PhoenixFX wrote:
Umm, hi...how about not highjacking my thread and pretty much copying my post word for word? I mean, it's not that hard to start your own thread you know. >.>

I do apologise chick it wasn't my intention to offend you in any way, I haven't put a thread out before and really should jave read the rules so I was fully aware of what I was meant too do, I meant no harm and so very sorry for intruding, I wasn't quite sure how to go about posting a thread and hadn't realised I had totally went about it the correct way, please accept muy sincere apoplogy....

Apologies again and kindest regards,

Lorraine x

So sorry

Adrienne Andersen  wrote:
The first thing I would say is to cull your portfolio. Leave up the pictures that are in line with where you want to go with your work, and take down the others. This will keep you from getting requests from photographers with concepts you're trying to stray away from. You also need some better quality shots. Your avante garde album is not flattering at all in my opinion. If you want to do Avante garde, then definitely make sure you choose a photog that will showcase your work in a great and interesting way. I think it would be a great idea for you to specifically do a beauty shoot where your work is the focus. Hope that helps. Good luck!

Thanks for the response! When you say pics that are in line with where I want to go, are you meaning staying with one genre of makeup style? Like beauty or sfx instead of showcasing both skills? I'm in the process of getting better shots at the moment. Since I just moved to LA within the past two months, I've been test shooting for portfolio updates as much as I can to strengthen my portfolio.

What exactly isn't flattering about the avant garde album? The photographer? The makeup/concepts? Can you clarify that a bit for me?

And i'm also in the works of doing a makeup centric beauty shoot. Still looking for quality models and photographers to get that set up, but I thank you for reinforcing that idea. Glad to know it's one that is worth investing further into. Thanks for the critique!

Thanks for the response! When you say pics that are in line with where I want to go, are you meaning staying with one genre of makeup style? Like beauty or sfx instead of showcasing both skills? I'm in the process of getting better shots at the moment. Since I just moved to LA within the past two months, I've been test shooting for portfolio updates as much as I can to strengthen my portfolio.

What exactly isn't flattering about the avant garde album? The photographer? The makeup/concepts? Can you clarify that a bit for me?

And i'm also in the works of doing a makeup centric beauty shoot. Still looking for quality models and photographers to get that set up, but I thank you for reinforcing that idea. Glad to know it's one that is worth investing further into. Thanks for the critique!

Yes, but no, not exactly staying with one style of make-up, just only posting the pictures in the genre that you want to pursue. If you want to do commercial and fx then, just have those type of photos in your port. Your website shows that you can do multiple genre's if someone is curious or interested in other genres. I didn't understand the concepts or get any type of story from the make-up in your avante garde album. The one pic with the kimono has the tangled hair and the makeup is confusing. Was it supposed to be a geisha look? The photography was good for the middle shot, but the others had bad lighting and a background that didn't match your makeup at all. Good luck in LA, you should be able to find some great photogs out there.

PhoenixFX wrote:
Hey guys. So I would love some in-depth critique about my work and portfolio in order to help gear me more toward a seriously strong portfolio that can help me book more jobs and possibly find an agent. I have several different styles of makeup in there, and it's in process of being revamped to stronger pics anyway, but I'd like to know what you guys think about what are some of the strongest and weakest pics in there. I always have a hard time choosing which ones to delete and which ones to leave in.

Any help and advice would be great! Thanks!

I will  say I think it is hard for a MUA to find a photographer that would hire them and just shoot around the makeup... Not impossible just difficult. Usually they are being told by their clients what they need to focus on and its not always the techniques of the MUA. Please do not take me wrong and think that I do not find the MUA important in a shoot, I DO! They help the story along with their artistic flow. I would recommend that you find a photographer that would do head shots unless you are doing full body special FX makeup then find another photographer for that. Have them focus on your work not the model not the clothes not anything other than your work. This is will also insure that they will not do any funky filters. I will agree with the others saying that your beauty photos do not flatter your special FX would be amazing if they were in a different location great job with those!!! but your beauty's need work.
End the end you want something like this
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thephotogr … 354710017/
Not an ad... but an example. best wishes to you...

Lee_Photography wrote:

The lips look crocked
The white area is not as finished as it could be, rough edges especially inside corners of eyes
Not crazy about the light pattern in eyes


Near the models ear the makeup looks clumped on, not smooth and fluid as expected


This one looks very natural, like this a lot


Ok, you are not the photographer but the shadows across the face are not positive elements in this image


Same shadow issues with this image

Since you are trying to show case your work, your photo selection needs to be more picky

Wish you well

thanks for the critique. sometimes its hard to be picky when you only get a few select images from the photographer to begin with though  :-/ but like i did say in my OP i'm working on redoing the shots in my port for stronger and better quality (models and photogs alike) so I'll make sure to keep your advice in mind, as well as that of the others who posted replies. Some of the images in my portfolio are a few years old, so they just need to be taken out and redone completely. With the critiques, I'm starting to see which ones those might be lol.

Thanks again for your advice! it's appreciated!

Adrienne Andersen  wrote:

Yes, but no, not exactly staying with one style of make-up, just only posting the pictures in the genre that you want to pursue. If you want to do commercial and fx then, just have those type of photos in your port. Your website shows that you can do multiple genre's if someone is curious or interested in other genres. I didn't understand the concepts or get any type of story from the make-up in your avante garde album. The one pic with the kimono has the tangled hair and the makeup is confusing. Was it supposed to be a geisha look? The photography was good for the middle shot, but the others had bad lighting and a background that didn't match your makeup at all. Good luck in LA, you should be able to find some great photogs out there.

yes it was a rocker geisha look. the other pics you could see the props and equipment used, but this was the best one of the face and makeup. the middle one was a steampunk inspired queen elizabeth. but i appreciate the critique, so thank you

Paul Tirado Photography wrote:
Based on what I have seen with MUAs I have worked with and what they have been told by agencies, you would have to do better on the beauty front. You need agency or agency-calibur faces to work with and also better photographers with better post work.

Also I would agree with the previous poster and say your avant garde section does you no favors. The makeup - maybe with the exception of the full face - seems a bit overdone and not as sharp as it should be. If you want to get signed and compete with the best out there - and there are some really good MUAs in LA - then you are going to have to up your game in all areas.

it's interesting that you say that about agency faces and photogs for my beauty work because the top section of my beauty pages are all top agency signed llamas and shot by an agency approved photographer. are you talking about the beauty shots overall or specific ones that aren't up to par? could you be more specific with those, and what would you suggest I do in order to step up my game?

thanks for your critique as well btw. it's always appreciated to hear what others think. my portfolio has been needing to be redone for a while now, so when i moved to LA a few months ago, i decided to have that done. it's still a work in progress, but I'll keep your advice in mind while i'm refreshing it thanks again!

Paul Tirado Photography wrote:
Based on what I have seen with MUAs I have worked with and what they have been told by agencies, you would have to do better on the beauty front. You need agency or agency-calibur faces to work with and also better photographers with better post work.

Also I would agree with the previous poster and say your avant garde section does you no favors. The makeup - maybe with the exception of the full face - seems a bit overdone and not as sharp as it should be. If you want to get signed and compete with the best out there - and there are some really good MUAs in LA - then you are going to have to up your game in all areas.

PhoenixFX wrote:
it's interesting that you say that about agency faces and photogs for my beauty work because the top section of my beauty pages are all top agency signed models and shot by an agency approved photographer. are you talking about the beauty shots overall or specific ones that aren't up to par? could you be more specific with those, and what would you suggest I do in order to step up my game?

thanks for your critique as well btw. it's always appreciated to hear what others think. my portfolio has been needing to be redone for a while now, so when i moved to LA a few months ago, i decided to have that done. it's still a work in progress, but I'll keep your advice in mind while i'm refreshing it thanks again!

I think the first two shots of the guys are good shots, however, the first shot looks more editorial than most of the editorial folder.

As for the rest of your beauty album, for the purposes of getting signed I don't think they are particular strong.  You need a good portion if the not the majority of them in studio or more light controlled circumstances. You need better photography and better post production. Maybe with those the level of models you are getting will look better but you can always use better models.

To be honest as you need to up your game in all levels. I mean google "makeup agency LA" and spend some time following the top links or do image search. That is who you are up against.

Paul Tirado Photography wrote:
I think the first two shots of the guys are good shots, however, the first shot looks more editorial than most of the editorial folder.

As for the rest of your beauty album, for the purposes of getting signed I don't think they are particular strong.  You need a good portion if the not the majority of them in studio or more light controlled circumstances. You need better photography and better post production. Maybe with those the level of models you are getting will look better but you can always use better models.

To be honest as you need to up your game in all levels. I mean google "makeup agency LA" and spend some time following the top links or do image search. That is who you are up against.

it's interesting that you say that because i was told that LA agencies weren't so keen on studio work for portfolios. unless i misunderstood the person that told me that. i also might not have a clear and concise idea of what "editorial" means versus "beauty" makeup. i've always under the impression that editorial was a series of pictures and images that told one cohesive story, where as beauty was simply a look captured on camera.

the photographer who shot the guys also did the majority of the top two rows in my "beauty" section...not sure which pics right off the top of my head. I've been looking for other photographers as well just to vary my work and i'm waiting on images from a few photo shoots that we just finished, so those will help as well to strengthen my portfolio since they were with good photogs.