Up your photo game by learning the art of the advanced selfie

This is a funny one for me because people often ask who takes my photographs; I think they assume it’s my insta-husband (LOL), or a friend or photographer. Truth is I take them; you don’t need your photographs to be limited nor restricted by relying on someone else to take them. I struggled and stumbled for a while and then started to take notice of Sorelle Amore’s unbelievable photographs, all selfies using a tripod and a phone/remote. You can watch one of her tutorials here if you’re interested in seeing what inspired me to learn and up my game.

Equipment does play a role and you may need to invest in a few tools to help, but the result is so worth it. I shoot on a Fuji X-T10 with a tripod and then I use my iPhone as the remote. Most new-ish cameras have WiFi capabilities which means you can tether your camera to your smartphone and use your phone to operate the camera. 99% of the time if I’m in one of my photographs it’s taken without anyone else’s help; I simply set up the scene, connect my camera to my phone, select the self-timer mode (I normally use the 2 second mode) and I keep my phone close by. Sometimes it’s in my hand but hidden out of frame, or behind me, or in a pocket, or sometimes even on the floor with my toe pressing the capture button. It takes a little practice but you quickly learn how to set up the scene and how to capture the perfect shot (or 10) quickly.

I’ve even heard of people who tape their iPhone to the ceiling above the bed and use a small hand-held remote to capture those iconic shots of the whole family on the bed. You know the flat-lay of the woman’s legs with socks on, snuggled on top of a duvet with a cup of coffee or book in hand? Yep, that’d be another good on for the phone-on-ceiling technique. You’ll be amazed at what you can shoot with a little creativity and learning.

The reason I’m writing this post is because photographs and photography shouldn’t be limited by who you travel with or how well your partner can work his/her way around a camera. If you’re trying to up your Instagram or social media game and you need photographs with yourself in them but don’t have a budget to pay a photographer, take them yourself! I’ve definitely managed to up my game and following having figured out this hack, and it’s something I want others to know about and learn too.

Here are some selfies I’ve shot to give you an idea of what you can capture on your own, because life’s too short to be embarrassed about a silly word:

Thanks for reading and I hope this inspires you to get a little creative with your camera equipment and to up your selfie game.

Misha x