What makes normal makeup different from camera-ready makeup?

Back at it with another blog post in collaboration with the awesome photographer Amy Huang!

Coming at you today with the answer to another common question to help our clients feel more  informed about what to expect for your upcoming wedding or photoshoot. If you would love to get more info from a photographer's perspective head on over to her blog where she answers some frequently asked questions too!

Amy Huang Photography Blog

Ok time to get this party started... let's chat a bit about camera-ready makeup
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Why you may ask?… Welp, a professional makeup artist that truly understands how makeup will read on camera is worth their weight in gold!
So let’s break that down for a second and talk about the differences between what you may do on the daily and what is necessary to look “camera-ready”.


Your goal for everyday makeup is probably to look a little more polished than you do without it, and to basically look decent in person. What the naked eye sees is a whole different story than what the camera does though. Plus, things are so much easier when what you see is what you get. 
The camera on the other hand captures everything… the good, the bad, and the you know what. Even if you can’t really even see it in person. So let's say you have a bit of splotchy redness in your skin, maybe its not so bad in person… the camera will see it. Eyebrows a bit sparse… the camera notices. Lips chapped and dry… you guessed it, the camera knows. 

Here is the super fun part, while the camera may see all of your flaws, somehow other things seem to disappear and its never the things you want to. Eyes that aren’t defined will look tiny and beady, lips with no color added can blend right on into the rest of the face making them hard to see and the lower half of your face seem fleshy. 
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That is where a true pro comes in. Makeup that looks great on camera and looks good in person is an art. It's about knowing how much coverage is needed, in the right finish so that the skin looks perfectly polished but not heavy. Setting with powder in the right areas so that your skin has a healthy glow and not a sweaty shine. Giving structure to the features so the face doesn’t read flat, but knowing how to blend properly so you don’t end up with ridiculous stripes (I’m looking at you so called beauty gurus!). Filling in brows enough to define them but not make them look like they were drawn on with a sharpie. And of course understanding balance & symmetry to that there is a focal feature and nothing on the face is competing for attention. If you feel confident that you can nail all that on your own, then more power to you! But I haven’t talked about one other element that can be a total game changer…

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Lighting!

Boy oh boy can lighting absolutely effect everything about your makeup. If the photos will all be done outside in natural light then for the most part the makeup will read fairly true to however dramatic it appears in person. The reason I say: “for the most part” is because there are definitely some exceptions. If your photographer has that very light & airy vibe to their images that is incredibly lovely and soft, just know your makeup will  be washed out a bit compared to how it looks in person. Or if your photographer has a style that looks like its bathed in glorious warm golden light all the time, then the colors of your makeup my read a little different from in person and warmer toned shadows might not show as much in the pictures. But as far as understanding how lighting can affect the makeup just take a look at the two images I’ve included in this post! They are the same model with the same exact makeup taken by the same photographer only a few minutes apart. The only difference is that the first image was taken outside in natural light and the second was taken inside with studio lighting. Notice how subtle the makeup looks in the second one. You can barely see that the eyeshadow is in fact gold, but it's still doing its job to make her blue-green eyes appear a bit more blue than green. The blush on the cheeks looks so striking in the first and now see how light it seems to be applied in the second (take note, blush is the first thing to get washed out by lights). Even the lip color looks different and more vibrant in the studio lighting! 

Who is ready for another pic that will blow your mind… here is that exact same makeup from the other 2 pics. The only difference is this one is a behind the scenes pic taken on my phone with a mix of natural light and a little help from artificial light coming from my mini ring light that attaches to my phone. 

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Ok here is the part you all have been waiting for… my list of top tips for getting good results if you are going to do your own makeup for photos!

1. Choose the right powder: Let's all take a moment of silence for those celeb red carpet ghost white makeup malfunctions i.e., the flashback effect. Now make sure the same thing never happens to you. If you see a powder labeled HD run away from it if you will be taking pics with flash. Instead, try a finely milled translucent powder that stays flat in the flash, like Laura Mercier Translucent Powder.
2. Don’t spackle it on: If your M.O. is to pile on the foundation and concealer thinking that will somehow fix anything, you are sadly mistaken. The key is to do sheer layers and slowly build the coverage as needed using a foundation that photographs beautifully like Face Atelier. 
3. Keep the T-Zone a Shine Free Zone: A glow-y complexion looks awesome in person, but on camera, it can reflect like an oil slick. The trick is to leave the dewiness on your cheeks, but keep the middle of your face matte. But most people tend to over powder when they do touch ups so bring along some blotting sheets to the shoot.
4. Bump it up a bit: Even if you think your blush and bronzer looks striking at home, err on the side of slightly heavy-handed when you know you'll be in photos, especially if lighting is involved. And while you are at it top off your cheekbones with a little glow a la highlight. A great option is a duo like Charlotte Tilbury’s Filmstar Bronze & Glow paired with a universally flattering blush like NARS Orgasm.
5. Give your liner a little extra attention: Line your lash lines with brown, smudge it out to soften the color, and then go back with your black liner and draw a thin line close to your top lashes, so it softly defines your eyes without looking garish on camera. Another option is to use the black liner first then to soften it with some brown or black brown eyeshadow. A favorite combo of mine is the Danessa Myricks Black 24hr Cream Color & MAC Espresso eyeshadow.
6. Blend, Blend, & Blend some more: This goes for everything but especially eyeshadow. If you choose to go a little darker with your shadow than usual the difference between adding some definition to your peepers and things look harsh is all in the blend. 

Bonus Tip: Get Bright Eyed: using eye drops to make the whites of your eyes more clear and get rid of any redness can do wonders for your photos! Lumify eye drops are a favorite of mine.

Good luck to all of you getting yourselves camera-ready out there! And for anyone who is leaving this in the hands of a pro I hope I gave you a little insight into some of the reasons why they may do the things they do!

Both Amy and myself are looking forward to answering more questions from all of you out there! So if you have a burning question yourself please drop it in a comment below and who knows- maybe we will be answering yours next!

xoxo
Kimm