Most women know how to do their makeup to their liking. It’s an art that we learn early in life, and we spend most of our adulthood using cosmetics on a somewhat daily basis. But when in front of a camera, or heaven forbid some lights, makeup turns on us. Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s not your fault ladies! In fact, it’s not really any one thing’s fault. It’s more like a collection of small problems that pile up on one another, creating a not so great result. So, let’s get to fixing some of the smaller things and before you know it, you’re looking great on camera!

fig. 1

The first thing to understand is that photography is all about light. This is how a camera works; it opens a shutter in the lens to expose the digital sensor to whatever light is being reflected off all the objects in the scene. So, to be more exact, all photography is about the reflection of light into the camera. Once you get that, and use it as the base of your understanding, you can start making better informed decisions about how you choose your makeup and how you use it for photos.

Figure No. 1 is a basic sketch of this concept in action. Notice that light from the bulb is being reflected off our subject’s face and into the camera. Sound too simple? It’s really not. The concept of what makes the camera work is basic, it’s controlling the tool that gets complicated. Luckily, that’s another blog post, so moving on…

Now that we know that it’s all about the light reflecting from your face, it’s easier to understand where most people’s trouble spots are and how to fix them. For the overwhelming majority of people, trouble spots are the darkest parts of the face; the eyes and corners of the mouth. Because we know that those spots are problemative because they are the darkest spots, the solution to the problem becomes more clear.  The places on your face that are darkest will always look older on the camera, so it’s as simple as lightening the parts of your face that you think age you.

I suggest using powdered makeup, because it is easy to blend, sits nicely atop the skin, diffuses light across the skin, and stays true to tone (meaning that the color stays the same) when photographed. But before you put on any makeup, you want to make sure that you’re starting with a clean canvas. The canvas, in this context, is a good solid layer of moisturizer, and primer. To help you understand the importance of this step, we’ve put together a little video clip for you.

After you’ve prepped your face, you’ll want to start with several thin layers of foundation. You use thin layers so that you get an even tone on the skin, diffuse any shine it may produce, and to keep you from looking cakey. To more easily show you how, we’ve put together a video clip on this one as well!

After you’ve got a good base to work with, you’re almost set to apply color. There’s just one critical step left. We call this step, “the instant facelift.” And trust me, it’s earned the title. The idea here is to use makeup that is one to three shades lighter than your foundation to lighten the areas that are problematic for you. For the eyes, you’ll use a combination of the two lighter shades to help bounce light. First, you’ll take the lightest shade, and put it on the inside corner of your eye. Again, work with thin layers, adding enough to take away the shine, but not so much that it looks caked on. Again, we’ve put together a short video clip showing you the best way to do this on yourself.

For the areas around the mouth, add a thin layer of powder foundation that’s one shade lighter than normal. Continue adding thin layers of powder until the areas are no longer reflective when looking at it from several angles in the mirror. Take care not to put on too much, so that it doesn’t start to look cakey. You can also apply a few layers of powder to the area surrounding the sides and top of your nose, if you have a tendency to shine there.

These techniques will give you a perfect base for adding any color you want. The best part is, it won’t show up on the camera as shiny or cakey. Instead, you look like yourself… beautiful.