DAY 4: Makeup For Photography and Beauty Smoky Eyes

Hello lovelies. It's the fourth day of makeup school and I got home quite early. Everybody in class is quickly picking up their pace when it comes to makeup application so we get to finish our practice sessions on our models faster and faster each day.

Today I learned makeup for photography. In reality, we see people and things in three dimensions but on photos we don't. Images in photos appear flat. That's why as makeup artists, it's our job to make the image appear as real as possible. And how do we do this? By sculpting the face through contouring and illuminating.

Makeup for photography must be more intense, detailed and defined than regular makeup. Another thing, it should be free of imperfections and should always be balanced. Otherwise, the image would appear wrong.

MAKEUP TIP: Use matte or satin finish makeup (especially for eyeshadow) because they're easier to work with and registers well on photos. Avoid makeup with glitters or shimmers as these will just reflect light especially when using flash photography. Bronzers should not have shimmers or else that defeats the purpose of sculpting. Always remember that shine and shimmer widens the appearance of the face.

Color photography is similar to normal makeup but the colors should be more intense and should have more coverage. For black and white photography on the other hand, a few things must be taken into consideration. Color, brightness and contrast plays a big role in order to produce wonderful photos in black and white. Also, it shouldn't be too dark nor too light.

Red becomes dark grays to black in photos so be careful in applying red hues such as lipstick because it will appear black and may be rendered as "goth". We don't like that. Pink and purple both turn to gray so pink blush will never ever be seen. Blue and green are not advisable colors because it would turn to gray as well.

So what to do? Choose colors and blend them well in order to sculpt the face. Focus on the eyes, cheekbones and lips. I suggest using blacks and browns. Or beige for highlighting.

So here's my model for today.

Before Makeup

Christine, is a pretty 17 year old who has nice skin. She has normal to combination skin which mostly oils up on her T-zone. She has naturally plump lips. The only problems I had while working on her were some pimples, post-acne scars and red marks. Other than that, she has good skin.

Here's what she looked after makeup. This is makeup intended for photography so the colors are more intense, but still close to natural makeup.

Makeup For Photography

For this look we were told to do a smoky eye, with black as the only eyeshadow color. To achieve a natural looking black smoky eye, use a cream blush as base then dust powder over it with a "pat pat" motion. Blending should be upwards and outwards, ending at the natural 45 degree angle of the eye. Avoid creating obvious lines by blending and a subtle gradiation of color must be done so it fades as it goes up the brow bone. Highlighting the brow bone and the inner corner of the eye is key. To make the eyes appear bigger, use a white eyeliner for the lower waterline. I did not use any blush on her. Instead I applied a luminizer cream in yellow and contoured the hollow of her cheeks to make her face look sculpted. For the lips, I mixed colors to come up with a maroonish shade.

Color Photography

Black and White Photography

Products Used:

Olay Total Effects Wet Cleansing Cloths

Carmex Moisturizing Lip Balm 

Belo Essentials Pore Refining Whitening Toner

Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch Primer

Benefit Porefessional PRO Balm

Graftobian Hi-Def Glamour Creme in Temptress, Enchantress, Buttermilk, Desert Sand, Golden Sunset and Mid. Marigold

RCMA Sheens Four Color Special Kit in Yellow

Graftobian Corrector/Neutralizer Wheel

Graftobian Concealer Wheel

RCMA No Color Powder

Sanford Prismacolor Ebony Eyebrow Pencil in Jet Black

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Too Faced Smoky Eye Palette in Black Suede, Silver and Cream

Graftobian Luster Creme Eyeshadow in Black Galaxy

Fanny Serrano Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black

Fanny Serrano Soft Eye Pencil in Black

Maybelline The Colossal Mascara

Graftobian Theatrical Lip Liner in Red

NB 88 Matte Colors Eyeshadow Palette

NB 32 Colors Lipstick Eyeshadow Palette 
 

So what do you think? =)