How To Take Amazing Photos Of Yourself As A Solo Traveller
Some people wonder how solo travelers take photos of themselves. What can one do when no-one else is around to lend a helping hand? Nowadays, especially young people know how to take selfies using their cell phones – but how does one make sure that that selfie’s not just a random picture of yourself but turns into an truly amazing photo?
Following are some tips on how to take amazing pictures of yourself without anyone else’s help.
What do you need in order to take photos of yourself?
Taking selfies may make you look silly when surrounded by other people – and definitely requires some experience and a lot of patience. That one perfect shot requires several shots, possible changes of angles, and constant shot reviews.
A very important first requirement: you need to have the guts to ignore strangers’ stares.
Additionally, try to master the ‘Smize’ technique (further explained in part 1), which will help you in taking quick and perfect shots. During the ‘America’s Next Top Model’ show, the Smize technique was explained by the show’s host Tyra, who would advise the contestants to, for example, smile with their eyes.
This may sounds crazy, but it works.
If you want to get a perfect headshot or want to become a model, master the Smize technique. The perfect shot requires practicing the individual Smize components and then putting it all together.
Part 1: Practice the Smize technique components
- Loosen your shoulders and relax
Loosen your shoulders by slowly rolling them backward and forward, and do so several times.
Slowly tilt your head to the right and to the left – this relaxes your neck.
Take some calming, deep breaths and visualize things that make you happy.
Do these three things to avoid stiff and robot-looking shots.
- Pick a focal point
Select a particular point and make it your focal point. It ensures that your gaze is confident and steady. The focal point should either be further away and at eye level, or directly looking into the camera or cellphone. Make sure you beforehand that you know exactly where your camera’s lens is located on your cell phone.
- Laugh a little
A laugh relaxes your body and allows you to feel positive. Feeling positive and smiling makes for a natural and genuine Smize.
Think of something – or that special someone – that makes you happy.
- Don’t squint your eyes
A genuine smile usually opens up your mouth wide and wrinkles your eyes. The Smize technique enables you to do a fake smile and still make it look genuine.
Getting rid of the wrinkles around your eyes while you smile is difficult though, and you need to practice it in order to ensure that you get it right.
Here are some tips on how to avoid wrinkles around your eyes while moving your mouth:
Squint from the bottom of the eyes that tighten the lower lid
Use a mirror to help when practicing
- Apply a little eye makeup (optional)
Always use a light eyeliner on the upper lashes. In case you make a harsh line, use some matte dark eyeshadow to apply close to the line.
If you want thicker eyelashes, use mascara.
While applying makeup, avoid dark and dramatic eyeshadow since it diverts the attention from your wrinkles and makes your Smize more of a glare.
- Accentuate your jawline by moving your face towards the camera slightly. This also makes the head look more prominent and draws attention to the Smize. As you move your face don’t forget to relax your shoulders.
- Tilt your chin downward a little to make your eyes look bigger. This is a great technique if you want to focus on the Smize. However, do not over-tilt your chin or you will end up with a double chin.
- Now put it all together and Smize!
Besides that perfect smile, what else will you need – practically speaking – to take amazing photos of yourself while traveling alone? Here are some ideas of what not to forget when wanting to take solo travel pictures:
Use a reflective surface or mirror
The bathroom selfie is a common mirror selfie embraced by everybody, including celebrities. Bathroom mirrors are good backdrops for taking good selfies, but remember, average bathrooms do not offer ample enough lighting to get that perfect shot.
Celebrity bathrooms are usually perfectly clean and beautiful and the perfect places to get mirror photos, but if your bathroom is not tidied, stylish and does not offer good lighting, avoid taking bathroom selfies.
Use a Selfie Stick
A selfie stick is easy to use. However, some official tourist scenic places do not allow the use of selfie sticks, because they want to minimize any injuries caused. Also, as much as it is effective, a selfie stick often creates annoyance in public places.
Use GoPro with accessories
Some people did not like using selfie sticks when they first came on the market. It seemed like too much work and a nuisance to carry them around, but it is still undeniable how efficient they were – and still are – when taking selfies; also because a selfie stick increases the distance between you and that beautiful backdrop you may want to hold captive in your picture.
The GoPro Hero 6 camera is perfect when taking solo travel photos. It offers a wide-angle view and lets you create some interesting moving or still selfies. This way, you don’t even need a selfie stick, if you’re not a fan of it.
Some other possible accessories include the GoPro wrist strap for extreme activities, such as sledding, and the GoPro flex clamp mount, which helps you with low profile mounting and also offers camera angle adjustability.
Use a wide-angle lens for close-up shots
A wide angle lens allows you to place the camera on any flat surface, then pose and take a selfie. It is a great technique for a close-up shot.
Get a Drone
A drone is an amazing equipment and also allows you to take perfect shots without having to use a selfie stick.
And how can you take that perfect selfie without anyone else in it?
How do you pose naturally and ensure that no strangers appear in the shot as a solo traveler?
Take pictures early in the day
When you want to take selfies in public places or famous tourist spots, it’s the early morning that offers you the best chance to take shots with fewer people in them, especially at popular destinations, such as Paris, London or New York.
Locate the perfect angle
According to many professional photographers, consider your angle in order to get a shot with fewer people in it. Frame adjustment is another trick to have more sky or natural backgrounds in the photo. You can also try to avoid typically busy streets and squares.
Make use of cropping
If your photo has extra people, you can use various photo cropping techniques to cut people out of a specific picture. There is also various software available to help you customize your photos online.
How to take a great full-body selfie by yourself?
Use a tripod
Make a tripod your best friend, if you love traveling solo and like travel photography. Ensure that the tripod is sturdy enough and does not wobble when the wind blows.
Avoid a cheap tripod that will fail your expensive camera. Better to invest a little more money and have good quality assured.
A person may wonder how one can carry a tripod in a suitcase. There are affordable and good-quality tripods that fit in your pocket or suitcase. Many tripods do not take up much space.
For an advanced photographer, a tripod is important to capture long exposure when taking pictures. Using your hand may be steady enough most of the time, but not steady enough to avoid making shots blurry, should the ground be soft or the weather not as good as predicted.
Some tips on how to get that perfect selfie when using a tripod:
- Set a 20-second timer, run in front of the lens, and strike a pose! After securing your cell-phone or camera on the tripod you are ready to begin taking full-body shots.
- Use a remote control for your phone or camera
When using a remote control you do not have to set the timer in the camera app. You can take your time to get ready and try to pose naturally. Whenever you think you’re ready, a click on the remote will trigger the camera shutter and activate the camera to take a shot. In some instances, you might still want to set the camera timer, in order to give yourself some time to hide the remote and strike a pose in time.
Another advantage of a remote trigger is that you do not have to get up again to set a new timer. The Bluetooth trigger allows you to take multiple pictures for as long as you want.
- Set the camera on ‘burst mode’
When taking full-body pictures of yourself, here are five more practical tips:
- Rotate the phone
For the body to fit in a frame, you may want to rotate your cell- phone. For instance, if you are standing, make sure the phone position is vertical – and horizontal, if you are lying down.
You can also get a full standing body shot horizontally – just place the camera further away from you
2. Use the rear camera of your cell-phone
The rear camera is the best camera on any cell-phone. It produces a better quality than a front-facing camera.
3. Use stand-ins and markers
It is helpful to use the markers because it is almost impossible to know where exactly you need to stand, in order to get that perfect shot when using the rear camera. Consider placing an object in your spot to highlight where to are going to stand, as you set up the camera
4. Steady your tripod
A tripod has three legs, which is usually effective, but at times difficult to place. Some surfaces are bumpy, and the tripod may require some support.
Here are ways of balancing your tripod:
- Extend its legs if the surface is uneven, like in a rugged terrain or on a pebbled beach.
- Check what kind of ‘feet’ a tripod has before purchasing it. Many tripods now have rubber feet that prevent it from spiking or slipping. They keep the tripod anchored even on rugged surfaces.
- Some tripods have a hook at the center that allows you to add some weight to improve steadiness. The hook is also helpful in windy areas.
How to take really unique photos of yourself?
Here are some important factors to make sure you take that perfect – and unique – selfie:
- Composition
- Shoot from above – such shots are flattering, since they emphasize the eyes and make the neck and faces smaller.
- Find the ‘shadowed’ side of your face – for practice, take a shot while looking at the camera or in a mirror. Search for the side of your face that looks darker due to insufficient lighting. This ‘shadowed’ side has a slimming and artistic effect. This technique does not work in direct sunlight.
- Use artistic approaches – the head-on traditional way is not the only way to get a perfect shot; try shooting only half of your face, zooming in on your mouth, cheek, or eye, or maybe try a profile shot.
- Avoid centering the shot on yourself – when taking pictures, including selfies, many photographers divide the frame into three equal parts: bottom, middle, and top, or right, middle, and left. Then they use the frame to accentuate the features they want emphasized.
- Keep the camera far away enough from your face, because the lens distorts any object that is physically too close. A perfect selfie requires the lens to be at about arm’s length. To get the best close-up, slightly zoom the camera and place it further away. Then crop the picture to make it look like it was a close-up.
- Use the phone’s main camera – the main camera usually has a higher quality and takes better pictures.
- Use a mirror – the benefit of using a mirror is that it allows you to see exactly how you look while taking the picture.
Here’s a quick summary of key points to help you take that perfect selfie:
- Check your pose
- Avoid the double chin
- Pull your shoulders back
- Adjust your attitude
- Angle your body and face
- Look right into – or purposely away from the camera
- Show some emotions, and smile with your eyes
- Avoid that duck face
- Dress according to the occasion
- Consider the environment
- Use natural light
- Check the background
- Think about the frame
- Edit
- Use a filter
- The picture may need some touch-up later
- Zoom i on the area of focus
- Crop any unnecessary people or things
The Bottom Line
Taking that perfect and unique selfie requires learning some techniques – and maybe even buying some additional equipment – before starting out on your solo travels. The above mentioned techniques are not difficult to learn and easy to apply.
