How to take the perfect engagement ring selfie

Despite gaining popularity as the 2013 Oxford Dictionary Word of the Year, not everyone’s a fan of the ‘selfie’, but even the haters will appreciate a pout-free self-portrait when your partner puts a ring on it.

Make sure your engagement ring selfie stands out on Instagram and doesn’t fade into the Facebook feed with these tips for taking the perfect post-engagement selfie:

Preparation

Your ring might be the biggest, whitest, sparkliest diamond known to mankind, but if your nails look like you just finished weeding the garden and your hair looks a mess, it will seriously detract from the overall effect. Give your nails a tidy up; file evenly and splash a coat of polish around for added glam. If they require professional attention, hold off until after the salon. Even if the news breaks, social media will wait for the ring selfie, so make it a statement!

Lighting

According to the Selfie Brush – yes, such a thing exists – using flash can flatten your features, so it’s best to use natural light. Head outdoors or perch beside an open window and let the sun shine brightly on your brand new rock. *TIP: avoid fluorescent lights at all costs.

Backdrop

Before snapping, look at your surroundings. The whole world doesn’t need to see your messy bedroom or hair spray collection in the bathroom vanity. Whether you’re getting your pearly whites in the pic or taking a hand-only shot, make sure the background isn’t going to detract from the photo’s focal point. Solid coloured walls and bench tops work a treat.

Edit

If you’ve snapped the perfect pic but you’re not entirely happy with the lighting or background, use Photo Editor to manipulate the image by adding a filter, or beautify using tools for cropping, teeth whitening and blemish removal. Boarders and text overlays can work, but apply on the principal that less is more. A simple proposal date or ‘I do‘ should suffice.

Props

Partners, pets and travel accessories; experiment with props and recreate the scene for viewers. You can also try a casual, candid pic of you reading the paper, drinking a coffee or partaking in some other mundane daily activity that will take people by surprise when they work out what the pic is really about. In this case, even the glorious Eiffel Tour can’t dim the sparkle on this lady’s engagement bling.

Holllllld it…

Chances are you’re not going to snap the winning shot first time, so be prepared to take a few. Holding down the capture button on most smart phones will take a series of pics for you to choose from and could capture the magic shot when you least expect it.

A little Inception-al inspiration

For an image that will blow people’s minds, take a photo of you taking a selfie. While not technically a selfie, this inception-style photo inside a photo creates a cute couple shot and draws attention to the bling on the hand holding the phone.

Have you seen an engagement ring selfie worth recreating? Let us know in the comments! For more inspiration, try searching the hashtag #relfie (ring selfie) and see how others around the world are capturing their magic moment.