What is a 0.5 selfie and how can you create one?

Are you following the latest trends on social media? A new one has arrived. Maybe you’ve noticed some interesting selfies lately, showing odd proportions like long arms, more prominent foreheads, and what may seem like overall distorted perspectives. We’re here to tell you all about what is a 0.5 selfie and how to create your very own.

A 0.5 selfie is pronounced as a “point five selfie” and is simply a photo shot with an ultrawide angle camera. Such ultrawide angle lenses have curved glass, allowing images to cover a wider visibility. As a result, the image will be morphed, extending and changing the look of how things look, especially closer to the edges. This is why 0.5 selfies usually show super long arms; these are commonly along the photo’s edges. This effect is similar to what a fisheye lens does, but undertoned.

These 0.5 selfies are usually found on what could be considered Gen Z social networks heavily focused on imagery. You’ll more often see them on TikTok and Instagram, for example. The 0.5 selfie tendency has gone so far that even celebrities, influencers, models, and other public figures are starting to adopt it. These include Rina Lipa, Zoe Nazarian, Mia Regan, Maxim Magnus, and Magda Kaczmarska. You can see some of these images above.

Are you ready to join the masses and create your own 0.5 selfies? It’s actually pretty simple; you just need to have the right tools.

Requirements

Luckily, there is only one real requirement to take a 0.5 selfie. You will need an ultrawide angle camera on your smartphone. It is very rare to find these on selfie cameras, but they’re ubiquitous in rear phone camera systems.

Generally speaking, an ultrawide angle lens will have a field of view of 90 degrees or higher. However, most modern smartphones with ultrawide angle cameras feature about a 120-degree field of view, or something along those numbers.

Editor’s note: We used a Google Pixel 7 Pro to formulate these instructions. Some menus may look different, depending on your device and software version.

How to shoot a 0.5 selfie:

1. Launch the Camera app.
2. Switch to the 0.5 mode. This may show up as 0.5x on some phones. If you don’t see it, just go to the mode with the smallest number possible.
3. Turn the phone around and shoot the photo.

Because most phones don’t have ultrawide cameras in the front, you will likely need to use the rear cameras. This means you won’t be able to see the screen. You just kinda have to “wing it” and use an alternative method to trigger the shutter and take the photo.

Most phones support pressing either of the volume buttons to do this. You can also set a timer, but we know some phones lock the focus when you start the timer. This means you may end up with a blurry image if you start the timer, extend your arm, and wait for the image to shoot. We’ve already experienced this with the Xiaomi 13, for example.

You can also try using a remote shutter release, if you’re willing to spend a bit on such an accessory. Luckily, these tend to be pretty cheap. You can take a look at our favorite option in our list of the best smartphone photography accessories.

There are many reasons why something like 0.5 selfies can become a fad or tendency. For starters, 0.5 selfies have become very popular among famous personalities on social media. Of course, this will trigger imitation by followers.

Additionally, ultrawide angle cameras are relatively new in smartphone photography, and they started becoming a common feature in mobile devices only some years ago. For example, the first iPhone to come with an ultrawide angle camera lens was the iPhone 11 in 2017. And because few photography enthusiasts buy dedicated cameras with ultrawide angle lenses, this was likely a whole new discovery to many users.

0.5 selfies show a new perspective people weren’t used to. The Gen Z community can suddenly experience new angles, show more in an image, play with interesting looks, etc. This can make selfies more exciting.