How to Take a Selfie Like a Pro With Your Android Phone
How do you make your photos stand out in a sea of endless selfies? One way is to ensure they’re professionally shot.
Let’s learn how to do precisely that with any Android device. These tips improved the selfie game for a hobbit-like creature like myself, so I know it’ll work wonders for yours, too.
How to Snap a Selfie on Your Android Device
If you are new to the Android platform, you may not know how to take a selfie. No big deal; it’s easy:
Every brand of Android phone uses a different camera app, but they all work in the same way. Next time you launch the camera app, it will have reverted to using the rear camera again.
How to Take a Selfie Even Faster
Now, that’s easy enough—but what if you want to jump into selfie mode instantly? One way is toput a shortcut to the front camera on your Android device’s home screenso you can jump into selfie mode with one tap. That way, you’ll never miss an opportunity to take a selfie with anyone ever again, for better or worse.
Double-tapping the Power or Home button typically does the trick if you want to open your Android device’s camera app while it’s locked. Tap the appropriate icon to switch to the front-facing camera and take your selfie.
This shortcut allows anyone to use your device’s camera. To turn off this feature on a Pixel device, open the Settings app and go toSystem > Gestures > Quickly open camera, then tap the slider next toQuickly open camerato deactivate the feature. The precise instructions may vary depending on the Android device you are using.
Take Your Selfies to the Next Level With Android-Compatible Camera Gear
To get the right look every time, you will need to invest in some gear. The good news is that Android-compatible camera gear is plentiful and inexpensive. I found the gear below for less than $100. Deal sleuths can find them far cheaper.
Get the right gear and learnhow to edit photos on an Android device, and give yourself that upper-crust glow. I’m not going to say that you’ll look like an influencer. Far be it from me to pretend to know that I’m hip to that kind of scene. But you’ll at least look like you know what you’re doing when snapping great pictures on your Android device. And if you ask me, that’s just as impressive.
Do note that although I’m providing a link to each type of gear I used in this guide, I’m not advocating for any of them. I merely chose gear with decent ratings and a low price, like an average shopper might, to demonstrate that it doesn’t take anything special to make those selfies dazzle. First up: your tripod.
Portable Phone Tripod
If you’re planning a staged shot of any type, you’ve got to bring a portable tripod. Preferably what I like to call the “Spider-Man” tripod.
TheAureday Flexible Phone Tripodis indeed a “Spider-Man” tripod, and I had no issue flexing it to any angle. From ground-floor shots to steeply angled shots, tripods like these are flexible enough to stay firm. The phone holder on this tripod and others like them is also flexible, so getting that perfect angle isn’t a problem.
My tripod came with a Bluetooth camera shutter—yours may come with the same. Or, you can use thisASHUTB Bluetooth 5.0 Remote Shutter, which worked well enough for me.
Pairing a Bluetooth Remote shutter to your Android phone works likepairing any Bluetooth device to an Android phone. If you get a display message about configuring the keyboard, ignore it.
Now, let’s take a selfie with this setup. Attach your Android phone to the portable tripod, with the front-facing camera pointing toward you. With the Bluetooth remote shutter device connected to your phone, press theCamerabutton (or an equivalent) to snap a picture.
As you’re able to see, my selfie looks steady at just the right angle. But the lighting could be better. Let’s fix that.
Portable LED Lighting
While you can’t lug a giant light ring with you everywhere you go (or can you?), portable LED lighting that’s almost just as bright is a thing.EMART’s 60 LED Continuous Portable Lighting Kitwas easy to set up and gave me those bright lumens my dog’s giant chew bone desperately needed.
If you know you will need lighting off-grid, you may want to opt for a battery-powered LED light source or use a battery pack with an AC outlet like the few below. They can be a bit pricey, but worth it when you need to use your AC-powered devices (like portable LED lighting) anywhere.
No matter where you take your pictures, portable LED lighting brings out the best in your face that the “flash” function from your phone can’t replicate. Just look at how it transformed my selfie from looking just okay to pretty, pretty, pretty good.
As you can see, I’m thrilled by the results. But let’s make it look even better—by incorporating a compact standing mirror.
Some Android camera apps have a selfie flash hidden in the Settings. It turns the screen bright white to illuminate your face when you press the shutter button. It isn’t as good as dedicated hardware, but can work in a pinch.
Compact Standing Mirror
One of the slickest demonstrations to come out of Google I/0 2023 was seeing how the Pixel Fold is used to take a selfie via the back-facing camera by the power of… folding.
That looks and sounds awesome. But you can get the same basic functionality with a cheap compact standing mirror like thisccHuDE Folding Makeup Mirror.
The idea is to place your Android phone with the back-facing camera pointed at you, with the screen facing the compact mirror. You may have to make a tiny adjustment, but the compact mirror with show the reflection of your screen. Look below to see my setup as an example.
From there, it’s all about getting the ideal angle and using the Bluetooth shutter button to snap your picture as you did above. Look at the substantial difference between taking a selfie with the back-facing camera versus the front-facing camera!
The Right Gear Makes All the Difference
Every Android phone comes with an app capable of taking decent selfies, and you can make it even better by adding a few accessories.
The great thing about today’s camera gear for mobile devices is that it doesn’t cost an arm, leg, or even a kidney. It’s relatively inexpensive to get started, giving everyone equal footing to make their selfies pop.
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