When I was talking to a new friend about how I blog about low vision assistive technology, they asked me if I had any posts about taking selfies with vision loss or tips for taking selfies with low vision. I told them I was working on updating a post on this topic, and they responded by saying I must be a subject matter expert when it comes to selfies and low vision, since I was a “former teenage girl” and probably had lots of experience taking photos of myself.
Admittedly, many of my selfies as a visually impaired teenager are blurry, feature visibly crossed eyes, and confused facial expressions because I would have trouble seeing the camera shutter button or positioning my arm correctly, but new accessibility settings and strategies have made it easier to take selfies and group pictures with the front-facing camera. Here are my favorite tips and strategies for taking selfies with vision loss, from someone with low vision.
First, check the background of photos
When possible, check what is in the background before taking a selfie to ensure that no revealing location information or other unwanted visuals are visible. Some people may prefer to check their environment visually, while others may take a quick picture and zoom in on the background to see what is visible. This is especially critical for images that will be posted on social media or posted online— make sure that there isn’t anything too revealing like street/house signs, hotel names, reflections, random people, or other incriminating information.
Related links
- Online Safety For Visually Impaired Users: Safer Internet Day
- School News and Low Vision
- How To Add Alt Text On Social Media
Use buttons to take pictures
Instead of pressing on the touch screen camera shutter, another option is to use hardware buttons such as the volume key button on Android and iOS. Pressing either the Volume Up or Volume Down keys while the camera app is open will take a picture or start recording a video. Another option is to use a Bluetooth wireless camera shutter remote, which is a handheld device that offers the same functionality, or a selfie stick.
Set a timer or count backwards
One of my friends has difficulty focusing their eyes, so they set a timer on their phone or ask someone to count backwards from five before taking a picture so they have time to focus their eyes. Otherwise, their eyes will appear to be out of focus and it looks like they aren’t paying attention to the camera, which is frustrating for them.
One of my friends had an audio focus tool for their smartphone camera, which would play a series of beeps before taking a photo so that everyone had time to find the camera and focus their eyes if needed. This can be replicated by enabling camera sounds and a timer.
Place hands on the back of the phone
If I’m taking a selfie with one other person, I find it helpful to have both of us place one hand on the back of my phone to orient ourselves towards the camera and figure out where it is located. This is helpful when taking a selfie with a blind friend so that they know where to look, and can also be useful for ensuring the camera is in a comfortable position. It’s easier to do this sitting compared to standing up, but both option are feasible.
Related links
- How Do People With Visual Impairments Guide Each Other?
- Questions To Ask Other Students With Low Vision
- How I Talk About Disability With New Friends
Turn on a screen reader like TalkBack or VoiceOver
Screen readers like TalkBack and VoiceOver can be used with camera applications to provide information about how many people are in a picture, their facial expressions, and how much space they take up on the screen— some tools will even indicate if a photo is a good selfie photo or not. For example, when my friend and I were getting ready to take a selfie with TalkBack, we received information that there were two faces looking happy that took up 60% of the screen, and that this was a good selfie photo. This was very helpful information to have because there was actually supposed to be three people in the photo, and another friend had been accidentally cropped out!
Related links
- Low Vision Accessibility Settings For Android Phones
- How To Make iPad Accessible for Low Vision
- Customize Accessibility Settings For Specific Apps
Using visual assistance applications to take photos
Instead of using the default camera application, another option is to use an app like Microsoft Seeing AI to take pictures and save them to the camera roll— this option is available regardless of which feature the user takes a photo with. Seeing AI will also describe what is in the picture either right after it is taken or if the user uploads a picture from their Photos gallery to Seeing AI. When I took a selfie with Seeing AI using the “Person” mode, I quickly received information about my age, hair color, glasses, and my facial expression, as well as how far away I was from the camera. Envision AI and several other visual assistance apps also offer the same functionality.
Related links
- Microsoft Seeing AI And Low Vision
- Recognizing Images With Seeing AI
- Using The Envision App With Low Vision
Use voice controls to take selfies
Voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant can help streamline the process of taking selfies and provide options for voice controls. Examples include:
- “Hey Siri, take a selfie” will open the front facing camera, but will not take a photo
- ”Hey Google, take a selfie” will open the front facing camera and start a three-second timer to take a selfie
- Activating the “Say Cheese” shortcut with iOS Shortcuts allows users to say “Hey Siri, say cheese” to take a photo with their voice.
- For Samsung devices, some phone models support saying “cheese” or “shoot” to take a photo without touching the shutter. This is configured in Audio Control or Shooting Methods in the Camera Settings menu.
Related links
Should I take off my glasses or hide my cane in photos?
Even though my non-polarized tinted glasses are a bit reflective in photos, I always wear my glasses in photos because I don’t want to take them off due to light sensitivity (also, they don’t call me “Veronica with four eyes” for no reason!). When it comes to my blindness cane/white cane, there are times where I will collapse my cane and hold it behind my back in photos and other times where it is visible— it really comes down to personal preference, and I don’t tell other people to hide their canes or take off their glasses.
However, I do recommend collapsing/hiding canes if someone is taking a flash photo at night, as the reflective tape on the cane can make it appear very bright in photos, almost like a lightsaber. Of course, I’m not going to refuse to take a photo just because someone is holding their cane, but for a group selfie this can make it look like the cane is in the spotlight instead of the people!
Related links
- Veronica’s Four Eyes: All About My Glasses For Low Vision
- Decoding The Colors of Blindness Canes
- Seven Places I Don’t Take My Blindness Cane
Other tips for taking selfies with vision loss
- Some phone cases have a built-in stand or other shutter tools for taking photos— learn more in Mainstream Technology and Low Vision: Covers and Cases
- Did you accidentally turn on portrait mode when taking a selfie on Android? This can be reversed by opening the Photos app and selecting Edit > Tools > Blur > 0 followed by “save copy”
- Need tips for school pictures? Check out School Pictures and Low Vision
- Buying a new phone? Read Mainstream Technology and Low Vision: Smartphones
Published June 25, 2019. Updated December 2024