Selfie culture is a huge part of millennial culture. With the rise of Instagram and Snapchat in the past few years, selfies have become most of what we see each day when we scroll through our phones. There have been many instruments created to aid the creation of the selfie: the selfie stick, the selfie light phone case, the selfie sombrero (which really does exist, unfortunately) and many others. As a member of the millennial culture, and an avid selfie taker myself (peep my Instagram for evidence), I decided to write about the "art" of selfie taking as it can be quite the ordeal to get JUST the right selfie.

1. You have to make sure to look cute AF

When you LOOK good, you FEEL good and that is the first step to feeling like you are ready for your selfie photoshoot. Make sure you take your selfies on the day you're feeling your best, whether that be wearing your favorite outfit, your hair done, makeup done or a combination of all or some of those things. Make sure you're feeling on fleek and your selfies will reflect it.

2. Find your lighting

For me, the best lighting at my house is in front of my living room window and on the toilet (awkward). The lighting reflects my face nicely, the living room window makes my eyes look good and doesn't wash me out. Make sure you find a lighting that you think makes you look good. I suggest trying in front of windows or experimenting with different lights in your house. You can try tilting your light to change the way it looks or taking the selfie at different times of the day since the sun is in different places. Once you find your lighting, you are ready to start shooting.

3. Find Your Pose

Your pose is important because it can be very telling of who you are, the mood you're in, the outfit you're wearing, and also can be more or less flattering depending on your face shape. Sometimes it is beneficial to try several different poses and then go ahead and pick your favorite and try that until you get the perfect shot! As we all know, the duck/kissy face is a solid go to but you really can't go wrong with a nice full smile! Just do whatever makes you feel the best!

4. Snap Away

Combine all of the above steps and start taking your selfies. When you think you have taken enough, go through them and pick your favorites, do some gentle editing (you're already beautiful), pick a good Instagram filter and start sharing with your friends! You are fabulous, let the world see it!