Have you ever seen an over-40 woman accidentally see herself in the front-facing camera on her phone?
Her response is likely one of panic. Which got me thinking: Do women over 40 not know how to take a selfie? That can’t be right.
In an article on CNN.com, Kelly Wallace discussed a project titled SelfieCity which looked at selfie behavior. The study suggested that, “While women, on average, take more selfies than men, the situation reverses itself after age 40.”
So men keep taking selfies after turning 40.
Women…not so much.
Why?
Do over-40 women think that no one wants to see them? That after 40 they become invisible? Gee, where would they get that idea?
- Our youth obsessed culture
- All the 20-something models in the fashion magazines
- All the 20-something models trying to sell us anti-aging products
- All the movies where the leading man is an old man and the leading lady is 20 years younger than he is and she looks like his daughter
- Not seeing faces and bodies that look like ours in the mainstream. Just bladder control commercials.
It’s no wonder over-40 women lack the confidence to post selfies. Message received: Youth is beauty, wrinkles are not.
If we quit taking selfies, aren’t we just contributing to the problem?
Aren’t we making ourselves invisible?
As an over-40 beauty blogger, I used to cringe every time my selfie posted next to a 20-something blogger’s.
So I quit posting them.
Guess What. No one read my blog posts.
I had to get used to selfies. I needed help.
I needed to gain some selfie-awareness.
So, I went to the experts: teenage girls.
They had advice! And I tried it all…
THE “HOW TO TAKE A SELFIE” TIPS THAT BOOSTED MY SELFIE CONFIDENCE:
1 • Lighting. Is. EVERYTHING.
I have walked around with my phone in my hand, camera pointed at my face as I walk, just waiting for the right light. IT IS KEY. You can also get yourself a ring light. I got the cheap $12 elf light, and just look at the difference!!!
For more information on the elf selfie light, check out my review HERE…
2 • Hold that camera up,
slightly above eye-level, so you’re looking up at it. Not straight on. Not below your face. This helps with double chins, bags and such. If you’re ready to get serious, get a selfie-stick. They help.
3 • Tilt your head
to show off your best side. Experiment and you’ll find which side selfies better.
4 • Crop it.
Sometimes it helps to not show everything. Maybe crop a part out, like your forehead or neck for example.
5 • Get a grip on your selfie!
Realize that no one really cares about your selfie as much as you do. They are all worried about their own selfies. You are your own worst critic. Relax. Take the picture. Show off your over-40 face.
Take that pic, because you know how to take a selfie! The fashion, beauty and entertainment industries don’t use faces that look like ours, so let’s do it ourselves.
Afterall, when you want something done right,
you have to do it your selfie.
