BeReal: Posting two different photos a day!

Created by Alexis Barreyat (who used to work for GoPro) and Kevin Perreau, the French photo-sharing app BeReal has really taken social media by storm this year after originally being launched in 2020.

Its purpose of being authentic by posting a “real” photo of yourself within a 2-minute time frame (as dictated by the app on a daily basis), the users have been describing the platform as “A new and unique way to discover who your friends really are in their daily life.”

The new craze gained major traction on college campuses in 2022 thanks to a paid ambassador program to promote the app, and there were already some overachievers asking how to take TWO different pictures on BeReal instead of just their one in a single day. So, is this possible? Well, read on to find out more.

Taking two different pictures on BeReal is actually simple

According to Stealth Optional, the BeReal camera is designed to capture a selfie-style photo and a rear camera shot at the same time. Although, according to the site, if you turn your camera fast enough, it results in two selfie-style photos instead of the two different angles.

You see, “to take two front pictures on BeReal, first, click the camera flip icon so your selfie or front camera pic will be taken first,” they explained. “Then, immediately after clicking the shutter button, turn your phone around with the back camera facing you. Pose and hold the device still for like 3 seconds and that’s it!”

Does this mean I can take two different photos at different times?

However, as we all know, these photos must be taken within a few seconds apart to create a successful BeReal post. Thus, this strategy is a means of “tricking” the app into not realizing you are actually taking two different photos. Unfortunately, there is no way to take two different photos and post at two different times to the app yet.

Can I do a solo shot? Of course!

Just in case you were wondering, Nerds Chalk points out there IS, in fact, a way to post only one picture instead of the selfie and rear camera shot simply by using a means to hide the view of the second camera.

What happens if users fail to post within the 2-minute frame dictated by BeReal?

Okay, the BeReal “magic” is about trying to be real with your posts and even though users ARE able to post their daily BeReal to the app “late” – or outside the 2-minute window dictated by the app – their followers will be able to see that the post was not shared at the correct time. Furthermore, according to NBC Boston, they’ll also be able to see if you retook the photos.

The timing is unpredictable

Veteran BeRealers know they can be notified to share their daily post at quite literally any waking hour of the day. Actually, we already have a note in which we discuss everything about the BeReal notification and if you’re interested enough, you can take a look at it here. 

By now, we know that Kapwing conducted another study and found users are typically notified between 10 am and 11 pm EST, 9 am and 10 pm CST, 8 am, and 9 pm MST, and 7am and 8pm PST.