In this evaluation I will be discussing three of my shoots; My favourite, my least favourite and one I carried out in university and the outcome of all of the photo-shoots I have participated in.

Upon starting this module I had a little experience in media makeup for camera. Last year we had the module styling for camera in which we had to produce our own photographs and makeup looks. I think this gave me a basis of knowledge, which has helped me now I am progressing on to work of a higher standard. Last term I completed some work experience doing a photo-shoot. This displayed to me the standard of images possible if I seek professional photographers. As a result of this photo-shoot I have since kept in contact with the photographers who were present. I’m glad I had the opportunity to network with the photographers as it has allowed me to gain some high quality images for my portfolio and see some of my ideas come to life.

My initial research was to help me gain inspiration and some insight in to the style of shoots I want to do. Also to look at different trends within the industry that might be beneficial for me to include.  

The initial idea I wanted to do was an editorial style shoot. I wanted to have this look in my portfolio as it is a very current and popular style within high fashion at the moment and this is a career I want to pursue. Having examples of this in my portfolio will show I am up to date with the latest trend sand showcase my talent within that area, making me more employable.

This shoot was initially organised in April with a model. However last minute the photographer had to cancel due to personal reasons. This was frustrating but I was understanding of the circumstances. The shoot was re-arranged and the second time, the model pulled out last minute. Rather than let studio time go to waste the photographer managed to discover another model for this shoot. I was extremely pleased by this, as it was one of the few shoots I had arranged with my own ideas and organised myself. It was also the shoot that mattered most to me in terms of relating to my career.

During the shoot I wanted the photographer to be experimental, as it isn’t often I get to co-ordinate the shoot. We tried different materials as props and tried lots of different posing methods. The lighting and background was light, to match the nature of the makeup and I asked the model to wear clothing to reflect this too. Overall I was very happy with the final images. They were exactly what I had envisioned and I feel the final image I included in my portfolio is the strongest.

The next shoot I am going to discuss is the only one I did in the university studios.  I really enjoyed this shoot as there were no external photographers involved meaning I could organise for Carl to take the images exactly as I wanted them. I decided this was going to be a shoot for a lip look. Therefore, I could complete the look on myself. I found this easier than applying to a model as I didn’t have to co-ordinate anyone to get the positioning I wanted. This shoot was my chance to get really creative as I struggled to find any models who wanted to wear fake blood, as it was applied on myself I didn’t mind and even put some in my mouth. I wanted to create a horror look as it is different to anything else I have in my portfolio and I want to showcase my SFX skills in case of possible future employment opportunities within the TV and Film industry. I decided macro shots with a macro size ring light would be perfect for this shoot as they would capture the close up detail in a really defined way and the ring light would cause interesting reflections and a shine with the fake blood, making for a dynamic and unique image. Afterwards I edited this in Photoshop to make the colours more contrasting and edit some areas to add even more of a horror feel and a ‘cold’ look to the image. I loved the final images and think they are really effective and stand out in my portfolio. 

The final shoot I am going to discuss is a clothing shoot I was asked to participate in via Purpleport. I was excited for this shoot as judging fro the conversation between the shoot organiser, and me he seemed really enthusiastic and it seemed like a good opportunity for creative shots. When I arrived I was told I had freedom to create whichever look I wanted but to do a look including gold, a natural look and a beauty look. I thought I did a good job with the looks and was happy with how they turned out. However, I realised soon that it was a home studio. This meant that the organiser didn’t have a white paper roll for the background and had just a plain white room with some basic professional lighting. Due to this the images weren’t expected to be of the highest quality. The images I received aren’t too bad I was happy with how my work looked but I don’t think the prints look very professional.

Overall, I’m happy I got to try out ideas, which I had in my head and gained some high quality images to show for them. If I had more time I would’ve worked some more with light and shadow concepts as I researched and look at collaborating with some more different photographers.

I reached out to a casting on Purpleport regarding a shoot for a clothing line called The Brothers Store. This was close to where I lived and seemed interesting.

When I arrived I met the company owner Emmanuel and he had photographers, two models and another makeup artist there.

The brief for the makeup was pretty open. He asked to do a glamorous colourful look, a natural look and then a look of my choice using the colour gold to match the clothing.

In terms of the shoot itself I could have much say over the pictures but Emmanuel ensured some photographs were taken that showcased my work well, so this worked in my favour and I had some images I can use for my portfolio.

I eventually got around to organising a shoot based on one of my initial ideas of an editorial look. I reached out to Mark Lycett, a photographer I had worked with before and asked if he knew anyone who could model and is reliable.

As the idea was mine and I had reached out to organise the shoots, Mark allowed me to have a lot of input with the he choices for shots.

After liaising we decided on Patricia as the model. She had editorial features so I was happy for her to collaborate with us. As this was my idea and I had reached out, Mark allowed me to have a lot of input with the ideas and shots.

I decided I wanted to look to be high fashion and the makeup and hair have a ‘wet’ look. I decided to stick with and orange tone on the eyes as this colour complimented her skin tone and it is a technique use in this style of shoot a lot as seen in my research in one of my previous posts. I then used a spray bottle to soak the hair with water.

I asked Mark for some clean shots of the head and shoulders so the makeup could clearly been seen and to also give the ‘Vogue’ feel to the images as I needed some close up shots like this in my portfolio considering the type of work I want to do.

I also asked Mark to do some more dynamic shots. We played around with fabrics and throwing them to create texture in images and add different layers. We also experimented with props such a a chair and blocks for the model to sit on.

In terms of lighting we kept it very bright and used a white background so the whole feel of the images was light and fresh as darker images or trying different lighting to create shadows etc. wouldn’t fit the theme of the shoot.

I networked through a facebook page which I joined by invitation from photographers I have previously worked with and was in touch with Paul Wills. Paul had a shoot planned with a model and asked if I would like to collaborate with them.

The shoot was in Liverpool close to where I live, so financially and acessibly it was a suitable option. It was held in a studio I have worked in before which I know has good natural lighting and a corner specially for makeup application with a mirror, table and high stool.

The model had sent over pictures prior to the shoot for eye makeup ideas.

From these ideas I built a Pinterest board for graphic liner looks .

When I arrived on the day I started to apply the makeup to the model. This is where I started to face challenges. Firstly, the model had hooded eyelids and I hadn’t worked with the type of eye before. Secondly, due to the hooded eyelid the black from the liner was transferring onto the crease of the eye and the use of gloss on the lid worsened this. This resulted in having to wipe the eyelid to re-do the design. Once the problem was solved the eye looked like the below image.

However, the model wasn’t content with the result and asked if I could alter the look to have just a single eyeliner line. This again was creating similar issues with the black marks transferring due to attempting to remove the gloss. These issues ate into most of the studio time which didn’t leave the photographer much time to shoot with the model.

However, even though time was an issue due to the makeup problems faced, the final image was good quality and showcased my work effectively. The choice the light the face directly from the front using soft box lighting worked well and really complimented my work.

I wanted to try something a bit different to the other images I have in my portfolio and something which showcases my SFX work as my other images do not show these skills.

I was inspired partially by a character from a TV show called ‘Trapped’. I knew that the character I wanted to convey would be a vampire-esque/supernatural figure. From the basis of my inspiration, I then started to note which elements might feature in this type of character:

-Blood

-Pale skin

-Veiny due to translucent skin

-Dark makeup

I decided that this look could be my chance to experiment with macro shots which I stated in my earlier blog post was something I wanted to try. This would also create diversity in my portfolio as I had no previous close up shots or shots focused on one body area. I decided to include fake blood as it conveys character and also because the macro ring light would create a really effective reflection in the blood and give a shiny effect. It also meant I could focus some smaller details such as veins as these would be more apparent with a macro shot.

Afterwards in photoshop I adjusted the saturation levels, the brightness, contrast and added a vignette filter. I believe the editing enhanced the dark theme of the shoot. It helped create a greater contrast between tones and add a ‘moody’ feel to the pictures.

I edited two final pictures for my portfolio. Out of the two images I preferred the top image as I believe the cooler tones on the face-paint and the reduction of the orange tones from the blood creates a better horror-feel.

I attended a shoot in Liverpool as the sole makeup artist and designer. I worked with photographers Kyle May and Jonathan Desmond. The brief was spring fashion, so I created a very soft look giving the barely there makeup effect as I felt this suitably connoted with Spring. I think the model was a very suited to this shoot style. Due to her fair skin I decided to not try to create a more bronzed look and worked with the fairness and used very light contouring and eyeshadow to not overpower the delicate look.

The idea was to create a second spring look with more colour but the weather didn’t go as planned as it was cold and dull. Due to this, the photographers present suggested changing the second look to be more ‘moody’ and dark. So I darkened her eyes to look more smokey and added a dark lipstick.

Overall, I was very happy with the outcome as I thought the outfits together with the makeup and the photographers style all combined created some beautiful images which really benefit my portfolio. I would love to work with these photographers again to maybe create some of my own ideas I’ve had in mind.

On 10th March, I went into Liverpool City Centre to Libre studios for a photoshoot with photographer Mark Lycett. I had previously worked on a shoot where Mark was present and we networked from there to arrange this shoot. There was another makeup artist on this shoot and she worked on one of the models and herself. I did an 80’s look on one of the girls and a subtle look for another one of the girls there for a maternity shoot.

As I was co-makeup designer on this shoot I took to Pinterest to create a mood board for 80s style makeup to gain some inspiration.

I asked the model how she envisioned her look as this was a TFP shoot, meaning I wanted to know how model would like to be portrayed. The model suggested a look inspired by ‘Brenda’ from ‘Watching’. I looked up watching and noticed the vertical striped eyeshadow which was a trend popular in the 80s. From the picture below, I created my own version.

For the maternity shoot I decided to do a light neutral look to keep in with the nature of the shoot.

On this shoot I didn’t get to do much directing in terms of shots as I joined in on a shoot that was already arranged rather than the shoot being organised by me. However, it was a good opportunity to get some different and colourful shots to add to my portfolio.

As a Makeup Artist, I would love to work in the TV and Film industry and/or editorial industry. Therefore, I have researched into film directors and photographers, who I think create interesting work through composition and use of lighting.

Alfred Hitchcock

I think Hitchcock’s work is artistically interesting as he uses lighting to create scenes which have strong contrasting tones within the frame. The top photograph has really inspired me in particular as due to the lighting the main focus is on the eyes, which could be a good way from me to photograph some intricate eye makeup looks up close in a different and more interesting way than just taking a front on, zoomed in picture. This idea could work well in colour with the same lighting for looks which have strong colour use that I want to show. This could also work really well with some graphic liner looks (like pictured below) in black and white.

Nirav Patel

I like how Patel’s work incorporates unusual use of shadow and light. She uses different methods of lighting such as windows and shining light through blinds. This is something I can experiment with myself by using different gobos and lighting from different directions.

I realised that in my portfolio I don’t have any editorial or more abstract looks. As I want to show diversity in my work, I would love to try some looks which are outside of my usual comfort zone. I usually like my finished work to look perfected and I am less inclined to create a look which looks unrefined or ‘messy’.

I started by looking at editorial work by other artists to get some inspiration.

Lynsey Alexander

I like how the skin looks natural and the overall look is very minimal and has a messy eye. This is something I want to achieve with my own look. This is a common theme we see in the likes of Vogue and similar high fashion publications.

Christopher Kane

Kane uses metallics on the lid to create a subtle barely there look, yet it is effective. Eyebrows are brushed up and not filled in. This natural look of makeup that is barely there can also be seen in other editorial artists work and is quite common for this style of work.

Mood Board

I have created a mood board to inspire me for the shoot and listed some of the words that come to mind when I look at the images and properties I will use in my final look.

• Natural
• Dewy
• Glowing
• Glossy
• Pop of colour
• Fresh
• Wet
• Slicked back hair
• Warmth

I researched into some portfolios of Makeup Artists to get some ides of what I would like to do with my own.

Samantha Mercer: http://thedollz.co.uk/photoshoot-portfolio/

I like how Mercer’s portfolio showcases a diverse range of looks but whilst maintaining a similar aesthetic. The pictures are mainly headshot portraits and show her work off really well and clearly. When creating my portfolio I will be sure to get clear headshots such as this one to ensure my work is clearly displayed in the picture.

Kathryn Rooney: https://www.kathrynrooneymakeup.co.uk

I like how Rooney’s work is separated into sections based on the type of shoot it was, I think this is something I could consider with my own portfolio due the the different types of looks I want to do e.g SFX, Gory, Beauty, Editorial.

Ditte Schaal: https://www.instagram.com/ditteschaal/

I love Schaal’s portfolio as her work mainly focuses on lips and eyes close up. Therefore, her whole portfolio is made up of really close up detailed and sharp images. I think from a professional aspect her portfolio is successful as her images all have a clear and distinct aesthetic which helps us recognise straight away that it’s her work; it works as her unique selling point. I’ve never tried any images or looks like these but I’d love to experiment with the macro ring light to create some close up images like these.