You’re excited for your portrait session; you have your outfit planned, your hair style in mind…but what about makeup? You want to avoid caking on layers, but can the real you shine through without a shiny forehead? How much is too much? How little is too little? Relax, breathe, and use this as a guideline to achieve a natural look that’s all you:
It’s not all about makeup – Keep hydrated, avoid excessive sun exposure, and get your beauty sleep the week leading up to your session. The last things you want are puffy eyes, sunburns, and general sluggishness in your expressions. Nothing provides a better base than a solid skin care regime. Start with clean, moisturized skin. Allow the moisturizer to be absorbed before continuing.
Apply a foundation primer – This will even out the texture of your skin and help fill in fine lines, acne scars, or pores. Some brands offer color correcting primers if your skin tends to redden or be dull. Let the primer set (about 30 seconds) before applying foundation.
Apply liquid foundation or tinted moisturizer – If you have great skin a tinted moisturizer is all you need to even it out and prep for makeup. If using foundation, use an oil-free liquid or creme foundation, and BLEND!!! You may miss the line of demarcation a slightly-off color leaves around your jaw or hairline, but the camera won’t!
Stay away from shimmer – On camera, shine from shimmer bears a striking resemblance to oil. Use a matte bronzer that is only slightly darker than your skin tone. Avoid shiny lip gloss. Stick with matte over pearlescent eye shadows. The exception? A dab of champagne-colored eye shadow in the inner corner of each eye will brighten and widen them.
Keep color shades fairly natural – You want the focus to be on your natural features, not the color of your eye shadow, blush or lipstick.
Eyes: Neutral shades like beige, soft brown, soft pink and peach “pop” the eyes, and won’t look dated or trendy.
Cheeks: Use a bit more blush than you normally would, and choose a fleshy tone that enhances and brightens, not overwhelms, your features. Soft pinks, rosy and peachy tones will do the trick.
Lips: Pale or nude-colored lips won’t translate well on camera, so pick something soft, bright, and medium in terms of shade and depth.
Mascara is a must – Eyes pop when given a great frame. If you’re experienced with eye liner, then a thin line in brown or black will help. If you’ve never touched a liner before, never fear, wiggling your mascara brush at the base of the lashes will create a similar effect.
Touch ups – If you tend to get oily, or if the day is warm, oil-free blotting sheets are great to have in your purse to combat shiny spots.
Be YOU - These guidelines are meant to help you create a look that is you, enhanced. If you’re not comfortable, it will show in your photos. If you never wear makeup, then stick to very natural colors that will serve to even your skin tones and combat shine. If you wear makeup daily, stick to your look and just amp it up here and there.
