5 camera-friendly tips for doing your own photoshoot makeup.
Having a professional do your makeup for a photoshoot can be costly, but after consulting with a make up expert, I've come up with 5 tips to help give you the look without the price tag.
The Night Before
Before we get into the steps to achieving beautiful camera-friendly make up it is important to start preparing your skin the night before your photoshoot. Using a gentle exfoliator before you go to sleep will help to get rid of any dead skin and make life a lot easier in the morning. Make sure to follow with your usual moisturiser/night cream.
1 - Go Light
Prepare your skin with your usual daily moisturiser. Please note that if your photographer uses a flash or studio lighting, moisturiser with SPF can make you look washed out. Follow with a primer to help your makeup set. To ensure you look natural, a light coverage is really important. Also, if you're unsure whether your foundation is the right match for your skin, most beauty stores will colour match your foundation for free. Use a matte concealer to hide any spots, and an illuminating concealer for under your eyes. Using the wrong concealer for spots can make them appear more obvious - we don't want that! Just as you went light with foundation, go light with setting powder too. Aim for the spots where your skin is most likely to get oily and generally just stick to those areas.
2 - Think Natural, Think Neutral.
When choosing foundation, eye shadows, blush and lipstick, go with what already best suits your natural tones. I've had an experience with a client where she had her makeup done up for the photoshoot, and when she got her photos back, she felt like they didn't look like her. The makeup was heavy. I spent a lot of extra time editing her skin tones in every single photo because I really felt for her and I wanted her to look at them and feel like they represented who she was in a more natural way. So it is so important to have it right from the start. Obviously it can depend on the look you're going for, but if you decide upon a great bright red lipstick, it could unintentionally become the focus, instead of your overall beauty.
3 - Blending Is Your Best Friend
If you're going to make spend anything at all on your makeup, make sure you have a beauty blender (that big beautiful red sponge pictured next to the first tip). Using a brush can leave streaks and sometimes even take makeup off your face. By using a gentle dabbing motion, you'll be able to achieve a flawless look without the streaks. Blend everything. Blending your foundation into your neck is super important and I think you know what I'm talking about here.. those streaks along the edges of the face in contrast with a very pasty neck.. not a good look in any situation! The same goes for eyeshadow. If you're using eyeshadow, a primer specifically for eyes is great. It will help the eyeshadow stay in place without getting into the creases. If you're using different shades to achieve your desired look, make sure that they're blended together really well.
4 - Contour & Blush
Whether you're having your photo taken in natural light or studio light, photos can often make your skin look washed out. Contouring along your cheekbones and using blush will help to keep the colour in your face as well as defining all those extra parts that make you beautiful.
5 - Take A Selfie
It might seem ridiculous at the time, but it's a good idea to test your makeup in different light. Take a selfie inside in different parts of the house where the lighting is different, and especially, take a selfie outside. It will give you a good sense of if you need to make any adjustments to your makeup to suit the environment. The added bonus is, it will help you build your confidence before your photoshoot too.
