You’ve been enviously creeping on your friends’ and high school rival’s #engagementringselfie posts, patiently waiting for your turn. And then, it happens. Bae tells you to look up from your phone, and there he is on bended knee. Before you know it, you’re engaged!
First things first, it’s time to plan your own wedding… oh wait… not yet. Actually, it’s time to plan your own engagement ring selfie.
The engagement ring selfie is the perfect way to announce your engagement to the world while showing off your ring. But if you’ve been following the hashtag, you probably already know that there are right and wrong ways to go about this. You may have plenty of opportunities to get that ring into a shot, but this moment only happens once. You only get one #engagementringselfie chance to make a good impression.
You’ve seen those poorly-lit atrocities and the ones that show off a hangnail or chipped polish. That may be okay for some people, but not you. You are after the perfect engagement ring selfie, and that’s exactly what you’ll get.
But first – let’s cover a little bit of etiquette.
Engagement Ring Selfie Etiquette
It’s super tempting to break out your phone in the minutes after you say yes. But you may want to consider taking a breath and enjoying this moment with your husband to be. After all, that’s what this is all about.
Now that you’ve done that, you’ll want to put your trigger finger on ice once again. It’s okay to snap a shot right after you get engaged, but you aren’t going to want to post it just yet. Your mom and besties might band together and start a riot if they find out about your engagement on Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat along with everyone else.
Call (don’t text) the most important people in your life. In today’s world, we would say FaceTiming is the best way to share this special moment with the ones you love most. This includes any potential maid-of-honor candidates. Their chances of saying yes will increase exponentially if they know about your engagement before anyone else. It’s up to you whether you want to wait and have a conversation or whether voicemail will suffice. You know your inner circle and how they’ll respond. And hey, your bestie may even want to help you take that perfect ring selfie.
Now it’s time to snap and share that perfect engagement ring selfie.
Clean Up Your Nails (at Minimum)
If you’re concerned about getting the perfect shot, you’ll want perfect nails. This may mean getting a manicure or painting your nails yourself. If you’re lucky, you will have just gotten a manicure and you’ll be primped and ready for your big shot.
Since this is an image you’ll likely look back on, try to keep your polish natural. Avoid trends or something over-the-top, unless that’s truly your personality.
And be sure to exfoliate and moisturize to keep your hands looking their best. We don’t often think about our hands as the center of attention, but this is one time when they are in the spotlight.
Some brides nowadays have been known to get injections or fillers to plump up their hands before the big announcement photo. Whether this is for you or not is a very personal choice. It’s definitely not necessary to get a great shot – unless you’re seriously self-conscious about your hands.
We all like to look our best, but it’s a good idea to look like yourself. What if your hands look too plumped after the injections? Everyone will know what you did, and you’ll hate it anyway. For best results, work with what you’ve got.
With that said, you can help plump up those digits naturally by drinking lots of water a day or so before you take your picture.
Strike a Pose
These photos are meant to be somewhat classy, so keep it simple. It should be your hand, the ring and the environment (and maybe your new fiancé). Since your hand will be the major focus, don’t do anything to make it look weird. We’ve all had those shots where it looks like there are about a million wrinkles between your thumb and index finger. Let’s not recreate that look.
Instead, be sure to relax your fingers and rest them on a prop or your fiancé’s arm. Avoiding getting so close that you notice every pore or strand of hair on your hand. You want a good shot of the ring, but you don’t want people focusing on the extreme closeup of your hand. To avoid this, hold the camera back slightly and shoot from a small angle.
Choose the Perfect Setting
If you want your engagement ring selfie to stand out amongst the sea of selfies under that hashtag, you might have to get creative with your backdrop.
This does NOT mean that you should do something gimmicky.
Instead, think about something that’s uniquely you. If you’re a lefty, maybe you write Mrs. (insert future last name here) and get a shot holding the pencil. If you spend your days at a coffee shop, have the barista write Soon-to-Be Mrs. (future last name) and get a shot of you holding the cup. If you got engaged at the beach, the beach is a perfect backdrop for your shot.
Start thinking outside of the box and try to come up with something that has meaning. It could mean something just to you, or it could mean something to you as a couple. Maybe your four-legged friend even makes an appearance. Photos with pets always get more likes (that’s probably science).
Avoid things like props and cheesy poses. Keep it as natural as possible. If it’s too over the top, you know your engagement ring selfie will only prompt eye rolls.
Remember Your Fiancé
It’s a good idea to ask your fiancé if he wants to be involved in the selfie. After all, he did buy the ring. Taking a picture with your beau does more than just make him feel included. It helps reinforce your announcement as a soon-to-be married couple.
Engagement ring selfies with both parts of the couple tug at the heartstrings a bit more than just some ring bling. We all know it’s about more than just the ring, so why not send that message right off the bat?
Not every guy will be comfortable in the picture, but it’s something to consider.
Get the Right Lighting
You’re no stranger to selfies. This is not your first rodeo. You already know that lighting is everything. But since this is probably your first time showing off a diamond, let’s cover a few ground rules.
• Get natural lighting – If possible, take your selfie outside. Natural lighting doesn’t always work wonders for your complexion, but it’s everything for your diamond engagement ring. If you can’t get outside (maybe it’s frigid out there), set up your shot near a window for some natural light. Whatever you do, avoid using flash.
Fluorescent bulbs aren’t much better than low-lighting, so do your best to get the natural sunlight.
• Watch for shadows – Experiment with angles and times of day to avoid ugly shadows. In some angles, you may get a dark shadow in a pristine ring, which may make it look inferior. You don’t want small shadows to look like inclusions either. You may have to take a few shots and examine them before you get the right one.
• Highlight your ring’s assets – Again here, you’ll want to experiment with various angles to ensure you highlight your ring’s shape. If you have a princess or emerald shape, an overhead shot may work best. Play around with it to see what you like. Also, certain angles can make your stone appear larger, so there’s some more incentive to take your time with this.
Avoid Filters
There’s a time and a place for filters. Took the perfect selfie in bad lighting? Valencia to the rescue. Didn’t cover up that zit as well as you thought? Early Bird has got your back. But when it comes to engagement rings, #nofilter is the way to go.
Your fiancé spent time and money to pick out the perfect ring. The least you can do is show it off in all its glory. Filters often change the lighting and can cast a different hue on the ring itself. Why would you want to make your diamond look pink if that’s not how it looks in real life?
Also, the ring selfie (somewhat ironically) is meant to seem effortless. Adding a filter makes it seem somehow staged or pretentious. Even though it clearly is staged, you probably don’t want to send out that vibe.
Take a Crisp Shot
Most of us have to rely on our camera phones to get the perfect shot. Fortunately, camera phones have come a long way. But zoom is one feature that you should avoid like the plague. Zooming in to your ring will definitely make it appear pixelated. Get as close as you want, but don’t you use that zoom feature. You’ll regret it, for sure.
Every phone has its own instructions for snapping a quick shot without shakiness. Use the best tips you have. This is the quickest and easiest way to get a crisp, professional-looking shot.
Edit if Necessary
When you’re going for the perfect engagement ring selfie, you’ll probably want to do some post-production edits. Thankfully, you don’t need to be a professional to get the job done.
There are quite a few apps that can help you fix things like contrast, cropping, saturation and sharpness. Try Photoshop Express, Afterlight, Facetune or VSCO Cam.
Time to Post!
Now that you’ve got the perfect engagement ring selfie, it’s time to make it public. This is exciting for so many reasons. Just be careful not to overdo it. Here are some tips:
• Choose ONE image – You may have taken about 1,000 ring selfies before you found the perfect one. But resist temptation to post it along with 5 runners up. This even goes for different angles. No one wants to see photos of your engagement ring from every angle, not even your mom. Don’t be one of those people who flood everyone’s feed with selfies.
• Avoid collages – For the same reasons you are only posting one engagement ring image, you will want to avoid collages. Pick the one image that highlights your ring in the best way and roll with it. Collages will shift the focus away from the ring itself anyway.
With all that said, remember that this is your experience. Take any of these tips or none at all. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable and proud of your new engagement ring.
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