Move over, selfie! The ussie El Niño is starting to pour more and more photos down onto social feeds everywhere!* How do you take a perfect ussie (also spelled “usie”)? Put away your duck face and use these tips to achieve true ussie greatness.
1. STOP—REARRANGE AND LISTEN
Reposition your group by height, especially if you have a large group! People in the back should stand and those in the front should squat (it’s an instant thigh workout).
2. LONG ARMS ON POINT
Have the person with the longest arms snap the pic. Otherwise, your photo will be literally all smiles and cut-off faces—a classic rookie ussie mistake. The selfie stick, though painfully noticeable, was invented for this sole reason.
3. THIS WAY NOT THAT WAY
Make sure your phone is in landscape mode, that way you can fit more people in the pic. Also, always take video horizontally. It seems like common sense, but you’d be surprised.
4. LIGHTS! BEFORE CAMERA
Great photos are all about the lighting. Face a window, turn on lamps, or go into the sunshine. (No more shall ussies stay in the dark!)
5. RAISE IT UP
Aim the phone or camera at an above angle—the higher it is above everyone, the more flattering it will be.
6. READY? 3, 2, 1 . . .
Count it down so everyone knows when to smile (or not to smile). Some phones have voice-activated camera settings so you can control when the camera takes a photo by simply saying “cheese.”
7. SNAP AWAY!
Take multiple shots! There’s no such thing as one and done when it comes to taking group photos.
8. PRINT YOUR FAVES
Print your ussie and slot it into the Ussies Photo Album (which was recently high-fived by Real Simple).
BONUS TIP (EXTRA POINTS FOR THIS ONE!): SHOOT FOR THE MOON
Strive to make every ussie as cool as Ellen’s Oscar ussie, which became the most retweeted tweet of all time. Dream big!
*If you’re saying “WTF is an ussie, Knock Knock?” It’s a photo taken of oneself with one’s friends, family, significant other, pets, or random friend’s baby. (Basically a glorified group selfie.)
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Aw, I love seeing our beautiful KK-ers’ shining faces outside the office. One additional word of advice: as in Ellen’s ussie (I’m assuming!), it always helps if everyone’s a little tipsy. 🙂