Posing
I think You are doing quite well. And that's all good advice above. If you are in sunlight try taking the photo with the sun well to one side. The sunlight will cast shadows and highlights which can bring out various features. Try different camera angles, maybe with the camera pointing up, or down, at you. When using a self timer I find it hard to frame the picture right and sometimes the exposure is off. Putting the pic through Photoshop can adjust the framing by cropping and also correct the exposure. (It also gives a chance to get the pic the right way up.)
Yes just normal poses are boring if you take more than one or two so try different positions like laying down sitting stretching etc as I have done to make them look more natural and less boring.
I have added some photos what I mean in this photo section but they are not live yet.