A selfie might be your favourite picture of your face. For a dance clip, your shoes and hands matter too. Try the two crops below to see what the same photograph can tell you about a pose.

Leave a little floor in the frame

Stand far enough back to include your whole head and both shoes. Leave a strip of visible floor below your feet. In the example, the gap around the shoes makes their position easy to see. Switch to the tight crop and that information disappears.

Give your arms a clear outline

Use a plain stretch of wall and let your arms hang slightly away from your sides. Check that your hands don’t disappear into a dark doorway or behind a bag. Wear what you like, including swimwear. Use a photo without full nudity or sexually explicit content.

Take one test shot

Prop the phone on a steady surface, set a timer and face a window for even light. Zoom in on the photo afterward. If your face or fingertips look blurry, take it again before uploading. Choose a JPG, PNG or WebP file under 10 MB.