Modeling Resources

Should I Hire a Makeup Artist for My Photo Shoot?

The Top 5 Reasons WHY - For Models and Photographers

A person receives makeup application with a brush. Text reads, "Reasons to Hire a Makeup Artist: Unlock Your Best Look.

Oh HECK Yeah – you should hire a makeup artist!

When you are shooting images for your modeling portfolio, remember that these are potentially the most important photographs that you will ever create. You need to hire a makeup artist to help insure these images look amazing. These are the images that will hopefully get you signed by an agency and eventually lead to you getting work.

Hopefully you have decided to work with an amazing photographer to shoot your portfolio, so it is equally as important to work with an amazing makeup artist if you want to look your best.

Understand that you can’t do your own makeup as well and with as much range as a makeup artist can do. You should also understand that makeup for the camera is much different than the makeup you wear everyday. Plus, when you are at your photo shoot, you should be concentrating on the modeling – not the makeup and hair.

So don’t be a “Jack-of-all-trades”. Generally when you meet someone who is a “Jack-of-all-trades”, they are also a “master of none.”

A great makeup artist also serves as a second set of eyes on the set. They keep a lookout for flyaway hairs, turned up colors, etc. These little details, if missed by your photographer, can mean the difference between a sloppy image and a great one.

A woman with bright purple eye makeup is having lipstick applied by a hired makeup artist.
Image Copyright Kateryna Upit

Important Makeup Note:

EVERY model should know how to do his/her own basic makeup and hair, because it is common for your agency to call you and say , “Congratulations, we have a booking for you and you need to show up camera ready.”

So even though I just spent an entire article telling you to hire a makeup artist – for YOUR photos – if you want to be a model – you do need to learn how to do basic hair and makeup.

Do you need to go to beauty school or take classes? Of course not! But you do need to practice. Don’t expect to walk into your first gig where you are responsible for the makeup and do a great job if you haven’t practiced.

So where do you learn how to do it? There is this thing call YouTube. You should check it out – it’s pretty awesome!

The Top 5 reasons to hire a Makeup Artist

If you are a model:

  1. If you are the model – your job is to MODEL! You should be focused on modeling – not trying to do your hair and makeup.
  2. No one can do their own makeup as well as a great makeup artist can do it for them. If you truly want to look your best – leave it to the professionals.
  3. A professional makeup artist will TEACH you things about how to look your best, what types of products to use and tricks for shaping and contouring your face so that it looks its best on camera.
  4. Great photographs are the result of collaboration between a photographer and a model. And this is one of the best reasons to hire a makeup artist for your photo shoot. Add a great makeup artist to the mix and you have another creative individual working to make your photographs awesome!
  5. A professional makeup artist will be on the set with you, acting as another set of eyes for the photographer to make sure that your hair looks great, makeup isn’t smudged and even helping the photographer pay attention to creases, twisted straps and other problems with your outfits.

If you are a photographer:

  1. If you want to take your images to the next level, don’t think that you will do that by having a guy or girl do their own hair and makeup. You need a makeup artist that understands how to make a person look their best and is capable of applying makeup with techniques that will save you time and retouching in post production.
  2. A good makeup artist will bring additional creativity to the process. Don’t think that you can / should do it on your own. The best photographs that you see in advertisements and magazines are collaborations of several people.
  3. A great makeup artist will work as a second set of eyes on the set when you are shooting. Because, like you, they invest their heart and soul into their work and will want to be sure that everything looks great. Plus they come in handy of you need an extra set of hands to hold a reflector.
  4. Having a makeup artist on set will go a long way towards establishing a professional atmosphere. You don’t want your model bringing a friend or relative to the shoot. The makeup artist helps to provide a level of comfort and security for your model.
  5. From a marketing standpoint, even if you are shooting for fun and finding models via the numerous amateur modeling websites, including a makeup artist in your shoot, will make you and your work more desirable to potential models because it makes you appear more professional.
Back to top button