Sunday, January 27, 2013

The skinny of it

It has been a while since I last blogged. I have been going back and forth about what I need to blog about. I really didn´t want to do another post about what was in my kit or what product I was coveting at this moment, so I decided to do a small series of posts about how one becomes a makeup artist. First and foremost these posts aren´t going to be very rosy colored. It is not my intention to be mean or to burst any ones bubble, but to give anybody who wants to work as a makeup artist a small insight into how it all works.

Not so long ago I heard that being a makeup artist meant that I was loaded and I quote: "You guys make so much money in a day" and I have found out that this is the idea that the general public has about not just makeup artists but models, photographers and anybody fashion related alike. Let me start out by saying that if you plan on becoming rich, find yourself another profession. It takes a very long time before you can support yourself only on makeup jobs. So patience is a virtue. The really lucky ones can supprt themselves after about 3 years but for the majority of us it takes a bit longer.

The first thing you need if you want to start attracting clients, is a book. This is a portfolio that you use to showcase your work. It holds all the pictures of your work. In order to fill your book with pictures you will need to test shoot. Start out with natural looking makeup. Make sure that everything (hair, styling, retouching) works together and unless you are Peter Philips or Kevyn Aucoin stay clear of using anything like glitter, feathers or rhinestones.
Unfortunately your work will be judged by the models that you have worked with, the photographers that have shot your work, the magazines that you have published in and last the type of make up that you have done. I know it is not fair but that is the way how it works. For this reason when you do a test shoot make sure that every member of the team involved is a professional. Only if this is the case can you use the pictures for your portfolio.
However when you are just starting out the best way to gain experience is to just start doing makeup. Just make sure that the photographer is good. The better models will follow soon enough. Be very critical. This will help you when you do get to work with the Giselles and Naomis of the world that you already know what not to do.
Now a good book is filled with tearsheets from all the glossy magazines but I will explain how that works in another post.