97 Model Worthy Poses & Tips For A Great Selfie

Take better selfies and look good doing it with these model worthy selfie ideas, tips & tricks

Today we’re going to do a deep dive into selfie poses, and give you a bucketload of selfie posing strategies and modeling tips that will have you looking amazing.

Have you ever taken a selfie and thought you looked dang fine, only find out you actually looked more like Cookie Monster stumbling home after a long night of bar hopping?

Don’t worry – You’re not alone.

As a photographer, I spend most of my time taking photos of other people. When I’m traveling or out with friends, it can be extremely helpful to know how to make yourself look good in selfies and having some good selfie poses in my back pocket. And I was tired of taking selfies that just didn’t look GOOD!

So I decided to dive in to the world of selfie posing and do a little research on taking better selfies & different posing ideas for self portraits.

Whether you’re looking for selfie posing ideas or just looking to get better at posing yourself for self portraits, this tutorial is going to unlock all the posing tips, tricks and strategies you need to get there. Most of all, we’re going to cover a ton of different posing styles and strategies you can use to take better selfies.

The biggest problem with most selfie poses is that they don’t break down all the reasons WHY the pose works and what is actually going on.

Rather than a short list of stale selfie poses to copy, we’re going to cover different posing techniques you can mix and match to look like a model in any situation. Combining these different selfie posing strategies you’ll be able to create hundreds of poses and have endless variety in your selfies.

Sound good? Let’s do it.

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Selfie Poses Technique #1 – Full Body Selfie Poses

Biggest Strength: Posing Variety = Endless

Difficulty: Intermediate

Recommended Equipment: Phone tripod + remote shutter

These are the most iconic and impressive types of selfies – Most of the time showing off an amazing destination somewhere you wish you could be! What makes them so impressive is that they’re selfies taken from a distance, so that you can interact more with your surroundings.

The beauty of full body selfies is once you’ve put your phone down, you can literally do ANYTHING. There are a million different selfie poses at your disposal, because ANY pose will work when you don’t have to worry about holding the camera.

How to take full body selfies:

Taking full body selfies starts with getting your camera / phone out of your hand and on to a tripod.

This can be as easy as grabbing one of these super affordable phone tripods w/ remote shutters from amazon, which will let you take a photo on your phone from a distance by clicking a little button connected to your phones bluetooth. I actually bought this exact model and its fantastic for getting those wide shots.

If you happen to have a smart watch like the apple watch, you can also do this through there!

The fancier method for taking full body selfies is by connecting a fancier camera with wifi support to your phone, and using your phone to remotely take the picture on your camera when you’re ready.

Here’s a quick tutorial using an iphone & bluetooth remote shutter:

Selfie Posing Technique #2: Play With Shapes

Biggest Strength: Add interesting shapes, frame your face

Secret Power: Use your hands creatively to conceal unflattering features (acne, double chin etc)

Difficulty: So easy! Experiment to find what shapes fit you best

Whether you’re taking full body selfies or snapping a quick selfie at arms length, one easy way to come up with TONS of different poses is simply to play with shapes.

Something as simple as changing the position of your hands can create dozens of different looks.

POSING VARIATIONS: Bend your arms in different directions from one another. Bend both your arms AND your wrists. Use your arms, hands and fingers to frame your photo or frame your face.

HOT TIP: You can even use your hand to cleverly hide a double chin or minimize other features

(Lets be real – Acne happens to the best of us!)

ESSENTIAL POSING TRICK: Get those arms AWAY from your body!

This makes them appear leaner, creates interesting shapes, and shows off your curves.

The same posing tip applies to legs!

Lift your legs off of the ground / chair slightly when taking seated photos. This will have the same effect on your legs as with your arms!

Selfie Posing Technique #3: Angle your body

Biggest Strength: Shows off your figure – Far more flattering!

Difficulty: So easy! Experiment to find what angles fit you best

Just like bending your arms and legs to create shapes creates interest and variety in your selfie poses, angling your body towards or away from the camera gives you tons of fresh perspectives to play with.

One of the most common selfie posing mistakes people make is always facing straight towards the camera! Not only will this instantly add variety to your photos, it will also show your bodies natural shape and curves in a much more flattering and interesting way.

Secret Model Posing Tricks:

1 – Put your weight on your back hip to make your body appear smaller.

2 – Put your weight on your front hip to exaggerate your curves.

3 – Cross your legs at the knee to instantly double your curves!

Experiment with turning your body to the camera at different angles. Start by taking a selfie facing straight towards the camera, then turn and take one turned 45 degrees, then turned 90 degrees, even AWAY from the camera. Mixing up the angle gives you different perspectives and shows off + emphasizes different body features.

–> Angle your face away from the camera to emphasize your profile

POSING TIP –> Tilt your face towards the light – This will avoid harsh shadows and give a more flattering effect

Selfie Poses Technique #4: Angle your camera

Biggest Strength: Use different angles to change the size and shape of your face & body

Difficulty: Super simple – But takes practice to master.

Changing the angle of your camera / phone is a super powerful technique to shape your features!

For instance, did you know photographing from above makes your eyes appear larger and your chin appear smaller? This will give you a more innocent, childlike look.

Alternatively, photographing from slightly below will emphasize your chin and make your eyes appear smaller. This will give you a more confident, sexy or dominant appearance.

Ruslana Gee (model) does a great job of demonstrating this in her video on selfie tricks used by models:

The same principal applies to full body selfies.

Photos taken from lower to the ground will make your legs longer. Photos taken from above will make you appear shorter. 

Check out the difference between the way the camera angle effects these two models – The first photo taken from a higher angle looking down, the next photo shot from a low angle:

See how much shorter the legs of the first model appear from this higher angle?

Most of the time, you’ll find shooting wide and full body selfies look best from a lower angle.

The best way to figure out what looks best on you is to experiment with different camera angles yourself. Take photos from many different angles and find out what suits you best 🙂

Selfie Pose Technique #5: Mix Up Those Expressions!

Biggest Strength: When you master facial expressions, you’ll look better in ALL your photos (Not just selfies)

Difficulty: Medium. Practicing until you can make these expressions without needing to see yourself for best results.

Just because you’re taking a selfie you have to do a duck face! Play around and mix up your expressions. Photographers have a famous saying: The soul of a person is found in the eyes. When you are taking more close up selfies, the expression in your photo is EVERYTHING. There is a reason one of the most important parts of learning to model is developing a variety of different expressions to switch between during a shoot. So try out different looks and get creative! For instance, try choosing your expression to fit the feeling of environment around you. Or try the exact OPPOSITE. The sky is really the limit.

Here are a few facial expression posing ideas to get the ball rolling:

Laugh your most ridiculous fake fake laugh (until you actually make yourself laugh because of how crazy you sound!)

Hug yourself & pretend like you’re freezing cold

• Think of something that makes you very sad
• Think of something that makes you angry
• Think of something that gives you childlike joy

SELFIE FACIAL EXPRESSION TIPS:

Bring your chin forward and slightly down – This gives you a more defined jawline and neck.

Remember to use your eyes!

It’s totally possible to smile with your just your eyes. Or try a very slight squint – This will add confidence to your expression.

Relax your lips and part your mouth very mouth slightly

Selfie Poses Technique #6: Tilt your head!

Biggest Strength: Makes all your poses far more interesting and natural.

Difficulty: Simple. Try this now!

Tilting your head is probably the EASIEST thing you can change when taking a selfie, and yet no one ever does this! Your head is not naturally perfectly straight all the time – And yet when we take photos, all we ever do is stare directly at the camera.

Tilting your head feels more natural and adds interest and angles to the photo. (aka more shapes!)

Experiment with tilting your head in ways you normally wouldn’t. You might be surprised to find some fresh angles that become you new go-to’s!

Combining posing techniques for unlimited poses

Combining these techniques for selfie poses together won’t just give you 21 unique poses!

Combining these techniques for selfie poses together won’t just give you 21 unique poses, it will give you HUNDREDS of different looks that you can customize to fit you and your situation perfectly.

The next time you’re looking for the perfect selfie pose, just try:

• Taking a full body selfie
• Creating different shapes with your legs / arms / hands
• Angling your body in a different direction to the camera
• Changing the angle of the camera
• Mixing up your facial expressions
• Tilting your head in different directions

Combining all of these gives you a limitless number of posing variety. And as a bonus, as you practice and apply these different posing techniques, you’ll be able to use them in every photo you’re in – not just your selfies!

A few more ideas for selfie poses:

Play with perspective!

Not all selfies have to have your face in them – Play around with different perspectives! Incorporating your hands or feet into a photo can give viewers the feeling of looking through your eyes.

Incorporate props & interact with your environment

Try to think of ways you can connect with the environment in your photos. This will create a more cohesive, connected story.

Make use of movement & action!

Real life doesn’t stand still – So don’t feel you have to stand perfectly still in your photos and your selfies! Try moving around – Jumping, dancing, rolling, spinning, running – Whatever you can think of. This will add more energy and interest to your shots.

Do something unexpected.

Adding something unexpected to your photos will make them interesting and unique. Something as simple as rotating your photo so that you are upside down can draw attention and give your selfies a unique perspective.

Important selfie posing tips

1 – Work with your strengths!

The truth is we all have strengths and weaknesses. You’ll have WAY better results if you work with your strengths rather than fighting to make a specific selfie pose work that just doesn’t match your build or body type.

If you have a super curvy body, own that. If you have a very thin, muscular body, work that!

2 – Photograph intentionally

Take an extra second before you dive in and just visualize the shot before you start. Think about what different angles might look good. Snap a few photos of different backgrounds to picture kinds of poses might work for that scene, then set things up. This will save you a LOT of time in the long run and get you better results than if you just dive in right away and snap a million photos, only to realize later that your outfit totally clashes with the background etc.

3 – Take LOTS of photos

Professional photographers and Instagram Influencers take hundreds of photos for just ONE keeper. Take lots, experiment and try different variations. The secret to getting good at selfies is honestly just to take LOTS and find out what works for you. Find great light, choose a background and color scheme that match your outfit, and play with different shapes, angles and expressions. The more you do this, the better you’ll become.

Now you’ve got some new ideas to add to your go to selfie poses.

Improving your photography takes time and practice. The best way to grow is by going out and implementing what you learn – Stick with it and you’ll see results!

Hopefully this selfie posing guide has given you some tips to take forward and ideas to apply to your next selfie pose.

Was this guide helpful? If so, do us a huge favor and give it a share + leave a comment below!

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A quick note:

This guide is meant to give you the tools you need to take better selfies and give you different inspiration for selfie poses. That said, it can be so easy to get caught up in comparing our bodies to others and shaming ourselves through the fake lens of instagram. Take these tips for better selfies and use them for your inspiration, but realize that instagram is never reality – Don’t let it tear you down.

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For those of you who are more visual, this tutorial by Sorelle on posing gives an amazing demonstration of these selfie pose ideas: