With the evolution of smartphones and their accompanying cameras, and being named Word of the Year by Oxford Dictionary in 2013, the selfie is here to stay.

Everyone is taking selfies. Barack Obama, David Cameron and Helle Thorning-Schmidt took selfies during the memorial service for Nelson Mandela.

Now, psychologists say selfies are a way for people to receive validation and acceptance. However, it becomes an issue when one’s self-esteem depends on the number of likes and comments received on social media.

In my opinion, selfies boost confidence and promote self-love, and I’m here to tell you how to make it better.

Clean your Camera Lens
Especially when using a smartphone camera. It may not be immediately obvious but, because we touch our phones so much, oil and dirt stick to the lens and make pictures blurry. For a sharper picture, remember to clean your camera lens before you start. So no, you are not ugly, your camera lens is just dirty.

Find the Best Light Source
Lighting is everything. Facing a light source brightens your face while backing the light source darkens your face, creating a sultry look. Take pictures in a variety of lighting conditions and decide which you prefer.

Clear Skin or Makeup
The key to a good portrait selfie is clear skin. Great skin is an important part of a selfie. If you have blemishes you’d like to hide, use a foundation.

Be Mindful of your Background
Be sure there’s nothing distracting, offensive or dangerous in the background, such as your phone number, your untidy bedroom, your naked sister or a pesky mouse.

Try out different Camera Angles
Take shots at different angles, above, below, a little to the left, a little to the right, center. Whichever, just find the point where you really like what you look like.

Use a Selfie Stick
Selfie sticks give you more distance from the camera and a variety of perspectives to play with. It’s also a great tool for group selfies or just for capturing a nice background. They are quite cheap and easy to find too, so get one.

Play with Your Face
Relax
Smile
Frown
Look away
Look at lens
Play with hair
Hide your smile
Pout
Whatever, just have fun with it.

Take a lot of Pictures and Sort
You aren’t likely to get a great selfie with just one or two shots. So don’t be shy, click away. Take as many selfies as you can and increase your chances of finding a really great one. Personally, it takes about 30 shots to find a good one I like.
Delete the ugly ones.

Crop it Out
Often, a picture isn’t great as it is, but when you zoom in on certain aspects, it’s perfect, or, your selfie is perfect but some nuisance in the background or an ugly friend is ruining the picture.
Crop them/it out! The Crop function cuts away the unnecessary.
Crop pictures and see what they look like before you give up and delete them.

Use and App filter
Use an app to enhance your selfie. These imaging apps come with a variety of preprogrammed filters to choose from and make your selfie more dramatic. Apps like VSCO and PhotoRetouch have awesome filters and are easy to use. If you don’t have or want any makeup on, just hop over to YouCam Makeup app and slap it onto your selfie! However, this is completely optional if your selfie is good enough for you.

A few years ago, someone asked me why I like my own pictures on Facebook. My response was “Why not? If I don’t like my own picture, why should anyone else like it?”

The number of likes and comments on your picture don’t matter, all that matters is that you like your own picture.

Love yourself first.
Love yourself openly and truly. In my opinion, it’s the only way you can ever genuinely love anyone else.

I hope these tips are helpful to you. So, by all means, pose, pout and click, click, click away!

And, do tag me in your selfie.