Lets face it, those of us who go to the gym will almost certainly have posted a gym selfie at one point or another. Gym selfies are actually a good way of tracking your progress over time as well as potentially giving you that extra motivation when looking back at old ones. Taking a quick selfie in the mirror without really thinking about it is all well and good, but there’s actually many things to consider to make yourself look even better than you may think. Consider these points the next time you strike a pose at the gym.
Lighting is key
Natural light is always best, so if your gym has large windows to let in plenty of natural light always start there. This may sound obvious, but always have the light source shining directly at the subject and play around with the angle to get the perfect balance of light and shadow.
Get someone to take the photo for you
If you have a training partner great, if not kindly ask someone to take a quick snap of you. Photos where the subject is posing and smiling (without holding a phone or camera) always look much better than the quick shot in the mirror holding your phone. Just make sure the one taking the photo has a general idea of what kind of photo you want!
Always consider your background
An empty, clutter-free gym behind you is ideal, but lets be honest that’s very rarely going to happen. Find a quieter area of the gym and try to minimise the number of people in the background. The use of props/weights is always a good idea to show your followers you’re actually doing something, but at the same time you don’t really want to show a messy gym with weights all over the place as this does not look good. I’m sure the gym would not be best pleased either.
Use a good quality camera
The quality of your camera/phone is definitely a point to consider. Phones nowadays have such good cameras that you don’t necessarily need a camera to capture your perfect gym selfie. The greater the resolution of the image, the more it will highlight your good features and nowadays with so many great photo editing apps it’s not too difficult to make a simple gym selfie look like something from a professional photoshoot.
Think about your clothing
What you wear can either compliment or hinder your features. Based on your complexion some colours look better than others. If you have fair skin then darker colours always look best. Stay away from pastel colours. If you’re more tanned or have a dark complexion then lighter colours tend to look better. In terms of how tight or loose to have your clothing all depends on your body shape. If you still have a bit of weight to shift then something slightly looser fitting will look much better in photos than something tight fitting. However, if you’re lucky enough to have ripped, chiselled abs then a tank top/crop top will really showcase them.
To summarise, your gym workouts should not solely consist of getting that perfect gym selfie, however they can be a good way to track your progress. Using the points raised in this article will allow you to take a better photo, look better and not eat up any more time of your workout.
Be sure to download the Live Upload app to post your gym selfies with a map-based home page allowing you to network with other like-minded fitness individuals.
