Cameras were never designed to flatter, they were designed to record. And that tiny wide angle lens in your camera phone is often working against you. If you want to take better pictures of yourself and your friends, you need to remember one thing;

what is closest to the lens will appear the largest.

There is a reason they designed the selfie stick, as silly as it may seem. Our arms just aren’t long enough to keep the default lens from distorting out features.

In picture 1 you can see how much bigger my knees and hand is compared to my head.

Of course, there is always the exception if distortion or emphasis is what you are going for. This can be great if you want to reveal some attitude or show off your new shoes. 😀 Picture 2.

The most flattering image for your face and body however, is to keep the camera at eye level and move the parts of you that you want to de-emphasize away from the lens.