Should I Get a Makeup Artist For My Headshot?
One of the questions we get asked the most is whether or not booking a professional makeup artist for your photo session is worth it. The short answer is yes, it’s totally worth it. But, we decided to do an experiment to show you WHY it’s worth it.
Watch the whole experiment and results here:
The experiment
Have you ever heard the phrase ‘the camera adds ten pounds?’ Well, it also removes 30% of makeup. To show you what we mean, I decided to take some photos with my everyday makeup. Here’s how my everyday makeup looks under strobe lights (lights that flash):
Notice that it doesn’t really look like I’m wearing any makeup, when I totally put some on this morning! If you don’t wear a lot of makeup, your everyday makeup likely won’t translate on camera. I look a bit red and unfinished, which is the opposite of what we want in a professional photo.
Now, let’s see what happens when I have a professional makeup artist do my makeup.
Wow! You can see that the makeup done by the professional obviously translates a lot better in a photo. Not only does a makeup artist know exactly what products to use with strobe lights (lights that flash), but they have an entire arsenal of products you may not have in your bathroom. They can custom mix products to make sure you have an exact match for your photo look.
A professional knows what to do to color correct your skin to keep you from looking blotchy, shiny or red. They’re called artists for a reason!
Makeup artists have a unique way of seeing people’s skin tones and undertones and selecting the right colors for them. It’s like your face is their canvas, and makeup is their paint.
Who should hire a makeup artist for their photo session?
While everyone can benefit from hiring a professional makeup artist for their photo session, the best candidates are people who only wear a little makeup or none at all. So if you are someone who just throws on a little mascara everyday, we highly recommend you consider a pro for your next photo session.
For the full glam folks, a professional can also help you with precise color matching and even give you some tips for your daily looks!
Common makeup mistakes
Another reason we recommend hiring a professional makeup artist is that it’s easy to make mistakes. We don’t mean your makeup looks bad! You’re beautiful! There are just certain things you should do when it comes to photography makeup that aren’t the same for daily makeup.
For example, if one thing is slightly off it can alter your photo. Here are some of the most common makeup mistakes people make when doing their makeup for photography:
Wearing the wrong colors that don’t compliment your skin tone.
The wrong placement of liner and shadow can make your eyes look smaller.
Bad blush placement can make your cheeks look droopy, and the wrong color can give off grandma vibes.
Highlighter can look great in person, but with a flash it’ll look shiny and bounce way too much light.
Foundation color mismatch can be distracting. This is especially true for people of color who have a wide range of undertones, which can make them feel misrepresented on camera.
Check out examples of all the common makeup mistakes in this video:
Wrapping it up
So, should you hire a professional makeup artist for your next photo session? Our answer is YES. We have extremely talented makeup artists at Organic Headshots ready to make you look your best, and keep you from looking like your Aunt Bertha with way too much blush on.