Moncton Make Up Artist | Moncton Wedding | Intimate Outdoor Wedding | Gisele & Michael |

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I got SUCH great feedback on my first "Wedding Wednesday" Thank you everyone for checking it out and sharing!

My next bride to feature will be Gisele, I originally met Gisele through Sasha of Kravetz Photographic for a beautiful shoot of her and her fiance ..this woman can sparkle, here's a peak from that shoot:

Gisele and Michael had a beautiful elegant but modern wedding - and we went for that look too with her makeup, she is an absolutely beautiful woman and has the sincerest & biggest heart - you can tell after just chatting with her for a few minutes. It was a privilege to be part of her special day in the intimate way makeup artists are!

Gisele's Bridal Inspiration: Elegant but still approachable - like her! 

Products Used:
Kett Airbrush Foundation * Hoola Bronzer by Benefit * Naked Basics Palette by Urband Decay * La Femme Blush * Voluminous Mascara by L'oreal * False Lashes * And Gisele's  own favorite lipgloss by Quo *

 

I have now done Gisele's makeup a couple of times and  it's always great to catch up with this dynamic woman. I am so happy for her and new hubby Michael, they make an absolutely beautiful and powerful couple. 

Makeup by: Sarah-Jane for Bastarache Beauty

Hairstyling by: Annie from Salon Boheme

Photography by:  Kravetz Photographic

Florals & Decor designed by: the fabulous Unico Decor

Gisele's Dress: Bella Promessa Bridal & Former Wear


xx
sj
WWW.BASTARACHEBEAUTY.COM

Working with Makeup Artists PT 2

I was lying in bed last night contemplating my last post, and I hope that on ones thinks I am being arrogant, I am the first to admit that I certainly have not "arrived." I am always looking for new ways to expand and grow as an artist and jump at any opportunity to assist or work under anyone who has more experience then me or I can learn from. And it is in that spirit of wanting to grow that I share these thoughts with you.

I suppose...I just wonder, if our approach to creative work is a hindrance in itself to getting us to the next level. How would our images and results change if the photographer treated his shoot like Patrick Demarchelier treats his shoots for Vogue editorials?  Or if MUA's prepared like Pat Mcgrath for fashion weeks around the world? If Models practiced posing in front of their mirrors like Chanel Iman? I know everyone has to start somewhere, and it's important to get experience and build rapport, but why not raise the bar a little each time? Why not take your creative shoots and TFP shoots as seriously as if it were an national campaign for Louis Vuitton?(Even if it doesn't even look close!) Hone your craft, keep raising the bar, and keep putting yourself out there.

Missed part one? Here is the post: http://bastarachebeauty.blogspot.ca/2013/02/working-with-makeup-artists-pt-1.html#.UY0yIEqjGSo

#5. Workspace

Adequate lighting and table space to set up 

Lighting is so huge for makeup preparation, for obvious reasons, a MUA needs to be able to see the face of the client she is working on. Natural lighting is often best, as it can be the harshest if the sun is out and really reveal the pigmentation in the skin, and any blemishes or darkness that need covered.However, if there are no windows, which is not uncommon, any artificial lighting that is as close to assimilating the lighting that will be used for shooting is great. If possible florescent lighting should be avoided, very unflattering. Again, we work with what we are given, but if you can give us light! Please do! Also a small table, even the size of a card table (although a little higher, so we don't have to bend down) seems like a no brainer, but there are more shoots and productions I do that don't have a table then do. Most makeup artist have a system for laying out their products in the order the use them or something similar, again this helps speed things up, so having a space to do that for hair and makeup, you are doing yourself a favor too!

#6. Artistic Etiquette

A photographer would be offended if they saw someone had gone and changed the editing of one of their images, so please don't change the makeup yourself, if you are unhappy with something, confront your MUA, and ask them to change it.

I know confrontation can be scary but it is so important; just as a photographer invests a lot of themselves in their images so do makeup artists into the faces they work on. I personally have not had this happen on a photo shoot, but I have had models change their makeup at fashion shows and they get a strong reprimand from the key artist and the designer who collaborated on the look, but I do know of MUA's who have had this happen to them on a shoot, and it is just bad form. No one has the right to change something about your image; however, they certainly can ask you to edit something for them. It's the same with MUA's, if there is something you don 't like, or isn't quite right, let your artist know what you want changed, they may explain a reason for why they did it that way opposed to another, or they will happily change it. A even worse crime is sending the model to another makeup artist to make the changes, wouldn't it make you feel sick to have your images edited by another photographer behind your back if you could do it yourself?

#7. Feedback

Constructive criticism is imperative to anyone's growth- if we don't know the problem, we can't fix it.

If there was something wrong with my makeup, it melted, or smudged, or faded, and something didn't photograph well, and nobody told me...I would just be so disappointed.I know it can be hard to tell someone something negative, even if it will be helpful to them in the future, so I recommend using the "Encouragement Sandwich Method" Start with one or two positive things, then give the negative, then end on a high not again with something you are happy with. (This works great in marriages too)

 I.E. "I loved how the models skin looked, and the you chose worked so great together - you have a good eye for that... One thing I was hoping for for next time was for the eye makeup to be more dramatic -bump it up with some more color, it was a little too plain once I started editing it , do you see what I mean in the images?... Her makeup lasted great though, hardly had to touch it up at all after you left, stay flawless -great job on that!" See? So not painful!!

#8. Rates

Pricing for services.

I found on a makeup artist website from Halifax, I can't remember who it was so I can't credit them, but a great description of what goes into the rates that a makeup artist will charge, I tweaked it a little but it essentially says the same thing: "Pricing for my services is reflective of my on-going training, education, previous experience, industry research, sanitization, cleaning and preparation of products, travel time and expenses,product replacement and actual labor time."    Furthermore, as most entrepreneurs and creatives know, you are paying your own dental and health bills/insurance,liability insurance, your own EI (optional), you have to pay income tax out of your rate,put money into retirement, and you don't collect any vacation pay. That's why when a client wants to hire me and asks how much it is to do X amount of people, I tell them that I operate by a half day rate or a full day rate, so regardless of whether I am there for 2 1/2 hours or my full 4 hours for a half day, the Rate will stay the same, as the only thing that is reduced is my actual labor time, but all my other overheads stay the same. Also, if things do wrap up ahead of schedule and I can head out an hour or so early, I still have booked that 4 hour or 8 hour time slot for you, and have mostly like turned away other work to be part of your project, as I am my product and service, I can make money only where I am.

That being said, if you are working with a small budget, make an offer towards the asking rate, and perhaps negotiations can be made. Being part of the  close-knit creative Atlantic Canadian community, most want to support what others are doing and are willing to be flexible to build relationships and continue working together on future projects



I think that is all I have to share for now, I am sure I will edit and add more later. Again I hope you all found this to be a resource to help you operate your projects and businesses better!

xx
sj
www.bastarachebeauty.com
www.sarahjanes.ca

Working with Makeup Artists PT. 1

Sometimes I like to dream about an ideal world, and in particular lately, the ideal world for a makeup artist.

I work with a lot of seasoned pros who know what a makeup artist needs to be his or her most successful, but I still have some photographers who are just starting to work with and appreciate the quality professional hair and makeup can bring to a shoot (I call them my late bloomers.) Regardless, working conditions can't always be ideal, I understand that, and it's part of my training and experience to compensate for that and produce beautiful makeup regardless of if makeup is being done in the back of a car, or in a dimly light room.  However, if you are able to set your makeup artist up to be her most successful, I strongly encourage you to do so!

Here are a few tips to help your artist produce the best possible results. Some of these may sound like no brainers - but, you would be surprised at some of the situations me or fellow work colleagues have walked into. I should put a disclaimer: These are my personal preference, other artists may agree or disagree or have something else to add - and I strongly encourage you to do so by commenting at the bottom :)

I also hope you see my heart in this and don't think I'm being critical, I don't think that I have that tone, but just in case I'll just say I hope you all get my sense of humor and  get some great information to make your images that much better.

#1. A Schedule

Create and communicate your tentative timeline for your shoot. Possible Inclusions; Call time, makeup & hair start &end time, shoot starting time, 2nd look time, any additional looks, expected wrap up time or when team is good to go home.

 Although so many things can come up with shoots that can throw things off schedule, it's ideal to have a vague outline of timing for your shoot and communicate it to your hair, makeup and wardrobe team. I am sure most photographers have a tentative idea in their minds of when they would like to start hair, then makeup, then shoot, then change looks, etc. But often besides a call time, not much more information is given.

One of the reasons why this is so important, especially for photographers starting off, is once you start shooting bigger or commercial clients sometimes your wardrobe team is being paid an hourly rate, the longer things drag on,the more your client is going to have to pay, which they obviously won't be happy about. I also find if I have a "deadline" to aim for it keeps me on my toes and I work faster.

It's also good to have an idea when your team will be done and able to go home, if you want them to stay for touch ups, or look changes or anything, having that all clearly communicated before hand is great for all the other parties involved. Most creatives love what they do and have no problem staying on set to make sure everything is perfect until the end, it's just good to know what expectations are and when you want to wrap everything up.
Part of knowing how long to give for hair and makeup is having a plan for the looks prior to the shoot...

#2. Ideas & Inspirations Communicated before the Shoot

Tell your MUA your vision on inspiration for the shoot, including any (no matter how little of how much) direction you can give them for makeup. The better prepared your MUA is the better results she will produce.
 
Whenever I have a bride hire me, I also do a consultation prior to ensure we are on the same page for vision of her wedding day makeup for her big day. Although a consultation is certainly not required for a shoot, it is important to communicate your vision with your makeup artist before your big day. This allows your makeup artist to design a makeup look,or do a face chart or possibly test it out to see if there is going to be any issues with what you are looking for, and come prepared with a plan in mind for how to do the look and what products to use. This also shaves so much time off of the shoot because your artist won't have to hum and ha about what to use, or how to use it because they SHOULD have figured that all out before they were on your dollar if you gave them the info.

I find most times, clients don't know proper makeup terminology- and why would they, but by even saying things like we want a natural look, or we want dramatic, we want dewy skin, or we want the focus on the eyes etc. this gives your artist something to work with. He or she can start pulling together ideas and condense them into a Pinterest board or some visual reference to share with you, which you can then counter and say yes this is exactly what I am looking for, no wrong direction, or I like these but not these ones, and why - if you know.

I also have an inspiration binder I will bring with me sometimes when a client says they want a "smokey eye" I will bring a binder with different smokey eye looks and ask which one tends to fit their vision best. This method is often used when a photographer hires me for a boudoir, glamor or beauty portrait, as the shoot is the first time I meet the client and their opinion on the makeup and hair is important too, so the creative direction can be outline by the photographer prior to the shoot, but the client paying for the portrait has the last say on how they want to look. This takes a little extra time on both parties side, but is so helpful in guaranteeing great results.

#3. Tech Specs

Lighting? We need to know! The type of lighting you use and how you light the model has specific makeup application requirements to produce the best results.
 
One of the many, many reasons why it's better to hire a professional makeup artist over a makeup enthusiast or friend is because a makeup artist will know how the makeup will translate in different lighting. For example if you are front lighting, the face should be pretty evenly lit up all over, however if you are using harsh lighting, the makeup should be a stronger then soft lighting or a soft box would need.  Or if you're lighting from one side, this can cause shadows on the face and have one side of the face look like it has heavy makeup, while the other has barely anything. Letting your makeup artist know this, she can compensate for it and it's important to show her on a monitor so that everything looks balanced once you start shooting. The makeup application style will change again for outdoor shooting, or back lighting. So more info the better for how you will be shooting and what the images will be used for afterwards.

 #4. Model

Knowing what the models features are is key to successfully desiging a look in advance that will both capture the photographer/creative directors vision, and enhance -not compete- with the models natural beauty.
 
For commercial or fashion work, it is great to send the makeup artist a head shot of the model(s) without makeup with info about the shoot. This also helps the makeup artist be more prepared for arrival if she knows the eye color of the model, what her complexion is like etc.

Once I have worked with a model or even a photographer, a number of times, I have files on my computer to keep notes about their styles or unique needs. If I have a model with dry skin, I will make a note of that as a reminder for when I will need to work with them again I will be prepared, if they have little to no lashes, I will note that, to make sure I have false eyelashes to bring.

And I even have some notes on photographers I work with, things I know they like, or styles they have, obviously things can change and they can want to take something in a different direction then they usually do, but if I know a photographer tends to want me to really contour the models face, I will make a note of that and ask them at the shoot if they are looking for strong contouring. One of the great reasons for building relationships with your hair, makeup and wardrobe team and using the same people frequently is they start to know your style and recognize your work and pay attention to what you like. Which means less work for you -you can focusing on the photography and not having to communicate the details over and over again to a new team.





So this is getting quite longer, and I have about 10 ideas to share, so I am going to break it up into a couple of posts. I hope this was not boring for you but that it gave you some great ideas on how to take your makeup artists, hair stylist and wardrobe stylist to the next level!

Please comment below, especially photographers or makeup artist who may disagree, agree, having something to add or questions to ask.

Stay tuned for part 2 !

xx
sj
www.bastarachebeauty.com