How to Take the Perfect Engagement Ring Selfie

‘Tis the season for engagements! December is the most popular month of the year for proposals, but throughout the colder months there’s an upward trend in the number of couples announcing their engagement. It could be the chilly weather and cosy nights in, the festive period or some other mystic power at work, but you’re bound to see more and more engagement ring selfies in your social feeds very soon. And if you happen to be one of the lucky brides to be, here are some tips for nailing that photo op…

Prep your hands: There’s nothing worse than chipped nail polish, bitten down nails or dry skin in a close up of photo of your hand. And with smartphone cameras becoming better and better, there really is no excuse not to have your hands and nails prepped for their moment in the spotlight. Moisturise, rub in some cuticle oil, paint your nails or even go all out and get a professional manicure so your hands look the as fantastic as your new bling.

Use natural light: Diamonds give off the most sparkle under natural light. Get out in the winter sunshine and start snapping. If you can’t wait for the right light conditions and just want to work with whatever you have to hand, try to find even lighting and just use one source (i.e. a table lamp or a spotlight). Wiggle your hand to see how well the diamond reflects the light first. And remember, you don’t need full sunshine – sometimes overcast light makes an even better photo, as both the light and shadows in your diamond’s nooks and crannies will be prominent.

Do NOT use flash: We repeat. DO NOT USE FLASH. Your diamond is dazzling enough already! Diamonds are basically light magnets. If you use flash when you’re taking your snap, the diamond will be the brightest thing in your photo – so bright that all detail will be lost – and the rest of the photo will be in the shadows. If the space you’re in is too dark to take a photo without using flash, then move or wait until you have better lighting conditions! And refer back to our previous point 🙂

Stay away from filters: The temptation to give your engagement ring selfie a romantic filter will be strong, but you must resist. The world deserves to see your ring in all its natural glory. Changing your selfie to black and white, using a filter that fades colours or that distorts picture quality will only serve to reduce the detail of your ring, and thus reduce its beauty. Unless that was your plan in the first place, stay away from filters. Period.

Consider Boomerang: Instead of a standard engagement ring selfie, how about a cool Boomerang shot? Boomerang is an app that takes a snippet of video footage, then plays it backwards and forwards. Great for showing how your diamond sparkles as you move your hand under the light. Plus, let’s face it, there are so many standard shots of the engagement ring on the hand. This one is much more likely to be noticed, and will get you many more likes (if that’s what you care about).

Get creative: Like we just said, there are so many cookie cutter engagement ring selfies out there – the ring on your hand, your hand placed strategically on his chest as you both smile at the camera, the caption ‘I said yes!’ or ‘So happy to spend the rest of my life with my true love!’. Think outside the box and do something fun with your selfie. There is endless inspiration on the web, but try to work in something personal about your relationship rather than copying someone else’s idea.

Share it wisely: We don’t want to spoil the fun of your big moment, but it’s worth considering your security when posting your selfie. If it’s an especially valuable rock, maybe only share it with a few friends and family members under encrypted media like Whatsapp, rather than plastering public posts all over Twitter and Facebook. If certain people may be jealous or have something negative to say about your news, then don’t give them access to it either. It should be a moment that’s full of positivity and love!

Congratulations, and get snapping!