How to Take a Selfie With Good Lighting (Any Room)

7 min read · Glowmaxx

The one rule for how to take a selfie with good lighting is: face the light. Put the brightest soft light in the room (usually a window) in front of you and slightly to one side, turn off harsh overhead lights, and keep bright windows out from behind you. Do that and almost any phone, in almost any room, takes a clear, flattering selfie.

If your selfies keep coming out dark, shadowy or washed out, Glowmaxx scores your light-and-fit lever out of 10 every day and gives you three moves to fix it. Start my glow-up

The one rule: face the light

What is good selfie lighting? It's light that is:

• In front of you, so it reaches your whole face
• Soft, meaning it comes from a big source (a window, a lampshade, the open sky), not a tiny bright point
• At or a little above face height, not straight down from the ceiling
• Even, or gently brighter on one side for shape

Everything below is just ways to get those four things in different rooms. If you remember nothing else, remember: your face points at the light, the camera sits between you and the light (or just beside it).

Quick diagram: where you, the phone and the light go

   [ WINDOW / LIGHT ]
          |
          v
       [ PHONE ]
          |
          v
        [ YOU ]

The light hits your face. The phone faces you. The window is behind the phone, never behind you.

Window light, step by step

A window is the best free selfie light you own. Here's how to take a selfie in natural light:

1. Pick the window. A window without direct sun coming through is ideal. If sun is streaming in, pull a thin curtain or step back a few feet.
2. Stand facing it, about 2-4 feet away.
3. Hold the phone at arm's length between you and the window, a little above eye level.
4. Turn 15-30 degrees to one side. One cheek gets a bit more light and your face gets depth.
5. Look at the screen for shadows under your eyes. If you see them, step closer to the window.
6. Tap your face on the screen so the phone exposes for your skin, not the bright window.

Natural lighting selfie: time of day

Lamps and desk lights

No window, or it's night? Lamps can work well, if you place them right.

Selfie lighting at night

• Use a lamp with a shade. The shade spreads the light and softens it.
• Place it at face height, about 2-3 feet away, in front of you and slightly to one side.
• Turn off the ceiling light so it doesn't add top shadows.
• Match colors. Mixing a warm lamp with a cool ceiling LED can make skin look patchy. Use one type of light.
• Tape white paper over a harsh bulb if you don't have a shade, or bounce a desk lamp off a white wall.

Selfie lighting without a ring light

You don't need to buy anything. Try:

• A laptop screen showing a blank white page, placed in front of you.
• A white wall with a lamp pointed at it, so the light bounces back softly onto your face.
• Your phone screen as a small fill light in a dark room (the front-camera "screen flash" on many phones does this).

Ring lights are fine too, but they create a ring-shaped reflection in your eyes and can cause glare if you wear glasses. If that's you, see how to look good in photos with glasses.

Selfie lighting in a dorm room or small bedroom

Small rooms usually have one overhead light and maybe a desk lamp. Turn off the overhead, move the desk lamp to face height in front of you, and bounce it off the nearest light-colored wall. If you have a window, use it during the day instead.

This is where it gets hard to do alone. Light changes by the hour, by the room and by the weather, and your eyes adjust so fast that you honestly can't tell if today's photo is better lit than yesterday's. Glowmaxx scores the light-and-fit lever of one selfie a day, 1-10 with a one-line note, and the same photo always gets the same score. Your glow timeline shows if your light is actually getting better. Start my glow-up

Outdoor light and open shade

Outside is the brightest light you'll get, but direct sun is tough on faces.

• Open shade is best. Stand in the shadow of a building or tree, facing out toward the open sky. You get bright, soft light with no squinting.
• Golden hour (the hour or so before sunset) gives warm, gentle light. Face toward the sun, or turn slightly so it lights one side.
• Cloudy days are like a giant softbox. Almost any direction works.
• Midday sun makes hard shadows under your eyes and nose and makes you squint. If you must, put the sun behind you and face something bright, like a light wall or pavement, to bounce light onto your face.

Light to avoid: overhead and behind you

Most selfie bad lighting comes from these two.

Overhead light

Ceiling lights shine straight down. They put shadows in your eye sockets, under your nose and under your chin. You look tired even when you aren't. It's why bathroom and office selfies often look harsh.

Fix: turn it off and use a window or lamp, or step out from directly underneath it so it lights you from the front.

Light behind you (backlight)

A bright window behind you makes the phone expose for the window, turning your face into a dark shape.

Fix: turn around so you face the window. If you want the window in the shot, tap your face on the screen to brighten it, and add a lamp in front of you.

Other lighting to be careful with

• Close flash: flattens your face and adds shine.
• Colored LED strips: fun for mood, but they tint your skin.
• Mixed light: a warm lamp plus a cool window can give you two skin tones at once.

Light also changes how your features look. Soft front light can help a nose look less prominent (more here) and side light adds shape to softer faces (more here).

A 60-second light check before every photo

Here's how to get good lighting for selfies every time, in about a minute:

1. Where's the brightest light? Turn to face it.
2. Is anything bright behind me? Move or turn so it isn't.
3. Are overhead lights on? Turn them off or step out from under them.
4. Shadows under my eyes? Step closer to the light or lower it to face height.
5. One side too dark? Turn slightly toward the light or bounce it with a white wall.
6. Squinting? Step into shade or away from direct sun.
7. Tap your face on the screen to set exposure.

Do this for a week and it becomes automatic.

Perfect your selfie lighting in the next minute

That's how to take a selfie with good lighting: face the light, use windows and shaded lamps, find open shade outside and dodge overhead light and backlight. Take one selfie with the 60-second check and Glowmaxx scores it on five levers, including light and fit, into a glow score out of 100 with three moves for today aimed at your lowest lever. Nothing to install; it runs in your browser.

Start my glow-up

FAQ

What's the best lighting for a selfie?

Soft light in front of you, like a window without direct sun, at about face height. Turn slightly to one side so one cheek gets a little more light, which adds shape.

How do I take a selfie in natural light indoors?

Stand 2-4 feet from a window, facing it, with your phone between you and the glass. Turn off the overhead light and tap your face on the screen so the phone exposes for your skin.

How do I get good selfie lighting at night?

Use a lamp with a shade at face height, a little to one side, and turn off the ceiling light. A laptop screen with a white page or a lamp bounced off a white wall also works.

Why do my selfies look bad in my bathroom?

Most bathrooms light you from directly above, which casts shadows under your eyes and nose. Step back so the vanity light hits your face from the front, or use daylight from a window.

Do I need a ring light for good selfie lighting?

No. A window, a shaded lamp or a white wall to bounce light gives you soft, flattering light for free. Ring lights work but can leave ring reflections in your eyes and glasses.