and he easily showed me that it’s not just how to take a selfie, but how to take an interesting and creative selfie. Now that, I can help you with!
Ways To Take An Creative Selfie
1. Hold a mirror up to the sky so your reflection is cast in it, and take a picture of the mirror in the sky without getting the reflection of your camera in the mirror
2. Print out a picture/use an instant photo of a part of your face and hold it up in front of your face so it matches up and adds an extra layer (photo of your lips holding on in front of your actual lips)
3. Draw something you can interact with on the ground with sidewalk chalk (a crown, a bouquet of balloons, etc.) and lay down and pretend you’re wearing it, holding it, etc.
4. Take a bunch of selfies in the same spot, wearing the same thing, but making different expressions and turn them into a collage
5. Get something that reflects rainbow prisms and wait for it to land on your face and capture that magical moment
6. Submerge yourself half in water and get just the top of your head
7. Put the camera on the ground, set the timer, and act like you’re about to step on it
8. Get a bubble machine and fill the room with bubbles for interesting textures (don’t’ forget to blow some yourself, too!)
9. Splatter your face and/or body with multi-colored paint
10. Capture your reflection in a pair of sunglasses you’re holding (consider the accessories on the arm holding the sunglasses, too)
11. Whip your hair back and forth rapidly for a cool motion shot
12. Write love notes all over your hands and places them front and center in the foreground so your face is just blurry in the background (you’ll need a timer for this one, unless you want to just write on one hand)
13. Blow the biggest bubble you can with gum
14. Cover your eyes/face with rhinestones, gems, stickers, googly eyes, or another material
15. Get an empty ice cream cone and position it so the clouds in the sky look like it’s the ice cream in the cone
16. Photobomb someone else taking a selfie with you taking a selfie
17. Use flowers (fake or real) to hold in front of your eyes/lay on your eyelids, bite in your mouth, or completely cover your face
18. Set the timer on your camera and blow confetti, glitter, flowers, or something else small into the camera lens
19. Don’t overthink it; just change your appearance with a crazy or gorgeous wig
20. Stand over a puddle so your shadow/outline is clearly cast in the water
21. Paint a thick line over your eyes/eyebrows and hold the paintbrush over your other eye, demonstrating you’re mid-stroke
22. Hold a bouquet of balloons, fill a room, car, or bathtub with balloons, or roll around with balloons in your bed
23. Cover your hair and/or facial hair in anything you can glue to mini clothespins (stickers, googly eyes, pom poms, etc.)
24. Get naked, but challenge yourself to keep the photo PG (that doesn’t mean it can’t still be sexy as hell)
25. Stand in black light, under LED lights, or any other interesting illumination
26. Wrap your face with string, twine, yarn, rope, ribbon, or something else you can play with the distribution of
27. Light a smoke bomb for a magical effect (be quick — and careful — they go fast!)
28. Wear a mascot/animal mask and do something “mundane”/”normal”
29. Hold something with holes up to your eyes like they’re glasses (bagels, donuts, etc.)
30. Put something on your tongue on stick it out (vitamin, candy, LSD — just kidding?)
31. Stick/glue something to each of your fingers so they’re in the foreground of the picture (stamps, stickers, etc.)
32. Surround yourself with stuffed animals and insert your head in between them, ET style
33. Wear all of the same color and find a wall that matches you to stand in front of
34. Photobomb someone famous
35. Wear a bunch of glow sticks and turn the lights out
36. Tie your hair in chunks to a flower bush or to helium-filled balloons so it looks like it’s floating
37. Get buried in the sand and take a picture of the results
38. Cover yourself in temporary tattoos
39. Wrap yourself in twinkle lights or hold them in your hand like you’re creating energy
40. Hold a sparkler up (best results at dusk/night)
41. Hang upside down
42. Create a visual representation of a pun with your surroundings
43. Use thrift store items as props and get ridiculously weird with it
44. Record your face in slow motion and choose the weirdest frame
45. Set your timer and capture you jumping on your bed or falling down mid-air onto your bed
46. Throw water on your face and snap the button mid-splash
47. Fill a bathtub with all of one material (pom poms, balloons, leaves, etc.), lay in it, and take a picture from above
48. Take a bunch of indoor things outside (chair, teapot, TV set, etc.) and make a surreal scene to be a part of
49. Get a cylindrical/tube-like object, look down it, and take your picture from the other end
50. Play with perspective and make it look like a flower, piece of fruit, or something up close next to your camera is actually a part of your outfit when you’re standing farther away
How do you make your selfies creative?
Photos: Maura Housley
