Selfies are an incredibly personal picture. For some, taking selfies is off limits. For others, taking selfies gives a sense of confidence and empowerment. In partnership with OtterBox, we sat down with Chrissy Rutherford and Sarah Larson Levy to chat about the power of a selfie, potential insecurities, and what a selfie actually means in the grand scheme of things. Take a look at their selfies and thoughts below.

Chrissy Rutherford

How Does a Selfie Make You Feel?

I’ve been taking selfies for so so long. [I]f you go on my old Mac computer… photo booth thing, I’ve always been obsessed with taking photos of myself for as long as I can remember. I like it, I think it’s cool, because it’s a documentation, in a sense, of how you[‘ve] change[d] and how you’ve grown. I like taking photos of myself and I don’t apologize for that.

What Makes You Feel Confident When Taking a Selfie?

I mean having makeup on and natural light [helps]. That’s kind of it [for the most part]. [S]ometimes I take selfies even in the morning just to [see what I looked like]. [T]here is a weird satisfaction seeing how terrible you look when you look first wake up in the morning- [I’m] like, “I should document this because I look insane.”

Is there anything that makes you feel insecure when taking selfies?

I think [when] broadcasting your selfies on social media, there is this kind of [pressure] like, “Is anyone going to like this?” I feel like we all think that, but at the end of the day, I don’t put pressure on myself to feel like every single photo I’m putting out there [should be] perfect because you just can’t be. [N]ot every single photo you take or post is going to be the most amazing photo of yourself. [S]ometimes when I go back and look at old selfies, I go, “Oh god, I can’t believe I posted that.” But in [the] moment, I’m just like, “Well, I’m just going to post this. It’s me. [P]eople know who I am.” I just don’t feel like someone’s going to look at a selfie and [think], “Oh, that’s a terrible selfie of her. I’m going to unfollow her.”

Sarah Larson Levey

How Does Taking a Selfie Make You Feel?

It makes me feel confident. I know where my best angles are and it gets me ready to kind of show my best face. I’m going to date myself a little bit, [but] I never really took a selfie until probably 5 years ago. I used to not be confident in having my photo taken at all because I don’t think I had a lot of awareness of where I was or what I looked like. [Now], I think they’re such a great confidence booster and it’s okay to say, “I look really fucking good right now, and I think everyone else should know, too.”

What Makes You Feel Confident When Taking a Selfie?

Good lighting! That’s my key. I’m the girl who has her phone in front of her face and I’m spinning in circles to find where the good light is.

Is there anything that makes you feel insecure when taking selfies?

For me, it depends on how like I’m feeling at the moment. If I really just don’t feel good or if it’s just a bad day, then I never want to take it.

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All Images via Emma Trim