WHAT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS SAY ABOUT MAKEUP ARTISTS
It’s important to adapt the makeup to the girl. You can’t just decide what makeup you want to do and put it on, like a mask, on the model. It has to be adapted to
suit the person you are working on. Working with celebrities can be difficult, because they have a very strong idea of what they want to look like, and it’s harder to
get them to change their look. You have to really work with them and be gentle.
–Patrick Demarchelier
The lighting that I use is strong, very revealing; therefore, I require perfection from a makeup artist. A makeup artist that I will want to have on my set must have
that innate ability to enhance a woman’s face and do it quickly. It seems that time is always of the essence, we are always under pressure, and the subject can’t see
the makeup artist hesitate. She needs to exude complete confidence. This helps put everyone at ease. A great makeup artist needs to inspire the women seated in
front of the mirror in my studio. She needs to build up their egos, make them feel truly beautiful, give them the confidence to stand in front of my lens and feel proud
about who they are. These elements are the first steps in a great collaboration and capturing an incredible visual. The makeup artist needs to be able to make
women not only look beautiful but feel beautiful. That’s what makes my photograph. I love shooting women who feel beautiful; you can really feel that in a
photograph.
–Walter Chin
When I look at a makeup artist’s work, first and foremost, I look for creativity. I look for someone who can think outside the box and who is able to look at a face
and see what not to do, how much makeup not to apply. As a portrait and fashion photographer I am always interested in the geography of the face, and people’s
so-called flaws are often the most interesting things about them. I would never want to hide any of that. A makeup artist should always look for inspiration
anywhere and everywhere and not just in their immediate realm. Museums, exhibits, nature, history: it’s all there for the taking. Never become complacent; always
be excited.
–Henry Leutwyler
I rely on the makeup artist’s input from the beginning. I will always trust her opinion of which model we should use. Especially when you’re doing close-up beauty
shots, the less you have to do, the better it looks. So if we choose the model that already has great skin or long lashes, the less work it takes to nail it. We shoot so
much digitally now, and that’s really changed the way both the photographer and the makeup artist work. It’s so easy to retouch and remove a blemish that usually
I tell the makeup artist not to even bother trying to cover it up. But the most important thing for the makeup artist to know is that for beauty shots, you really have to
exaggerate the effect you’re trying to create. Film has a tendency to neutralize, so the color needs to be much stronger than what it would be in real life. You need
to overdo it, and then assess it not by how it looks to your eye, but how it looks on camera.
–Troy Word