Makeup Tips
Makeup makes a difference in a headshot, period. A good makeup artist makes you look good and makes your photograph look good. Beaupix Studio woks with several professional makeup artists and can recommend a good makeup person for your shoot. They typically charge $100-150 for first look for in-studio makeup for headshot photography and basic light hair styling. If you like the very best headshot, or if you are not very experienced in applying makeup, professional makeup application is strongly recommended and worth your money.
If you don't need a special makeup look and you are reasonably good at applying makeup yourself, professional makeup is not an absolute necessity. However, Beaupix Studio strongly recommends you do a bit of homework and practice a few times before the shoot. Here are some basic tips:
Color of foundation
Match the color of foundation to the natural color of your skin in neck/chest area. You may know the color that looks the best on you, and that is fine for social events. However, in photography, nothing is worse than showing different colors on your face and the rest of your skin. As long as you closely match the color of your foundation to the color of skin, the skin color can be adjusted to make it look most attractive during editing.
Lips and eyes
The color of the lips and eye accents should be one notch darker than what makes you look the best in person. The lips should be shifted to the direction of darker red, and the eye accents should be shifted toward black. You can even wear false lushes for most types of work other than the actor's headshot. Keep this in mind: the lighting that makes most flattering look tend to make your face area look lighter colored a bit.
Blush
You can use blush, and again one small notch darker than best look in person. However, please make sure to make a few applications of small quantities. The first time should be applied and spread in a wide circle, and the second and third in progressively smaller areas. This is to make sure that the edges of the blush are gradual and not abrupt. You can always add more, but once you apply too much in one application, it is hard to blur the edge or remove some.
Powder
Don't be afraid to use a lot more powder than usual. Fashion and beauty photography always involves using a lot of powder to make the skin non-shiny even if stronger light is used. If you hire a professional, you will realize that they will keep applying powder every 10-20 minutes of the shoot to prevent shiny skin. You should bring yours and apply extra powder regularly.
Hair (also for men)
You may want to use hair spray, gel, and other products to tame frizz and make your hair look healthy. Make sure to avoid products that give a matte look. These are fine for some situations, but not for a photoshoot. Matte finished hair will look dull and lifeless in pictures. Instead, use hair products that enhance shine. Hair shine sprays of various kinds are available for women (Biosilk spray is a favorite in the studio) and American Crew makes a good line of hair products for men.
