Our discussion of ‘How to Photograph Your Makeup’ continues today with editing. But don’t miss our notes on Lighting and Composition
Editing is one of the most controversial aspects of photography, especially in the beauty world. There have been countless scandals in regards to the effects of modifying and manipulating photographs. Where do we draw the line?
It is difficult to tell. Photographers, models, and makeup artists are challenged with the pressure to create great content on a daily basis and often turn to these methods out of desperation. This is a bad choice.
Excessive editing is not only misleading but can influence people in negative ways, especially young children, and give them unhealthy ideas about beauty standards. However, when done right, editing can be an effective way to improve your photographs.
Where to Draw the Line
The most problematic form of editing is face/body modification. This means altering a person’s waist, nose, lips, jawline, etc. Leave that kind of work to the plastic surgeon—your job is to create illusions, not outright changes.
Not only is this misleading but it sends the message that differences are inherently ugly and should be changed. Makeup is about making people feel good in their own skin, empowerment, and confidence, not changing and altering.
Editing is a Supplement to Your Art
Another aspect of editing is in regards to the makeup itself. This can range from simply cleaning up a minor mascara dot to painting on a full application.
Editing should never be a substitute for real makeup and whenever the editing is being used to support poor skills, it’s time to quit fiddling with Photoshop and practice technique. Clients should never be misled by your photographs.
Not only is this unfair to them, but it can also be a detriment to your reputation. Your will expect you to create looks like your ‘Photoshop-ped’ examples and be disappointed when they turn out differently. Minor clean ups of dust, acne, eye boogers, drool, etc. are okay, but stay away from adding any artificial makeup.
Lighting in Editing
Even though we hope you went over our discussion of how lighting can effect your outcome, there is still some area that editing is more than helpful!
Light and shadow could be considered the safest areas to play with editing. By experimenting with light, you are not modifying the makeup or the model, but the environment and mood of the photograph. However, it is still important to be careful.
Filters often come with skin blurring functions and degrade the quality of the original photo.You can also add filters in Photoshop, which will not interfere with the skin or texture of the photo. Instead of relying on heavy filters, you should focus on creating good lighting.
Multimedia Makeup Academy’s Media Room
Don’t forget! Multimedia Makeup Academy has all of the tools you need to get your influencer career started! Once you are enrolled, MMA allows you to use the Media Room whenever you want! It’s like your personal studio! Ring lights and all.
If you’d like to check out our Media Room and the rest of the Academy, schedule a tour with our Admissions Team and they’d be happy to show you what we’ve got or check out the Open House!
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