Beauty Photography – Part One of Four
Introduction
One of my subscribers asked if I could write about beauty photography, so this is my attempt to explain something I love, but something that really has no formula to speak of. I guess what I am trying to say is beauty photography is much more than just pretty light, model, and make-up. It is about beauty, something that is always difficult to define. Beauty as they say after all, is in the eye of the beholder. Beauty is visual, but it is more visceral than tangible. Beauty photography I believe can best be described as a hybrid cross between very good portraiture and fashion photography. In this four part series I will delve into what is beauty photography, and offer some beauty photography tips.
Beauty is visual, but it is more visceral than tangible.
Beauty is not Glamour
Beauty photography should not be confused with glamour photography, as glamour photography is much closer to fashion or fantasy photography, in which you are not really photographing a person so much as you are creating a character. Really good beauty photography is more about the photographer connecting with the subject like in portrait photography but with the keen eye of a fashion photographer. This is why many photographers do not shoot beauty well, it is a balance between both fashion and portraiture. Glamour is much closer to fashion in the sense that both are in the world of fantasy, where beauty is more grounded in reality, like portraiture or reportage photography.
The Power of Beauty
I believe that beauty photography is more powerful than both fashion and glamour photography because of the connection between the model and the photographer and ultimately the viewer of the photograph. The beauty of the model with her trust in the photographer, mixed with the passion of the photographer can create very emotionally intimate moments. So in the end, the emotions you see in the images are real, and just like in any good portrait, the viewer is drawn into the photograph more because of this.
Beauty Light
In the professional photographer’s world there are really only two kinds of light, good light and bad light. Beauty photography only works with good light; of course that can be said for any type of photography but with beauty photography it is the corner stone of a good beauty shoot, without it everything else will not fall into place. No matter how beautiful the model, the make-up or the hair without the right light to tie everything together it can not considered beauty photography. In fashion photography you are lighting for a scene, the clothing and the model, in beauty photography you are lighting for the face so having a good understanding of portrait lighting is important.
Back light, front light, side light, hard light, soft light, spot light, there is no right or wrong light, as long as you always light for the face. Every face is different so there is no formula way to light for beauty, and you need to approach every face with fresh eyes. Looking for the strengths and weakness of the face that is in front of you, using your light and angles to accent the strengths and masking the weaknesses to bring out the full potential of the model’s face. Get your light right and everything else will fall into place.
In part two of Beauty Photography I will be focusing on photogenic beauty.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our email updates ( top right of this page ) or to the RSS feed to get a update notice when we post the next article.
I would love to hear from you, so do not worry, I will never share your email address with anyone . All emails will remain private and I will not use your name in future posts unless given permission by you.
