Learn how to get the Best Saree Selfie every single time !!
Why does the Indian woman love the saree? Is it a natural feeling from constant wearing due to tradition? Or is it the cool comfort despite being clad in its confines? Is it the ease of movement that it permits without any qualm? Or is it simply the womanly feeling from donning something that shows off her allure? The Indian woman would easily answer in the affirmative to all four posers.
No wonder we have a ton load of selfies of women posing in all forms of dress, but mostly in the saree. A selfie is taken for a variety of reasons but almost all narrowing to one simple fact – looking good to others who view it. So if a woman dressed in a saree, takes a selfie, there are certain niceties to be observed if she wishes to make ‘given a second, third, fourth and more look’ a reality.
Pray what are they? Let us dwell over them.
The ‘look’ in the saree
Looking good involves the physical features appearing good to the extent possible. A clear face, neatly combed or appropriately styled hair, the lips accentuated by the right color of lipstick, and a smile that lightens the air around.
The saree and accessories are important
Every woman knows how good she looks in what type of saree in her mind, and that is what translates to what she will be wearing for the selfie. All it requires is that she drape herself correctly, with pins in the right place if necessary. The pleats could be neatly arranged, the saree leveled evenly at the midriff, no tell tale poking out string or some noticeable anomaly that would draw attention later.
Accessories like earrings, nose ring, even the foot rings of married women, bangles, chains and footwear have to be ‘click-ready’. Test clicking of a selfie or two could be tried out for reassurance when ‘dress ready’ and ‘shot-ready’.
Once clicking starts one cannot get the time or confidence to correct at short notice. Saves heartbreak! Especially since the selfie is a permanent record when uploaded anywhere.
Concealing the problem areas or downplaying them
You know your best features, project them in the selfie. You have scars or a blemish, or any other feature that could gladly be concealed, that is not clearly visible, then fine. Dark circles under the eyes, some birth mark that is not very appealing, prominently in the selfie close-up try not to get too close to that spot. Foundations and concealers are a great help for such purpose.
The selfie reveals a lot at close-up. But what cannot be helped can be circumvented.
Lower the Mega pixel capacity, better the selfie
Sounds strange? Well a selfie gets too close for comfort and at the distance taken from tends to reveal more than it does conceal. One way to offset it is by having a lower mega pixels camera, getting the best possible angle of shoot where the minimal ‘damage’ is visible, and while the capture visibility is good but the sharpness tends to get soft. A 2 to 3 MP camera would do fine.
The selfie is for normal viewing not investigation.
Which is your best angle?
You get outfit ready, make-up ready, camera ready, but are you angle-ready? Take some trial shots at different angles in close up, check the instant results and determine what you ‘like’. That would be the best angle for most of your shots to get the best possible results and keep you in the right frame of mind. Side angles are widely loved. Do have a few of them too.
Your best angle gets you the most ‘likes’.
The best part - editing
Technology allows post-correction to achieve desired results. Use editing tools of readymade packages that have plenty of editing features that get you to dull or enhance gloss, improve or darken the background lighting, cover up undesirable areas and a host of other corrections you would like to make.
People judge you by what you look like, not what you are.
Tips for good pictures
- Lighting makes or mars a good photo. Good natural lighting is always best and available most times plentifully. Instead of facing an artificial source like computer or TV, face the bright light streaming in through the window. Going outdoors would be even better. What’s the best part? Dark circles or other shadowy problem areas would seem to disappear in contrast. An experienced selfie taker suggests, “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."
- Shadows upon the face should be avoided. Says a regular photo shooter,” 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”.
- Using a Flash need only be in dark backgrounds or low light conditions, when the selfie seems a must.
- There is nothing more decorative on a face than a smile that shows joy from the heart. For many it may not be immediately functional. But practice before a mirror could make it come nice and automatic and whenever needed. The sefie quality improves tremendously upon a naturally smiling face dominating a picture.
- Sometimes nothing seems to work right. Immediately stop clicking selfies. The face most importantly reflects the emotions and spoils all the images taken with the disturbed state of mind. There will be plenty of opportunities daily that could bring out good selfies from you.
- The angle of shoot is important. Experienced people advice to keep the chin up and face the camera . The bottom of the camera should level with your eyes.
- Looking directly into the camera with face straight will get you an “ID card”. A slight tilt and a natural expression like a pleasant smile in that direction, a petulant look, a pout seem good for nice selfies.
- The right post shoot editing applications and filters get a nice job done. Touching up with the right kind of software gets you looking your best “according to you” and favourably to the rest. Editing is for light touch up not to radically change the natural look of the selfie.
- Let the selfie seem unrehearsed or natural - like being caught in an unprepared moment. That gives the fun and genuine responses from people who view them.
- The background need not be plain or over-filled. If one is innovative, there could be plenty of interesting backgrounds to choose from, that one learns with experience.
- Be yourself. The natural feeling shown on the face makes for a great picture, not some copied, improperly reproduced pout or silly grin.
- Do away with strange objects or clutter in the background. They are ‘disturbing’ to the end-result.
There is nothing like experimentation and being innovative. Try different styles of wearing the saree, select colors that seem good on you, check poses that you feel should go down well with the viewing public and other ways of making the selfie interesting and attractive. The more you click, the better you’ll get. The better you get, more comments you get.
Hey! You could become the much sought after selfie-clicker soon enough.
