Hey Guys

I am a "newbie"! I really want to get out there and start meeting new people, making contacts and get advertising so I can start getting jobs! I am quietly confident in my skills but then when I start looking for stuff I get nervous and start second guessing myself and then not applying or going for jobs! Is this normal... and how do I get over it !!!

I am also such a perfectionist... I need some tips on how to speed up my techniques and get a job done well but without rushing and end up messing things up! Or is this just going to get better with experience and practise? what is and acceptable amount of time to spend on a full face of makeup and hair styling?

Practice helps.

Planning your makeup looks with the photographer/client before the shoot might speed things up as well.

One of the most important things when doing makeup for photography is using powder to tone down the specular highlights, which normally occur around the middle of the forehead, below the eyes and above the cheeks, at the tip of the nose and on the chin.

Saving the photographer hours of retouching is at least as good as cutting 15 minutes off the time you spend applying makeup.

I'm ULTRA particular about the makeup I do too.

My best advice would be to step back and look at your work as you do it. Another tip that I picked up is taking photos on your phone with and without flash just to get a sense as to what it will kinda look like on camera.

Only with practice will you get faster. I can usually do a full face with lashes in 25 minutes if I don't have any interruptions. I can tag light hair onto that for about a 35 minute chair time. Most photographers will get a little impatient if you go over 45 minutes in my experience, so just really try to aim for that sweet spot. I would also say do things in the order that will take the longest.

Typically eyes are the "most difficult" part so I tackle those, then face, then lips.

Also, always have a vision in mind. It's kind of important to think on your toes here. Last week I did a natural shoot, but it was lightly 90s grunge inspired. So I did a lower lid smokey eye, but left the rest of the face pretty natural looking.

You want to do things that will appease your client, while also being somewhat of a mind reader. The average person doesn't know all about makeup, which is why you'll be hired. There will be keywords that you'll start to pickup that will be your guide: sensual, smokey, pinup, glam, and natural are typically the biggest ones.