Selfie Guide

What Is a Selfie and How Much Do You Know About It?

It begins with us raising our smartphones over our heads, at just the right angle, and checking whether the lighting is okay. After that, we strike a pose (a playful or a serious one, it's up to you) and snap a photo—our very own digital self-portrait or, as we know it, a selfie.

The rise of the selfie trend occurred at the beginning of the 2010s, but it definitely reached its peak in 2014—the year when everyone was posting photos of themselves, no matter where they were. A filter here, a blur effect there, and you could make your photo look like it popped out straight from the 60s or 70s, or like one of the best black and white photos ever created.

Human beings are vain creatures, so it makes sense that we took to this trend fairly quickly, and started sharing our selfies to various social media channels, including Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook, where we eagerly waited for likes and comments from our friends. Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries officially added the word “selfie” to their lexicon and it was even voted the Word of the Year in 2013. Bear in mind, though, that only a photo that you take by yourself is considered to be a selfie—if your friend takes a photo of you, that's just another regular picture in your gallery.

Using Phone Accessories to Improve Your Photos

Naturally, a number of mobile phone accessories and applications appeared along with selfies, meant to enhance and improve your photos in every possible way. All of a sudden, camera lenses became everyone's must-have products, selfie sticks were everywhere, and people were searching, day and night, for the best app for their photos, among thousands available on the App and Google Play stores.

Here on MyTrendyPhone, you can browse through a wide selection of add-ons for your mobile phones that can ultimately help you perfect your photography skills. Whether it's a case, a special light, or a selfie kit, you'll be able to find it on our shop. Another product that we'd wholeheartedly recommend to all of our customers who are avid selfie fans is a power bank, which will provide you with additional energy when you're on vacation and snapping photos all day, every day.

Taking a Perfect Selfie: Tips and Tricks

While apps and accessories can help you out, there are still a couple of rules you should follow if you want to make your selfies look unique and professional. So, what should you pay attention to when snapping your photos?

• Lighting is important (we already mentioned it), but if you can take a selfie using natural light—that's even better.
• Keep your hand still while you're making a photo—if you can't, try using a tripod or a remote trigger.
• For better quality, use your smartphone's back camera, not the front one.
• Always make your background look nice and adjust it according to the “theme” of your photo.
• Experiment with angles! Taking a selfie from the same angle at all times can get quite boring, so don't be afraid to change things up every now and then.

For more useful tips, go through our detailed infographic and find out everything you need to know about taking that perfect selfie!