@FireflyEyes How do you take pictures of yourself?
I think you take very darling shots. They tend to be very honest and communicate a lot (I imagine) about your personality. They are already a pleasure to look at.
Things to consider:
1. lighting
2. distance
3. post-shoot editing
Lighting is the hardest part. Learning how to use light takes practice. So I guess the tip is practice. Practice. Practice. Take lots of shots and delete them. Don't even worry about posing/focus etc, just play with the light. Take the same shot left side and right side. A little higher angle and a little lower angle. See how the light changes.
I recommend putting your body between the camera and the light source. Either the light is off to the side or a little bit behind you (anywhere so you are in between the light and camera, SamlightIsBack does this well). Also, you could try changing from auto mode on your camera to something else...just to see how it changes the photo. Sometimes taking a portrait in landscape or night mode can give some cool outcomes. (I don't own a smartphone, so I don't know well about how to use the different settings, but again practice practice practice...)
Distance is next. Most peoples comfort zone is about 3-4 feet (90-120cm) but your arm isn't quite that long. So an arms length shot might feel too close and difficult to look at. Tips: use a timer and a stand to get a little distance, a selfie-stick, or use a mirror. In the case of the mirror, the light travels twice the distance to get to the camera (from your body into the mirror and back to the camera....aww Mr. Block my high school physics teacher should be happy today
#PeopleIhaventthoughtaboutindecades), so even if you are close, the photo has a more distant feeling too it, making it more enticing (Slopps and Resferbersoul20 demonstrate this well). (and mirrors also often mean fingers
which means big WIN for #TeamNoPants)
Post-shoot editing
Simple things like cropping out unnecessary bits. Especially if you move the camera further away to take the picture, there are bound to be other things that sneak into the shot. So in post, crop them out. Only leave what you want to show.
Other post-shoot things, maybe playing with contrast or saturation. If the lighting is good, there is no need to touch these...but if the lighting wasn't great, bumping up the contrast or saturation a little can add a little umph to your shot. (but remember, less is more)
Finally, take a shot when you feel joyful
Joy is one of the most photographable entities in the universe.
