Beauty Photography

One thing that I love is when my hobbies come together. A couple of months ago I was able to put together a beauty photoshoot.

There are several elements that have to come together when planning for a photoshoot. First, you need a studio space or at least some place large enough to host multiple people (photographer, model, assistant, makeup artist, and potentially a chaperone of the model). I currently do not have a studio space so I have to rent space. One of my favorite places to rent is a Breather space. Breather spaces are little offices/ lounges that you rent by the hour. Breather owns a large variety of spaces in a few different cities in the United States.

The second thing you need is a model. If you are an established photographer in your area with a decent portfolio and website, you can often contact your local modeling agency and see if they have girls that need to build their portfolio. When you do portfolio building shoots like this they are called test shoots. You often contact the agency and send them over a mood board with details and inspiration images. After sending over these items, the agency will send you several model options. This is called a package. You then select your model and send over a Call Sheet with all of the details such as time and place to the agency.

Please also note that when using an agency model, and starting a new relationship with an agency it is VERY important to give them images from the shoot that will benefit the model's portfolio. Things that the agencies often prefer are clean and simple images. Nothing too over the top or dramatic. If you have something dramatic planned, just take a few clean pictures at the beginning so that you can send the agency something that they will like. To get a better idea of images that agencies prefer, look at the portfolios on their website.

For beauty shoots you will also need a hair and makeup artist. Occasionally you will get someone that is skilled in both, but frequently you will need one of each. Also, not every makeup artist is the same. There are some that are much better at doing prom, pageant, and bridal makeup, and there are those that are better at doing makeup for print, commercial, and editorial work. One of the key differences is how they address the skin. Makeup artists that don't often do makeup for photoshoots often apply makeup with a heavy hand. When it comes to beauty work LESS IS MORE. It is much easier to edit skin when there is next to nothing on it, than when the pores are all clogged with a foundation that doesn't match. Feel free to give your hair and makeup artists direction in what you are looking for. If they aren't as familiar with doing work for photographers, they can adjust and just need to be told what to do differently. They also tend to be visual, so if you ever have a problem with something in the makeup that you see when editing you can show them what they should do differently in the future.

As a hair stylist and makeup artist, I used to always ask for feedback from photographers about my work. I even would ask for them to send me RAW images, just so I could see what needed to be fixed for future reference. It is amazing what post production work can do and I never realized its power till I started doing my own beauty photography. If you really work with and invest time in your makeup artist, you will be creating an invaluable team that can eventually give you superior results.

The other items for being successful in beauty photography are lighting modifiers. For this shoot, I used a 3ft octabox and a reflector for additional fill light. There are many different types of lighting setups to help you achieve different looks, but that is something that I go address in future posts.

I hope this gives you an idea of how to prep for a beauty shoot. Oh and one more thing I forgot to mention is to feed your team. Models, makeup artists, and others that work on the project with you will be much happier if you provide at least bottled water and snacks. Models may be thin, but trust me these girls love to eat. I usually provide a veggie and fruit tray and occasionally a cheese platter. Not that these are a must, but everyone is usually very appreciative.

I had these images published on Institute Magazine.

Model is Fiona P. from Cast Images Agency
Makeup was provide by Marci Cawley
Hair and Photography was by Me

If you have any questions about beauty photography, hair, or makeup ask me in the comments below. I'd also love to hear your feedback on these images. To see more of my work you can follow me on Instagram @ashleyballphotography