Makeup and Hair

This is a continuation of styling but deserves its own category.  When I was shooting in Italy at the start of my photography career, I was shooting for some of the modeling agencies in Milan.  At one of the agencies, was a booker, who was also a photographer.  He gave me some great advice.  He said, “You really need to keep after you makeup and hair people.  You can’t let them getaway with doing a mediocre job.  Anything that’s in the photo is your responsibility.  If you show me a photo and I don’t like the hair and makeup in the shot.  It’s not the makeup artists fault.  It’s your fault, because you took a picture of it.”  This is something I still think about to this day.  It’s great advice for any photographer.

Don’t just turn the model over to your makeup artist and let them do what ever they want.  Have a creative discussion about what you want the makeup and hair to look like.  Also, give the makeup artist an overview how you envision the shot.  Let them come forward with their creative ideas.  It’s good to have your creative team engaged in the creative process.  They may have some great ideas that you wouldn’t have thought of.  They will also be more invested in the shot when the feel they are bringing something to the table. 

Finally, before you start shooting look over the makeup artist work and see if it’s what you where looking for.  Don’t be afraid to let them know if you’d like them to change something.  Remember it’s your shot.