Beauty Photography – Part Three of Four
There are loads of tips and tricks of the trade for shooting beauty photography. Below are ten solid tips to help build a strong foundation for your beauty shoot.
1. Pay attention to the models face when you are moving the lights or when you are moving the model into place to see how the light reacts to the shape of the model’s face as it happens.
2. While you are moving the lights always keep in mind where your camera placement, and what your point of view will be when you begin shooting .
3. Have the model move her face slightly, up and down, side to side, or tilting her head off to one side or the other to get a better idea of how the light reacts to her face. This is also helps you to get a feeling of what angles will work best on the models face.
4. When you are looking at the model while lighting, change your point of view, bend down a few inches or move to the side a few inches. Doing this will help over all with your light, point of view, and finding the best angles of the model’s face.
5. Don’t just move the lights side to side, but also up and down, and back and forth, keeping your eyes on the model’s eyes for the catch lights, and also under her chin and on her neck for shadow length.
6. Not all problems are fixed by moving the lights, but many problems are uncovered by the light. Problems like make-up or hair issues, make sure to point out the problems to your team and have them fix it after you have finished tweaking your light. Don’t let them just jump in and fix it until you have finished lighting because it may break your rhythm. Unless you personally have a lot of experience with hair and make-up, do not touch the make-up or the hair on your model, let the make-up artist or hairdresser take care of it. Just direct them and let them fix any problems. Also don’t let the model try and fix any problems with her hair, they can’t see what you are seeing and may make things worse.
7. Use a camera lens with a normal angle of view or longer
( telephoto lens ) for beauty photography. Using a wide angle lens to shoot beauty will distort the model’s face.
8. When shooting beauty outside using available light, try to plan your beauty shoot for the magic hours ( also called “golden hour” ) of daylight. The first two and the last two hours of the day are considered the “magic hours” for outdoor photography, the best times to shoot beauty. Keep in mind you can continue to shoot for several minutes after the sun has set using ambient twilight. Otherwise use tunnel light or open-shade ambient daylight for outside beauty photography.
9. Shooting beauty outside can be great but be careful of temperatures. To hot and the model’s make-up will run, to cold and the pores of the model’s skin contract making it difficult for the make-up to be applied and it may look chalky as well. In cold temperatures skin colour will change; this was a nightmare for photographers in the pre-photoshop days, but it is something you should still be aware of when working in cold weather. Also when people are cold it is much more difficult to have them looking relaxed.
10. Just before you begin shooting, really look at the model’s face, scan it for flaws in the make-up and/or hair, your light, etc., take your time and make sure everything is perfect. Tell the model what you are doing while you are doing it. If it weirds you out, or if you think the model might be uncomfortable with you scanning her face then do it while looking though your camera. Having the camera between you and the model will act like a barrier and will become less personal. It is best to do the final scan of your model face to face if you are able. Most professional models will have no problem with you scanning their face looking at minute details if you explain to them what you are doing, just make sure to pop a breath mint first if you had eaten any garlic recently.
Next in part four of Beauty Photography. ” Beauty Make-up and Hair, plus Point of View. “
Part One of Four – Beauty Photography – The Power of Beauty
Part Two of Four – Beauty Photography – Understanding Photogenic Beauty
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