Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual: For Everyone from Beginner to Pro (38 page)

Intense theatrical eye shadow shades and blushes

Lip lacquers and matte stains in bold colors

Self-tanner and/or bronzing gel for the body

Body paints

Chapter 11

ADVANCED MAKEUP APPLICATIONS

Every artist needs to learn skills to successfully apply makeup on subjects for photography, fashion shows, film, and television. These opportunities allow an artist to express her or his creativity.
There are no limitations when working in advanced artistry.

MAKEUP for PHOTOGRAPHY

Applying makeup for photo shoots involves specific techniques that depend on a number of factors:
Lighting: Indoors or outdoors? Film or digital technology? Color or black-and-white? Style: What image does the photographer want?

The makeup will differ depending on the purpose of the photograph—whether it is a passport photo, a wedding shot, a model in a natural outdoor setting, a corporate portrait, or a highly stylized fashion or beauty shoot. There is no one rule for how to do makeup that will be photographed. But the lighting in which you do the makeup is very important. I often do makeup with the model facing a window or, better yet, on the photo set with the lighting that will be used in the shoot.

Some guidelines follow that will help you understand the process and develop just the right look each time.

THE ROLE OF A MAKEUP ARTIST AT A PHOTO SHOOT

Making a photograph is a collaborative effort. As the makeup artist, you are part of a team that includes the photographer, the stylist, the hair stylist, the dresser, and the editor (if it is a magazine shoot), publicists and handlers (if the subject is a celebrity), and the subject being shot. Your job is to be true to your own style, yet be open; to understand the requirements of the stylist, editor, and model; and to create a makeup look that works.

The only way to accomplish that is to communicate with everyone on the set and be observant. Don’t ever be embarrassed to ask questions or to give your opinion. Throughout the process, ask the photographer, stylist, editor, and subject for feedback. After you have applied the model’s foundation, let her look at it in a mirror to see if she thinks it looks right. It is much easier to change things at that stage than to wait until the whole face is done. When analyzing the first shot, get the photographer’s opinion on how the makeup is working—or isn’t—with his or her lighting. Adjust accordingly. Once the shooting starts, don’t think that your job is done. You need to stand by the set with your tools—powder, blush, lipstick, etc. Watch the model through a pair of mini binoculars to keep a close eye on how the makeup is holding up and what might need fixing. And be ready to jump in and try something that just might make the shot great. When a photographer teams up with a makeup artist, magic can happen. They understand each other’s style and needs. They can work in sync to get the best results.

I have had a handful of collaborations with different photographers, and my work really grew as a result. I was able to be comfortable with them and try new things, and saw the results the next day. Each photographer moved my work in a different direction and I am grateful to all of them.

WHAT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS SAY ABOUT MAKEUP ARTISTS

It’s important to adapt the makeup to the girl. You can’t just decide what makeup you want to do and put it on, like a mask, on the model. It has to be adapted to suit the person you are working on. Working with celebrities can be difficult, because they have a very strong idea of what they want to look like, and it’s harder to get them to change their look. You have to really work with them and be gentle.

–Patrick Demarchelier

The lighting that I use is strong, very revealing; therefore, I require perfection from a makeup artist. A makeup artist that I will want to have on my set must have that innate ability to enhance a woman’s face and do it quickly. It seems that time is always of the essence, we are always under pressure, and the subject can’t see the makeup artist hesitate. She needs to exude complete confidence. This helps put everyone at ease. A great makeup artist needs to inspire the women seated in front of the mirror in my studio. She needs to build up their egos, make them feel truly beautiful, give them the confidence to stand in front of my lens and feel proud about who they are. These elements are the first steps in a great collaboration and capturing an incredible visual. The makeup artist needs to be able to make women not only look beautiful but feel beautiful. That’s what makes my photograph. I love shooting women who feel beautiful; you can really feel that in a photograph.

–Walter Chin

When I look at a makeup artist’s work, first and foremost, I look for creativity. I look for someone who can think outside the box and who is able to look at a face and see what not to do, how much makeup not to apply. As a portrait and fashion photographer I am always interested in the geography of the face, and people’s so-called flaws are often the most interesting things about them. I would never want to hide any of that. A makeup artist should always look for inspiration anywhere and everywhere and not just in their immediate realm. Museums, exhibits, nature, history: it’s all there for the taking. Never become complacent; always be excited.

–Henry Leutwyler

I rely on the makeup artist’s input from the beginning. I will always trust her opinion of which model we should use. Especially when you’re doing close-up beauty shots, the less you have to do, the better it looks. So if we choose the model that already has great skin or long lashes, the less work it takes to nail it. We shoot so much digitally now, and that’s really changed the way both the photographer and the makeup artist work. It’s so easy to retouch and remove a blemish that usually I tell the makeup artist not to even bother trying to cover it up. But the most important thing for the makeup artist to know is that for beauty shots, you really have to exaggerate the effect you’re trying to create. Film has a tendency to neutralize, so the color needs to be much stronger than what it would be in real life. You need to overdo it, and then assess it not by how it looks to your eye, but how it looks on camera.

–Troy Word

INDOOR OR OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHY

Whether photographs are being taken indoors or out, the most important rule is that foundation must exactly match skin tone, and the face has to match the body. Sometimes that means bringing the foundation lower on the neck or using some bronzing powder on the neck and chest to help eliminate any obvious color difference between the face and the body.

With outdoor photography, what you see is what you get. Outdoor lighting is very unforgiving. Use little foundation and a very light hand with blush. Everything has to look great to the naked eye, and makeup has to be well blended.

For indoor photography, the amount of makeup you apply depends on lighting. Define the features and determine if the lighting will wash out the skin tone or enhance it. Extremely strong lighting requires a heavier hand and more definition. But there are many variables in determining the style you want, so you have to be open to trying varying degrees of coverage and definition.

MAKEUP FOR PHOTOGRAPHS

Keep in mind the type of photo being taken. You use different techniques for a simple portrait than for a shoot for a high-end European fashion magazine.

Portrait
Keep the look simple, and make sure the subject is comfortable with the look.

Athlete
Do what’s right for the person, and stick to his or her own style.

Musician
Unless the subject asks for a change, take your cue from his or her style, and don’t stray too far from it.

Actor
Always ask before you start working. Actors like to evolve and try new things.

Fashion
When working with designers, it is important to be a good observer. Look carefully at the clothes. Ask about the designer’s vision for the makeup.

Magazine
This kind of work varies tremendously. It is important to understand the style of the magazine and to get the input of the photographer, editor, and stylist on the shoot. I always befriend the photo assistant. That person has the best view and lets me know when something is not quite right.

BLACK-AND-WHITE OR COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY

In general, black-and-white photography is more forgiving than color photography, but both call for careful makeup application in order to get the best results.