What You Can Do (Part 3)

This is another entry in my continuing series on what you can do to help make your photography spectacular. All of these posts are merely suggestions and not requirements. You'll have beautiful and wonderful photography from me regardless. But take some of these things into account and your investment will have much larger dividends. I'm not a magician and some of these suggestions can make a huge difference in how stunning your photographs can be. If you want to see the other installments in this series, look to the post organizer on the right side of the page and choose the one labeled "What You Can Do".



What you can do: Hire a Professional Makeup Artist

Even if you are really great at doing your own makeup, hire someone professional. Why? Let me itemize the reasons:

-Because a professional knows how to do your makeup not only for real-life beauty but also so that the camera interprets your face correctly. There is a certain amount of contouring, etc that can be done (and imperceptibly for real-life viewing) that will make you look that much more fabulous on film (or in my case, pixels).

-They are also able to gage just how much makeup you need for photographs. Your normal everyday amount is, more times than not, going to leave you looking a bit washed out in photos. It is similar to that saying "the camera adds ten pounds", so actresses are all at least ten pounds underweight. Well, the camera also removes a layer of makeup on most occasions, so you have to wear a little more to have your features accentuated correctly. (this is more true of situations where the flash may be used, or lighting may affect the shot)

-Many makeup brands, particularly foundations and concealers, contain ingredients that will reflect light (like a flash at your reception, even when it is bounced) and make your face look flat as a pancake. A good makeup artist knows which brands to use to avoid this. On the same accord, a foundation that you think makes you look "tan" will look much too dark and unnatural on camera.

-Your favorite shimmer shadow that you wear to go out at night will reflect light and not look so great on your wedding day.
I'm as guilty as anyone here - I own almost exclusively eyeshadow with shimmer, but on my wedding day I defaulted to the
makeup artist's choices and it looked great.

-Professional makeup has staying power. You are likely to cry, sweat, dance, be hugged more than you have collectively in your entire life and have cake smashed into your face. A good professional makeup job will stand up to all of this, and you'll still look great at the end of the night.

-There are a number of non-photography reasons to get a pro to do your makeup, if you are interested, J.Cricket did a great job of pointing them out here.



There are several very good local makeup artists available to brides on location at their getting ready space, or in salons. If you need some recommendations, feel free to ask.