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I was around 12 years old when my sister invited me to tag along while her boyfriend shot pictures of a sunset at one of the many lakes in Orlando. I went along and was wide eyed at the whole experience. He set up his camera on a tripod and let me look through the view finder. I remember being surprised at how cool things looked through the camera. He was shooting slides. I just couldn’t understand why anyone would do that. Pictures are easy to get and they are bigger!

Several days after the fascinating experience something happened that I think altered the course of my life. I didn’t know it at the time, but as I look back I can clearly see it. He showed me the slides and I was blown away by how the shots were so much more beautiful than the actual scene was that day. Then my sister’s boyfriend made a decision that seemed like nothing to him I am sure, but it meant so much to me. He gave me a slide of the sunset.

I can’t explain it, but I felt like I had something very valuable in my hand. I use to look at it in fascination. How could a moment in time be on this little square in my hand? How could that work? This exact moment will never happen again, but I have it in my hand. It was like I could see into the past. I don’t know why photographs printed on paper never had this same impact on me. Maybe because they were snapshots, but this was more. There was magic in this little square. I held something powerful. I held time.

Tick tock tick tock. You will never get that time back. Time truly is the most valuable resource that you have. Money and physical wealth can be replenished, but time is gone forever. Tick tock tick tock.

A woman will never be as young as she is now. As a photographer you hold that immortality in your hand. She will always be young in the image you just shot. Come back in 10 or 20 years and meet her again. She will have more experience and more years behind her. She will have a different kind of beauty, just as beautiful, but different. Now look at that image that you shot. There it is – unchanged. There SHE is – unchanged. She will be that way for as long as that film, or as long as those pixels exist. She is forever young.

Photography is something to love, but somewhere inside hold a place for a certain reverence for it. In some ways it is one of the most god-like things that a human can do, perhaps second only to creating a new life. There is nothing more powerful than that, but you do have the ability to stop time. You can make a perfect moment last forever and you have the ability to offer someone a tiny piece of immortality with a simple click of the shutter.

Shooting is getting easier and easier with the advent of digital photography and photographers get lazier and lazier as a result. Please challenge yourself to capture images worthy of the immortality you hold in your hand. That little noise that your camera makes seems insignificant, but it is a piece of eternity happening in your hand.

Tick tock tick tock. Click.

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Lighting – Check!

Model – Check!

Location – Check!

Checklist complete? No. One of the most important parts of a photoshoot is the makeup artist, often referred to as an MUA. Without a makeup artist a shoot can still be a “good” shoot. If “good” is your goal then you might be ok without one. A fantastic shoot needs a great MUA.

A bad photographer can get lucky and shoot something good. A bad model can be made to look amazing by a makeup artist. Bad makeup can’t be overcome. A great makeup artist makes everyone look so much better. Working without a makeup artist on a critical shoot is like going to a surgeon without the anesthesiologist. The results can be pretty painful.

Many times inexperienced models won’t like what a makeup artist does. “I don’t look like me!” I want to reply with “I really don’t care. I am not trying to make you look like you. I am trying to make you look better!” A model’s job is to model the clothing, makeup and style set aside for them. In Europe models are called mannequins because they are something to hang clothes on to make the fashion look good. This may sound cold, but it truly isn’t. The model is already chosen because they are the current “ideal”. It is their job to model what is given to them in the best possible way. It is the photographer’s job to capture the image in the best light. The makeup artist is an enabler. They enable the parties to perform at peak while the shoot is happening.

It is important that a photographer supports the makeup artist on the shoot. Photographers many times are willing to back down and pander to the pretty model allowing the final result to suffer. If you are on the same page with the makeup artist before they start then it is up to the model to get on board. The model does not get get to choose the lighting. It isn’t their job. Why would it be ok for a model to choose the makeup style?

Backing the work of your makeup artist does not mean that you can’t suggest changes to the makeup. How you do this is a key. You can look at a makeup artist’s work and make constructive suggestions in a positive way. “That looks great! Let’s go darker with the lips.” Don’t say, “Those lips aren’t what I am looking for at all.”

Your makeup artist is on your team and they can be a fantastic resource as well. My favorite catalog shoot that I have ever done came as a direct result of a makeup artist’s referral. Establishing a great relationship with a makeup artist or two is very important for your business as well as for your creativity.

Not all makeup artists are good makeup artists. Even if their makeup skills are great they may be a bad makeup artist. How many times have I run into makeup artists that radically slow down a shoot because they are more interested in chatting away than completing the job? The model sits in the chair and the Jerry Springer show begins as the makeup artist and model begin complaining about boyfriends, jobs or whatever. A good makeup artist has the same goal as you – the final image. The counseling and whining can be done elsewhere. A good MUA sees a shoot a shoot as a job and not as a social opportunity. They do the shoot, clean their brushes and kit quickly and leave.

Also, sometimes makeup artist hit a stage in their career where they become too opinionated and get too involved in a shoot. Their assistance is nice, but the shoot is the photographer’s responsibility and the photographer can’t lose control of the set. If the makeup artist wants to take over a shoot they need to purchase their own camera and change careers. Everyone has a job to do. Stick to it!

One more issue is a key. If a makeup artist’s kit is not clean, appears disorganized and messy it is a poor reflection on their cleanliness in general. Who wants makeup put on by someone that is not clean? Are the brushes as nasty as their kit? “Is that pink eye shadow going to give me pink eye?”

I am very loyal to makeup artists that show loyalty. I don’t expect them to only work with me, but I expect them to show up on time and act professionally, like everyone else on set. Showing up on time and readying a studio, having the model show up on time only to have to wait on a makeup artist is not a good thing. They should be there on time, unpacked, set up and ready to go when the model arrives. How late woud you be to a regular day job? This IS a job. It can be fun, but it is a job.

If you find a makeup artist that you can truly become a team with you have a true leg up on the competition. Your work will be better because in so many ways the makeup artist is the most important person on the set. The model’s weaknesses and your weaknesses can be covered up by a quality MUA. They make over more than just the model. They can cover up the flaws of a final image.

Complete your set. Complete your shoot. Take the time to use a quality makeup artist.

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