Hi I am new mua and new to ModelMayhem. I developed my passion while working for a cosmetic line in a department store... 3 years later I have left the department stores and makeup boutiques to pursue freelancing. Work is slow when you are building a portfolio and free work is necessary to start.

I am currently trying to network with photographers for TFP which would be worth more than pay at this point with a great photographer. My portfolio is at it's very beginning stages.

But besides TFP when should a new artist offer free services without going broke? So much has been invested in my kit that I fear that my continuous free work will lead to the replacement of some expensive palettes.

How long should a new artist expect to not make a profit?

But you are profiting. When you receive photos that help your portfolio, you are making a profit.

I would expect, on average, to work a shorter time building a book where you live than if you lived someplace with a lot more competition. But working another job and using money earned from that to support the building and maintenance of your kit while testing would be a good idea at first.

In bigger markets an artist may work 5 years or more before they can support themselves just doing makeup. For some less, and that's great. The ones who can earlier are often those who hustle and network like crazy.

Best of luck to you!

Thanks for your feedback! And great point about pay not always being money. That's something I needed to learn.

That depends on so many things...

the local market
the skill of the artist
the skill of the competition
the networking abilities of the artist
luck

and that is just a start.

There really is no "You will make money when ________"

Sorry.

It depends on how long it takes to build a professional portfolio... For most people in a good market it takes at least 2 years of testing to build a book that will get you paying work

All excellent responses so far. 

Honestly, don't count on making a REAL living from makeup artistry for at least 7 years. Better to have a realistic goal and break it by getting there quicker than the other way around. 

Work hard, stay humble and test, test, test!

Thanks for the great advice! I'm not at all driven for profit in this industry, I only get slightly frustrated when I continue to invest so much money only to spend more money so I wondered how an experienced artist got past this. So I will focus as much effort as possible towards building my portfolio and hope for a favorable outcome in the years to come.

Ask yourself this:

How much would you have to pay for a photographer, model, location/studio, etc. to get a photo that you can use in your portfolio??

How much does it cost you to do makeup and use some of your kit's supplies?

Doing trade shoots saves you way more than you would spend otherwise

General rule of thumb is that you get good at your craft after doing it for 10,000 hours !

KM

You have to spend money to make money :]

Yes, it takes time. Been a MUA for a year now, and there's alot of TFP work in the beginning, I can tell you, so I hope you have an extra job on the side

It depends, could be a short time could take a long time, could maybe not happen at all.

You have to ask yourself, imo, the following about your business.
- are there clients in my area paying for my type of service.
- is that work enough to get me by and make money from.

As a makeup example, a person could be the most amazing stage makeup person in the country but not get a lot of work if they are living in Buffalo SD. Where on the other hand, they could make money in that city doing haircuts and hair/makeup for special events (weddings, seniors, etc).

This also goes to working on your portfolio as far as are you doing it with the intention of making money later and appealing to clients you want to market to, or are you doing it for fun? Sometimes a really fun shoot is worthless for marketing where as a boring shoot can help pick up new clients. Again, it goes to the market you're trying to reach.




As far as costs starting up, the best mua I've worked with comes to the studio on her bike (when its nice) with a small tacklebox of makeup and some hair curlers and hairspray. It dosent always take a huge investment in equipment or makeup to do an amazing job.



Andrew Thomas Evans
www.andrewthomasevans.com

In my experience, Clients don't hire till the portfolio is at the level of everyone else they hire. 3-5 years is fairly common.... it takes that long to build the networking skills, set etiquette and application speed & efficiency that is expected of Pros.

Approx. 2 years after one retires . . .

. . . for photographers even longer.

I agree with most of what has been said. There's no 'magic' formula. It depends on your skill level, your portfolio, and the market that you're in. I've seen some mediocre makeup artists freelancing full time and making a decent living. I've also seen some killer artists who only do this part time because the market it insanely competitive.

Keep working on your portfolio, reach out to photographers/models, and practice your bum off!