How to Perfect Instagram Makeup Selfies and Portrait Photos

Taking a selfie may seem ridiculously easy, but in fact, it is an art since all painters and photographers in history have tried to capture a perfect selfie in one way or another. Like with everything else in life the practice is probably the most important factor that will enable you to gradually start taking better selfies as the time passes. On the other hand, having the right tools to capture a selfie everyone will admire is equally important as practice. In this article, we will supply you with a healthy dose of tips for taking selfies and we will recommend you a few iOS and Android apps that will make sure that none of your selfies goes unnoticed. 

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How to take perfect selfies for Instagram?

The most important thing about taking a selfie is that you like how you look in the photo, but there are also a few technical things you can do that will take your selfies a step closer to perfection.

Angles are important - Try to imagine that the camera on your phone is the eye of an Instagram follower and then decide what do you want them to see. Generally, it is a bad idea to hold your phone directly in front of your face, simply because you'll look like you are staring at your phone.

Keep the camera above the head - The so-called high-angle shot is very flattering and it will make your selfie more dramatic.

Don't forget about the light - Natural light can make you look beautiful even if you don't wear any makeup, especially in the morning when you are still fresh from a good night's sleep. Fluorescent light, on the other hand, may be a good thing to avoid if you want to take perfect selfies.

Find your filter and hold on to it - If you'd like to give your Instagram feed some consistency choose the photo filter that flatters you the most. Just don't stick to the same filter at all costs and allow yourself to experiment every once in a while. 

Learn more details about how to edit Instagram photos before posting

5 Best Apps to Perfect Your Instagram Makeup Selfies and Portrait Photos

If your photographic skills fail you at any moment, you can count on these apps to help you create stunning portraits and selfies that will attract tons of likes on Instagram.

1. Facetune

Price: $3,99 - $4,59

Available on: iOS, Android

Facetune will allow you to look like a model from the cover of a magazine on every photo you edit with it. The Reshape tool will allow you to change the shape of your nose, slightly change the jawline or even transform your face into any funny shape you want. The Vivid Makeup option allows you to add color to your lips, add eyeshadow that can be further highlighted with photo editing features such as background blur and customized filters. Facetune lets you share your photos to any social network including Instagram, and it is a simple and fun to use app that will make you look amazing in each selfie you take.

2. Spring

Price: Free

Available on: iOS

This may sound crazy, but Spring lets you resize your head or stretch or your neck. As a matter of fact, this app is a powerful tool that slims your body naturally and very realistically so its users will never have to feel bad about how they look like in a photo. Furthermore, the head resizing feature plays a big role in creating the illusion of realism since it enables you to scale your head to be proportional to your body. The features Spring offers may be fun and even quite useful for creating amazing selfies but the app doesn't provide any other beauty filter or makeup effect other than the ones we mentioned.

3. TouchRetouch

Price: $1,99 - $2,16

Available on: Android, iOS

Photos often contain a lot of unwanted objects and persons that can't be easily removed, but the TouchRetouch app makes removal of literally anything look easy. What's more, it doesn't even require you to be too precise when designating the element in the photo you want to remove, while Lasso or Clone Stamp tools allow you to have perfect control over the photo manipulation process. The app's users don't have to worry about making mistakes because the Eraser tool enables them to undo any missteps they might have made. If at any point of making your Instagram selfie you feel that you need assistance the app provides tutorials that contain all the information on how to use the TouchRetouch app.

4. Microsoft Selfie

Price: Free

Available on: iOS and Android

This is the ultimate selfie tool that automatically improves your photos by analyzing your age, gender and skin tone. The app also factors in light values which produces perfectly natural images that don't look like they've been edited. The Denoise feature automatically activates when the app recognizes that a photo was taken in poor light conditions and it reduces the amount of noise in a picture. By choosing the Boost filter mode users of this app can fix the exposure of a photo or create a clearer picture that has significantly less blur. Despite its remarkable features, Microsoft Selfie lacks advanced photo editing features that can be helpful during the process of creating an amazing selfie.

5. Adobe Photoshop Express

Price: Free

Available on: Android, iOS

A quick look at the list of features this app provides makes it obvious that Adobe Photoshop Express is the perfect tool for editing your selfies. The Auto-Fix feature allows you to fix exposure, white balance, and contrast with a single tap, while slide controls are available for options such as clarity, tint or vibrance. The app offers 45 photo effects in several different categories which means that creating stunning black and white selfies is a simple task. The abundance of features supported by the Adobe Photoshop Express might be overwhelming for inexperienced photo editors, but this app will undoubtedly enable each of its users to create beautiful selfies for their Instagram accounts.