|
Forums >
Hair, Makeup & Styling >
MUA portfolio advice
Hi. I've been in the industry about five months. I need help choosing which photos to remove from my book. I'm only interested in beauty/fashion work. I don't have a clue on how to organize a strong portfolio. Help! Pro MUA, photographer, and model opinions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks Much, Melissa Feb 27 06 08:44 pm Link What you need in your port primarily are HEADSHOTS! You want to see your work up close and personal! The picture really doesn't matter so much as the FACE of the Model. You should always have a BEFORE and AFTER Headshot/Faceshot just for your Hardcopy Book. To show what you are capable of doing. Full figure shots do nothing for YOUR Portfolio. Photoshopped images only make YOU look BAD! Makes someone think the Make-up was inadequate. Just my Professional Opinion. Good Luck! Feb 27 06 08:50 pm Link I disagree with that last posting. People want to see full length shots, you need to show that you can put a whole look together, for instence, the makeup coordinates with the clothing and style of the shoot. Clean beauty shots are essential and editorials as well (make your pictures tell a story) Also, show a variety of skin colors and ethnicities. Photoshop is also usually required, almost every professional Makeup Artist has it done to their photos. It just makes them look more professional, though never get it too overdone so that it's obvious that it has been edited. Hope this helps you out a bit. Let me know if you have any more questions. Feb 27 06 09:01 pm Link I agree with both of you. A MUA should have head shots but you also need 'longer' shots to show you can tie everything in. Full body...not all that many as faces tend to get small and if you just have a good, general application of makeup it could be hard to see. PS...by all means as long as it's not over done. Just enough Levels, Curves, or Exposure control and / or color enhancement to add but not overdo the image. Good luck here on MM. CH Feb 27 06 09:14 pm Link I also disagree with Hazma. Check out artist reps like http://www.cloutieragency.com http://www.jedroot.com http://www.celestineagency.com http://www.artistunited.com These are the type of shots you need in your book. Oh and before and after??? Please do not do this unless you are only wanting to do weddings/proms/ etc Feb 27 06 09:15 pm Link Ashley Elizabeth wrote: compleatly agree. :)before and after shoots give the whole "hi i'm new" unless your are doing bridal stuff for some reason brides want to see that sorta thing Feb 27 06 09:57 pm Link I can tell you a mistake I made. I marketed myself only toward fashion for a period of time and now I have a bunch of full body tear sheets from magazines where you can't see the faces very well. Looks good to your peers, but commercial clients don't care. MUAs with nice clean beauty TFP portfolios are more likely to get a job from thier portfolio than me. So- I'm back in the TFP arena to give my portfolio a sleeker look. Moral: fashion tear sheets are nice, but the proof of good artistry is in a clean clear close shot. Feb 27 06 10:39 pm Link Ashley Elizabeth wrote: perfect. great post Ashely. When you build a portfolio look at the top pros and get as close to that as you can. I have before and afters on my website but thats just for fun....NOT in my hard cover book. Only the best 15 shots go in my hard cover book and what matters is that the photography, styling, model, makeup and hair all look GREAT and thats hard to get in one shot. Feb 28 06 12:01 am Link You want to have headshots and full body shots. You want to show that you can do fashion, beauty and glamour. You also want to show how the make-up contributes to the shot and the clothing as a whole. Different skin colors and ethnicities is also great because it shows diversity. You don't want people to think that you can only do one type of skin color. Agreed with the before/after shots. Only do that to show for weddings, proms etc. Sometimes I have more than one look for a girl. (If you see my MM page), you can see Diana in normal everyday make-up, but then I have her in geisha make-up and she looks like a totally different person! That's the kinda thing you want to aim for as well. Feb 28 06 10:18 am Link Jessica Steele wrote: I agree. From a commercial photographers view point, fashion shots are nice, but not what my clients are after. They want to see what you can bring to a commercial shoot. For my clients (such as Nexcare) they do not want it to look like the model has make up on, unlike fashion. They want that clean "natural" look. Feb 28 06 02:36 pm Link Just wanted to say thank you for all of the great advice. I have a better understanding of what I need in my book. Thanks Much, Melissa Mar 01 06 01:01 pm Link Imagemakersphoto wrote: This is the best advice! Mar 01 06 02:33 pm Link In my book I have a little of everthing from fashion, flim and theatre, since I work in all three they do overlap and occasionally a fashion photographer will see one of my crazy film sfx images and they get so excited. So i think its a great idea to have the best of the best of you work in your book  ...Mandy of Deadly Design Make-up ArtistryMar 01 06 02:38 pm Link As a photographer, I would want to see the makeup abilities of the MUA....not the photographic (or PS) skills of the photographers the MUA has worked with. Unless the MUA does full body makeup, I don't care to see full body shots. Give me a closeup of the MUA's work anyday. - Denoy P.S. Models, on the other hand, may want to see "the whole" image. They don't (or may not realize) that the "mood" of the picture is mostly the photographer's doing....especially when the model's face is barely visible. I've seen some pics in MUA books that don't even show the model's face...lol Mar 01 06 02:42 pm Link The only time I can conceive when to include a "full body" shot or those that do not CLEARLY show the make-up on the model is when including a tear in your portfolio. In that case, you are showing that you have what it takes to "get published" and you are showing your credentials...not your MUA skill. Credentials can mean more than actual make-up sample. - Denoy Mar 01 06 02:45 pm Link |
