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Model has bad makeup, what to do?
On two different occasions models have done a poor job applying makeup. One, too much blush. The other, eyeliner was too drastic, only straight on shots with eyes wide open worked. What should a photographer do? just shoot and photoshop or tell the model? The one with too much blush just spent 20 minutes on her makeup. Jun 20 14 12:17 am Link Calif-Sun Photography wrote: Did you discuss the way you wanted their makeup to look prior to the day of the shoot? If so then yeah you should say something about their makeup. Jun 20 14 12:35 am Link You should tell her that you need her to adjust her makeup..I tell my models that they should apply makeup in the studio, because the makeup is important to me and I want to be involved in the process. If that's not an option, she should have enough makeup to fix her mistakes. Jun 20 14 12:52 am Link JustinWKing wrote: +1 Jun 20 14 01:10 am Link If you don't like their makeup hire a makeup artist. Models are not makeup artists simply because one is a women doesn't mean that they know how to properly apply makeup a lot of male photographers think every female model should know how to do their makeup but that is not their job description. You get what you pay for and if you didn't pay for a makeup artist then you will get a poor makeup job. Jun 20 14 06:21 am Link JustinWKing has the right idea. I work with many beginner models in my small community and often have the models adjust their makeup.... by having them make it lighter/heavier, or change the color of the lips. etc. I find that they appreciate my ideas. The important part is to always suggest an improvement, not just say that somethings wrong. Sometimes, I take the time to load one image into my computer and have model critique the makeup with me. That helps them to see what I'm talking about. It's worth the lost shooting time. I suspect that the OP, like me, wants to do the best job possible, but doesn't have financial resources to hire mua. Also in small communities like mine, there are no mua's in MM. Jun 20 14 06:39 am Link If you really want to control that...collaborate with a MUA. The model shows up with no makeup.. the MUA does it all and you get what you want. Or go the other route and ask they they do their makeup there.. or come with very little makeup and you can make it heavier as you go. Jun 20 14 06:57 am Link I shoot a couple of 'make-up test shots' as soon as the model thinks she's ready. Then I bring them up on the monitor and ask the model what she thinks might improve the overall look. Usually when the model see's the image on a screen, she can tell if her eyes aren't even or her base is too dark/light and go back into the makeup room and correct it. I've never had a model get defensive or upset, and once they see the problem it's not a big deal to fix it. Not saying anything about it will only end up hurting the shoot results. KM Jun 20 14 07:08 am Link A-M-P wrote: This! Jun 20 14 07:57 am Link 1) work with a GOOD makeup artist 2) regardless of who is doing the makeup, ask that they start LIGHT. Its easier to put more on than take it off. 3) provide reference photos of the look you want to go for. Saying "smokey eye" doesnt mean much, everyones got a different idea of what that means. You could wind up with something still fairly light, or you could wind up with two pitch black eye sockets and theres no going backwards from that. Jun 20 14 08:46 am Link A-M-P wrote: While this is true for some models, others are very good with MU and some prefer to do their own with excellent results. You need to know the model's capability before you decide whether or not to use a MUA. Jun 20 14 08:57 am Link Find out on beforehand how handy the model is with a brush. If her skills don't suffice, hire a professional. If your budget doesn't allow a professional MUA, how about approaching a school? I have worked with a ton of aspiring MUA's who were still learning and needed practice/photo's. many of them do a pretty good job. Jun 20 14 09:37 pm Link Tell them to remove the makeup with a wipe. Jun 21 14 04:28 am Link I always have told models to keep it light - very little make up. Then I check it out and have them adjust it to taste. Jun 21 14 04:36 am Link A-M-P wrote: Not all makeup artist - trained or not do a great job. I know, I've had some really bad ones! The hardest part is telling them you don't like what they did. Jun 21 14 04:37 am Link Ken Marcus Studios wrote: ^This is what I do. Models are usually very good at making this decision. Marin Photography NYC wrote: OMG, this has happened to me especially a couple of years ago. Sometimes MUAs like to show off their skills and overdo it. Almost ruined a great face. Jun 21 14 07:33 am Link Take a very bad picture of her and tell her look this is what bad make-up does hehe. Jun 21 14 09:11 am Link Ken Marcus Studios wrote: This is a great approach! Jun 21 14 09:23 am Link Thanks to all for the feedback, good suggestions that are useful. Jun 21 14 09:27 am Link Marin Photography NYC wrote: That's why you really go through their portfolios and check their references.Especially you are paying them. Jun 21 14 11:38 am Link Calif-Sun Photography wrote: If a model does a bad job applying make-up it's your job as the photographer to speak up, not attempt to shoot around it or clean it up in photoshop since these things do nothing to fix the problem. If you have specific ideas regarding how you want the make-up to look then be proactive and send the model some reference photos a few days before the shoot and ask if they're honestly able to achieve it. If they're not then you have time to either rethink the model or rethink the look. If they say they are but they show up and they do something other than what you're looking for then politely ask them to make changes e.g. a problem like too much blush should be a super simple fix in that it requires make-up being removed and not added. Jun 21 14 12:24 pm Link Do your homework beforehand. Some models, like myself, do their own makeup. Check their ports and see if they have makeup artist credits. Or simply ask them who has done their makeup. I agree that it's easier to add more makeup than take some off. Only once did I have an issue with having to change my makeup and I realized before I even got to the shoot. I was shooting in black and white so I had a friend take a picture with his phone and then he had it changed to black and white. My lips were too dark. Easy fix. I wouldn't be offended if a photographer wanted my makeup changed. Not everyone's taste is the same or even good LOL. Jun 21 14 01:16 pm Link If you expect to have professional, camera ready makeup for the look required, hire a professional makeup artist. If you are expecting models to do their own makeup, then when it is not camera ready you are getting exactly what you paid for: nothing. You live in Santa Cruz. An hour from San Francisco and 20 minutes over the hill from the San Jose area where there are tons of artists. Post a casting call. Jun 21 14 01:52 pm Link I think the photographer..or the person in charge of the shoot needs to find a makeup artist within the area looking to either build their portfolio, (if they don't want to pay)..or hire a makeup artist. I came across the same situation and there's a lot of models out there that are gorgeous..they just don't know how to apply makeup professionally for a camera or video. And its not the models fault at all. Its the productions responsibility. Just my opinion, and if someone already said the same thing in this forum...I'm agreeing with you. Jun 21 14 07:29 pm Link Makeup Hair by Dani B wrote: Sadly having a professional MUA on set isn't always guarantee that the make-up will be camera ready or what the person in charge of the shoot wants for the final look and so in my opinion the larger lesson for the photographer in this case is to learn how to speak up. Having a professional can totally help, but knowing how to give directions properly is key as well e.g. if the photographer is looking to do something with a vintage feel but doesn't communicate that to the MUA and he or she does a look that's on trend for Summer 2014 the make-up could be fabulous but still wrong for the images. Jun 22 14 07:59 am Link A-M-P wrote: As far as I'm concerned, this is the end of the thread right here. Over the years I've learned that having an excellent makeup artist on my team is just as important as which lens I'm using or which light modifier I'm putting on which lights or what the model's wardrobe looks like. Jun 22 14 09:18 am Link Tiffany_B wrote: There are no guarantees in anything, but it increases your odds that you will get closer to, if not achieving exactly what you want. There is no guarantee that the model won't trip over the seamless paper and break her leg before the first photo either, so make sure she is helped onto the paper in her stilettos to mitigate that risk. Jun 22 14 09:20 am Link Makeup Hair by Dani B wrote: Great advice from Dani! Jun 22 14 09:46 am Link Shot By Adam wrote: Again, I don't think this as much about having a professional on set as it is about a photographer learning to communicate what it is that they expect from a look because the reality is that no matter who a photographer works with they have to be able to share their vision. If he or she is unable to say "Can you remove some of your blush." (which likely would have fixed the issue in at least one of the scenarios the OP described) how likely is it going to be that they can explain a full face concept to someone, even a professional? For example I can ask you to shoot a "dark motel series" for me, negotiate a price, agree on models etc. but if we don't have even a basic conversation about it chances are we'll be picturing two totally different things in our head and while we may be able to come to some sort of a compromise on set in order to get there we'd have to talk things out and hope we could make it work with what we had OR we can do what the OP did, stay silent and get shots that aren't really what we intended. Jun 22 14 09:53 am Link If one is going to have the model do her own makeup, you have to basically vet the model's makeup skills (just as you would a new artist), before using her. Jun 22 14 10:55 am Link Seriously? You're holding the model responsible for the quality of makeup application at a shoot? Hire a legitimate creative team who are responsible for these things. I mean no disrespect, but you get what you pay for. If you cut corners and expect your "model" to replace a vanity department (hair/makeup/styling), don't be upset when the results are lackluster or bad. Jun 22 14 12:31 pm Link KJB wrote: I have to agree with Kevin on this one... Models aren't makeup artists. I have worked with models that do their own makeup very well but it's not the majority and I wouldn't ever count on it. Jun 22 14 11:22 pm Link 1. Tell the model that you had to make some adjustments because the blush was a bit more intense than you anticipated on camera. That's probably something that you should have noticed after shooting a few test images...no offense. Just something like 'hey the blush is just a tiny bit intense can you tone it down?' 2. Invest in a MUA for your next shoot or find a killer MUA who is interested in doing a test/trade shoot with you. As someone else has already said most models are not MUAs. I always face palm when I see a photo that had such incredible potential that is ruined by makeup that fell short. Jul 04 14 06:15 pm Link |
