Photo-friendly makeup

There are a few factors to consider when it comes to makeup for photos. Even if your makeup looks great in person, it won’t always translate well in flash photography. Colours won’t be as bright or saturated, so, to compensate, you might actually have to apply certain aspects of your makeup slightly heavier than you normally do. Lastly, unblended lines can appear twice as harsh, so you will need to spend some extra time blending. So what can we do to combat these issues? Firstly, you will want to ensure your skin is smooth and ready for makeup. If you’re doing a professional headshot, it’s likely that the camera will pick up all your skin texture, so exfoliate to slough away any dry patches. Apply a moisturiser to hydrate and plump up your skin. Also, moisturise your lips, so they have time to absorb the product while you work on the rest of your face.

Prime your face with a pore-minimising primer such as Tarte’s Clean Slate Poreless Primer, to smooth the skin’s surface and extend makeup wear. Your foundation should be a natural matte finish, since a completely matte finish can look too flat, and a dewy finish can make you look oily. It should also match your skin as exactly as possible, but if the shade is slightly off, be sure to blend the colour down your neck.

Set your foundation lightly with powder. Some translucent powders can cause a white cast in flash photography, so less will be more in this case. If you need more powder, opt for a light dusting of a powder foundation, since coloured powder is less likely to cause flashback. Likewise, avoid products with SPF, as this can also cause a white cast on your skin. This issue of flashback is most common with compact and phone cameras, particularly when used in low light situations. HD photography is less likely to experience this kind of flashback.

Contouring will help to bring definition back to the face, that would have otherwise been lost. Use either a contour powder or matte bronzer, around the hairline, under the cheekbones, under the jaw line and lightly down the sides of your nose for a slimming effect. Blush will add a healthy flush of colour back to the skin. Highlight powder will further add dimension and brightness back to the face. While you can use shimmery highlight sparingly, I recommend using matte or satin highlight powders, such as the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders, as these are fine enough to not accentuate skin texture.

When it comes to your eyes, you can go slightly heavier than you usually do. Just be wary of blending away any harsh lines. Also, since shimmer reflects light, it can cause colours to appear duller in photos, so opt for less reflective or matte colours if you want the colour to stand out.

Your eyeliner should be thin and close to the lash line, so you don’t see any gaps when your eyes are open. A light coat of mascara followed by a natural pair of false lashes will add definition to your eyes.

If you have light or sparse eyebrows, fill them in to create a clean, defined look, or if you wear them natural, comb the hairs into a neat shape and set them with a clear brow gel. Ensure your brows have no makeup or powder clinging to them.

Lastly, line your lips and fill them in with your choice of colour. Generally, you don’t want to use a colour that is too nude, as this will appear washed out in photos. Cool toned colours such as pink, magenta, plum and wine red will make teeth appear whiter. Blot your lips on a tissue to remove excess moisture and make your lipstick last longer.

A light application of lipgloss is optional, but will make your lips appear fuller.

So whether you’re doing family photos or a professional headshot with an HD camera, or simply trying to take the perfect selfie with your phone camera, or a photo from your girl’s night out with your compact camera, you don’t have to worry about having any makeup mishaps that you can’t fix.