Scrolling through Twitter, you may see hashtags appearing alongside pictures of various K-Pop singers, or videos and tweets with the same messages over and over again. Welcome to stan culture online! One of the biggest ways K-Pop fans have begun to grow their communities is through the internet and social media, ranging from Facebook groups to YouTube channels. While many use their platforms to share things about their day-to-day lives, other accounts are exclusively used to interact with other fans. While these communities exist across platforms, the one community I am going to focus on is Twitter. On Twitter, a frequent hashtag is the #______selcaDay. Fandoms will fill in the gap with the name of their fandoms, and then tweet pictures of themselves and a members from their favorite group. However, these aren’t just any photos. Many fans plan and curate these photos to create the most aesthetically pleasing posts possible. Check out the tips below to get the best out of your selca day posts.

Bias Photo

This seems like it would be the easiest part of the process, but sometimes choosing a member is the hardest part. Some might jump right to their bias members, but others would linger over the choice while trying to pick the best aesthetic for the day. You can never go wrong with a simple smiling selca from your bias! Make sure to pick photos with good resolution that are cropped to show the member’s beautiful face. Another thing to look for is a plain background that will make it easier for you to match your own selca with it.

Your Photo

This is ultimately the hardest part. Once you pick the right photo of your bias, you have to try to mimic the original photo as closely as possible. Some even go as far as finding an outfit that matches the one the K-Pop singer is wearing. Next is finding the best background. Having a solid color background often makes it easier to match the overall aesthetic. The hardest part is taking the picture! The goal is to get the same pose and angle as your chosen member’s picture. This will often take a couple tries, as it takes practice to get the perfect selca.

The Aesthetics: also known as the “Fun Part”

This isn’t always necessary, as some will just post selcas next to their member photos. However, others like to turn #_____selcaday posts into mood boards. To do this, you will need a collage app and some more photos that match your chosen aesthetics. These could be photos of flowers or quotes on solid backgrounds or even pictures of skylines; anything works for building mood boards. A good place to find these “aesthetic building” photos is on Tumblr (try typing a color and the word “aesthetic” to bring up appropriate photos).

Posting and Sharing

Make sure to check the appropriate hashtag to ensure you are posting on the right day, as most fandoms tend to claim a specific day of the week (or month) for selcas. When posting your #____selcaday post, make sure to come up with a witty caption. Lyrics from your group’s songs are often great choices. If you are looking for a good example check out @ItsVarunG on Twitter. He has a great simple example of what a selca day post looks like. Need more inspiration? Feel free to check different fandom’s hashtags. Some of the bigger selca day tags include the #armyselcaday, #exolselcaday, and #monbebeselcaday. Other fandoms are starting to create these tags as well, so participate in multiple and meet other fans!

The Kraze wants to see your selca day photos! Share it with us by tagging @krazemagazine on Twitter.