How many selfie outtakes are necessary for one Instagram picture?

‘Like 60?’


I don’t know how many times I’ve overheard a guy looking at a girl’s Instagram say, “I bet it took her like 15 tries to get that photo,” as if that’s not something she would readily admit herself.

I promise you, scrolling through most girls’ phones is like flipping through one of those sticky-note look-books we used to make in middle school, except way cuter because all of the photos are of us.

So in order to beat judgmental minds to the punch, we reached out to a bunch of girls to ask them, on average, how many selfies they take before choosing one to post on Instagram, and why. Instagram is meant to be aspirational, and we’re allowed to want to showcase the best versions of ourselves.

Here’s what girls had to say.

“I’ll generally take about 20-30 in different lighting areas, with different hair and jumper on/off kinda thang. then I’ll go through and delete the ones I don’t like until I’m left with about 5 which I’ll put through VSCO or LineCamera to edit and then choose the one I post.” – Jenna

“10-20 for sure. Why wouldn’t I want to try different poses and looks? The number goes up significantly when it comes to the almighty fake candid, though.” –Amanda

“Used to be like 50, but I’ve discovered that my bathroom is the key to good lighting and that means it’s more like 20-30 now.” – Chloe

“About 60? It’s ridiculous, it gets especially bad if I’m getting someone else to take a candid one” – Mared

“Dunno what ur on about, nobody does this” – Roisin

“Lmao my saved snapchat images are literally a selfie graveyard. Takes like 50 tries and I do it all on snapchat bc I like how it flips the pic lmao” – Sam

“Knowing where the lighting is best usually cuts it down to about half a dozen, but it does mean that I’ve got loads of selfies on insta with the same/similar head tilt and background.

“I also painted my walls white mostly for selfie-related purposes and am unashamed to admit it ” – Katie

“95 percent of my saved snaps are just selfies” – Hayley

“My number is between 5-15 I think…. If I can’t get the one I want after that many tries, I give up” – Kami

“Probably like 20-30, but when I’m really feeling myself there is no stopping it. My camera roll is always full, but most of the photos look exactly the same, and I get nervous about deleting them incase I go back and want them for something later.” – Caroline

“Usually like 3-4 and then I immediately delete the duds.” – Delaney

“This was just the other day. I got a new phone that finally has bomb ass pic quality (no more cracked screen!) so I was just sitting in my bathroom before work trying to get a good selfie.

“They literally all look the same except for some minor held tilts or taking off my sweatshirt. no shame.” – Zoe

“Seven to eight seems to be the magic number for me. It used to be over 20 but I’ve lived in the same place for two years now and know exactly where the best lighting is at any point in the day.

“Knowing your surroundings definitely helps keep the average down.” – Eleni

If we wanted to take a single photo and post it straight to Finsta we would have — although even then, I know I try at least a few.