How To Take GOOD Photos of Yourself (+ all the equipment I use)

Hey friends! I’m sure that you’ve seen all of those gorgeous Pinterest photos of influencers living out their best lives, and I think we’ve all asked ourselves, “How on earth do they get such amazing photos!?” Some of them are lucky enough to have a family member is a pro photographer (and enjoys doing it 😉) or actually pay a photographer for sessions. But you’d actually be surprised at how many of them take photos themselves.

I get it though and if you frequently take photos of yourself (by yourself) than you’ll know the struggle. Sometimes it can take HoUrS to get that perfect photo for your Instagram, blog or other social media account. After years of begging family members and friends to help me get photos, I’ve finally figured out how to take photos of myself and you guys it’s so much easier than I could have imagined. For this blog post I’ll give you all the equipment I use + all my tips for taking pictures of yourself that I’ve learned from almost 5 years of blogging!

Also if you guys haven’t already I’d absolutely love if you went ahead and hit the follow button! You can do so below really quick or if you’re not on a mobile device in the sidebar as well. Thanks so much!

Here are the steps I use to take great photos of myself by myself every time!

1 . Choose the right location and time of day.

I usually take my photos in my bedroom just because I like the décor setup and also I can kind of move things around and style them how I want for the photoshoot. There is also plenty of natural light in my room, especially around 1-3 pm, so that’s usually where and when I take my photos.

Honestly, this is something you’ll just have to play around with, especially if you’re outside. You can also use a light kit to help with the lighting, but always make sure to use as much natural light as possible.

2. Set up your camera & other equipment.

I use the Canon Rebel T6, but you definitely do not need a dslr camera to take great photos of yourself! Most smartphones have wonderful cameras and tbh, even though I do use my camera a lot, there are times when I actually prefer using my phone. Would I recommend getting a camera if you’re looking to do a lot of product photography, blog or social media (presuming you’re using it as a business) photography? Totally! But don’t stress if you can’t get a camera right now, do the best that you can, use your phone and just do it!

In addition to my camera, I also use a tripod (here is the one I use) and my phone (for the camera connect, which I’ll explain next).

3. Connect your camera to your phone (or use a camera remote).

If you are in the market for a camera I would HIGHLY recommend getting one that has the WIFI feature if you’re planning to take a lot of photos of yourself. Yes, you can use a camera remote and I have one but I honestly don’t really like it that much. The thing is, when I connect my camera to my phone I can see exactly how my photo is going to look, I can adjust my pose, adjust the focus, etc. But when you’re using a camera remote you can literally not see anything. You have to take the photo then adjust your pose and it’s really hard to control the focus. I’m not saying that you can’t do it and get great photos, it just takes A LOT longer.

All of that being said, if it’s at all possible for you connect your camera to your phone with the WIFI feature! If not, no worries, like I said you can definitely still get great photos, it just will take more practice and time!

I learn things much better with videos, so rather than just explaining the steps to connect you camera, I thought it would be easier to just share this great video on how to do it!

4. Start snapping.

Now for the fun (and tricky) part! My biggest tip (which I’ll go into a little deeper on in a minute) is to just take as many photos as possible. Even with using the app, it’s really hard to tell what the photo will end up looking like, so trial and error will be your best friends with this. I always like to schedule in plenty of time when I’m doing a photoshoot of myself, especially if I’m trying a new location or time of day.

Here’s my process for taking photos with the app:

• Using the remote live shooting option on the app I’ll play around with the pose until I get something that I think looks good
• I’ll adjust the focus to be where I need it (my face, the center of the photo, the outfit, etc)
• Click the shutter button
• Hide the phone quick (toss it behind you, hide your hand, stick it underneath you, whatever! 😂🙈)

Pro Tips:

Allow for more time than you think you’ll need. Everyone is definitely different and you might be a ton faster than I am, but when I was doing the photos for my t-shirt line I would spend about 30 minutes on each shirt and end up with around 10 photos that I actually used. It did get a little faster as time went on (and no, I did not take all the photos in one day) and I knew which poses I liked, etc. but it definitely takes time! To me, it is totally worth it because for my business photos play a huge part into making sales, but it is an investment nonetheless!

Edit, edit, edit. I know that a lot of people think that editing is somehow “cheating” but in my book, editing is definitely not cheating! Often a little basic editing will change the entire photo and make it go from alright to amazing! I use Adobe Lightroom to edit all of my photos and it is by far the best photo editing program I’ve used, plus the mobile app is completely free!

Take loads of photos during the shoot. It takes tonnnnssss of trial and error to get good photos, especially when you’re first starting out! Don’t be afraid to keep trying and take a lot of photos! Also, don’t ever delete any photos until you’ve finished the shoot and started editing. Sometimes the photos that originally didn’t look the best will be the ones that you end up using! I’ve also found that the photos look slightly different on the tiny camera screen than on my computer when I’m editing.

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There you have it! I hope these tips will be helpful for you guys and I’d love to see the photos you end up taking of yourself if you’d like to share (link your blog or Instagram in the comments below)!

Don’t forget to save these tips to Pinterest so you can always revisit them when you need a refresher, it also helps me out big time! 😉

❤ Hannah