Old trades

come in handy, once in a while. I am a full trained, make up artist. So when I have shoots, it’s handy that I can do my models make up or make sure even if they like to look natural, that they look at their best.

I also like to shoot people in colourful clothing if possible. I envy some of the American photographers I follow. They check out their clients wardrobes before a shoot or give them clothing they recommend they should go and buy. I just could never see that happening here. The fact that people aren’t really even into having the whole shoot thing in the first place. If I then told them I would like them to go any buy a whole new wardrobe of clothes, I couldn’t see that going down too well. So I just tell my models to bring their bag of make up and a few changes of clothes, preferably with some colour going on. Maybe some hats or scarves or a colourful jacket.

By them bringing their own bag of make up, hopefully in amongst there, will be a foundation of sorts that suits their skin tone and a lippy they like to wear. If not, I usually have something that will suffice.

An old friend I shot last week, likes to look natural with her make up. So I applied a very low key look, that just makes her skin look fresher. I wish I had remembered to reapply her lippy later into the shoot, but hey I forgot !

Also as a beauty therapist I give the eyebrows a quick going over. I am anal about eyebrows. They are my big bug bear. I freak out when I see bad eyebrows on the TV.

 

Trish also has a large wart on the end of her nose and she mentioned that she gets teased about it. So it was a great opportunity to ask if she would like it edited to be less noticeable, which she did. Again it’s nice to make people look like the best of themselves they can be, without a bit of surgery.

Trish is also a heavy smoker , so I got to work lighting up her teeth and softening those tell tale lines around the mouth.

Want to know how I got that natural smile. I had her imagine her husband in an Ann Summers elephant truck posing pouch. Worked a treat !

We also had a play with a posing technique for getting crisp jaw lines. I still need a little work on that. I am so busy watching what is going on in my camera. But I still, always tried to shoot her in a flattering way for women.

Again for this shoot I got to play with setting custom white balance and playing with the different sides of a reflector. It was yet another very grey overcast afternoon here in the UK. Someone on Karen Russell's workshop asked if I always liked to shot my models underexposed. Hell no, I actually like over exposed photos. But it’s hard to get anything but grey overcast days for shoots at the moment.

We are on a two week rest from the course at the moment. Karen's husband is on his way home from Afghanistan, so she is taking a break to be with her family.

I have found the course not so challenging this time. Of course my photography has come on leaps and bounds since I last did the workshop. But I also miss some of my other classmates. They were more like me and my British ways and dry sense of humour. They “got” me a lot more. So I don’t participate as much as before, as I seem to offend people easily this time.

I know Antonia, me offend anyone, never !

But as everyone who knows me knows, I am not a sweetness and light kissy, kissy, love, love sort of person. If I think your pictures shit, I won’t exactly say it is, but I won’t say it’s great either.  I will just tell you where you went wrong or keep my big mouth shut!