Photography for Make-up Blogs and Channels

For make-up blogs and channels, a lot of visual is required, because make-up is essentially something visual. Hence, a lot of pictures and videos have to be taken, and this is where photography comes in. I'm by no means educated in photography, nor am I claiming to be expert at this, but after time I've gathered a bit of experience regarding make-up photos, and I've watched enough Michelle Phan to last me a lifetime.

The Camera

Lots of beauty gurus use DSLRs or video cameras to record their work as well as taking pictures. In my opinion, a 5.0 megapixel camera is enough to do the job. Ever since I've been posting picture tutorials, I've been using the built-in 5.0 megapixel camera on my Nokia C6-00, and there were actually people who said that the pictures were really sharp!

The Lighting

Unless you're using artificial light, always go for front lighting. Always have the light right in your face, rather than coming from the side - this helps make the results more balanced, and you would also get the make-up more balanced if you used front light, as there would be no dark shadow on one side and light on the other.

Always go for white light (sunlight is slightly blue-tinted, if I recall correctly) as it gives the best results. But it's always good to give your selected lighting preference a test run before actually putting it to use. Position yourself and your lighting the way you want, then take a few pictures from varying angles to see how they come out. If you like'em, well, there's your lighting setting!

Take note though, afternoon sunlight is extremely bright, and though it's the most ideal light for photography, sometimes it can overexpose your face on camera, leaving cast-white skin tones and drowning out detail on your face. Tilt yourself so that you're facing the source of light, but without facing it completely head on. Or get a very sheer piece of curtain to tone down the sunlight.

The Setting

Watch the pixiwoo sisters, MissChievous or Wayne. Their backgrounds for filming area awesome - plain, uncluttered, professional looking. Always try to find a light-colored background, as it gives professional-looking effect.

If you can't do that, then make sure whichever background you're using isn't too cluttered - an entire bedroom, etc. If you do, then make sure any small to medium things that are lying around are out of sight, or make them look ornamental.

The Make-up

Make-up colors and definition are inevitably washed out slightly in pictures and videos. So, if you're doing something like a tutorial, it would be more logical to apply it more heavy-handedly, unless you're doing all close-ups. And if you're doing close-ups, make sure to clean up any mistakes, because they will be extremely obvious.

The Photo Selection

Take a million photos, then choose one from them. It's better than only taking one and it doesn't turn out nice. Well, at least take 2-3 shots of each, so that you could pick the best out of the entire selection.

The Editing

Apart from Adobe Photoshop, there are also some free online editing softwares available, though not as effective as Photoshop. PicMonkey is a multi-functional photo editing website, which is not unlike Picnik (closed down). Textures, frames, overlays, touch ups, etc. Most of them are default settings, but each feature has it's own control panel to adjust it.

My favorite function? Blemish fix. It's always when I'm breaking out that I have urges to do make-up tutorials or just take pictures of myself with make-up.