Hi! We're a bunch of ladies in L.A. who have a...love-hate relationship with selfies.
Because even if you've got the skills to take a great picture of yourself (and many of us don't), there's a strong stigma attached to taking a picture just to show how much you are ~feeling yourself~ — and that can eat at your confidence, too.
So, we brought in Tess Holliday, a plus-size model who has shot campaigns for H&M and Torrid...
...and is also a TOTAL BOSS at taking selfies.
And we had her evaluate and coach us on our selfie skills to see if we could learn to take better selfies and maaaaaaybe even learn to love them.
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And here were the results. Keep in mind that none of these photos have filters!
Sheridan tried out a basic selfie:
Tess's big suggestions for Sheridan: Use natural, indirect light from a window, and don't angle the phone!
And here's how Sheridan's selfie turned out after Tess's help:
Sheridan, on her “after” selfie: I don’t even recognize this person right now. I think I finally had to admit to myself that I can't smize for shit so I'm glad Tess told me to go full smile because I look so much happier! Also, who knew that hand positioning could take your selfie from boring to "Oh I am always this dainty little angel flower."
Caitlin tried an outdoor selfie:
For outdoor selfies, Tess suggests putting the sun directly behind you.
And here's what Caitlin's outdoor selfie looked like after Tess's help!
Caitlin on her "after" selfie: Damn, I never knew you wanted to put the sun behind you!!!! This one just looks like I'm having fun! Plus, there's a cute halo going on, and the lighting on my face is nice and even, so no squint!
Lindsay attempted to take a food selfie:
For posing with ~tasty food~, Tess suggested holding the food in front of you, rather than biting it.
And here's Lindsay's food selfie after Tess's help:
Lindsay on her "after" selfie: For starters, I learned that it's not completely necessary to ~actually~ put food in your mouth for the sake of the selfie. If you're holding a snack, chances are good that everyone realizes you're about to eat it. Also, it's all in the wrist when it comes to holding things. Who knew?
Ochi tried to do a mirror selfie:
Tess's biggest notes for Ochi: Fix the lighting and add more curves to her pose.
Then, she suggested that Ochi either pop her knee or just cross her legs:
And here's how Ochi's selfie turned out after Tess's help:
Ochi on her "after" selfie: Tess boosted my confidence with just a few selfie techniques. I had no idea that moving your hand a little up your waist or crossing your legs made such a difference. And even though the pose felt so unnatural, it looked awesome and not like I was trying too hard. Forget overanalyzing your selfies, all it takes is just a few small posing tweaks and you can be taking mirror selfies with the best of them.
Kristin tried to do a lying-down selfie:
Tess's biggest notes for Kristin: Put a pillow under your head and hold the phone between your outer and inner fingers — like a clamp!
Here's how Kristin's selfie turned out after Tess's help:
Kristin, on her "after" selfie: Can we all just agree that pillows are the single most useful object to have ever been invented? For naps, for sitting on hard chairs, for taking pictures so that you don't look you're being quickly sucked backward into the center of the earth. Really, anything!
Jazzmyne wanted to do something advanced, so she tried out an underwear selfie:
Tess suggested that Jazzmyne ~maximize her curves~ and pose from behind — and that (since this is also a mirror selfie) she should be lit from the front.
Here's Jazzmyne's underwear selfie after Tess's help:
Jazzmyne on her "after" selfie: I do honestly like how my butt looks. I've never been taught how to "show it off" and bam! There it is! I'm totally satisfied with it and will definitely be practicing this pose!
At the end of the day, we all felt more fab and a little bit less dumb about taking selfies. Here's some of the stuff we learned.
