Showing posts with label Videos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Videos. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

The Importance of a Professional Makeup Artist for Corporate Shoots

 I do quite a bit of corporate work...I'd like to do more but overall with my experience I definitely say I understand the needs of corporate clients when it comes to makeup and hair.  Unfortunately, not everyone understands the value of hiring a professional makeup artist for their corporate head shot shoot or video production.

A lot of times people in the corporate world don't understand the difference using a professional artist will make in their pictures and videos.  It's not their fault.  Typically, their work is about business or numbers or computers etc. Not exactly the most beauty focused fields lol.  What exactly do they know about the benefits of hiring a professional makeup artist.  That's why it's up to us as professionals to help educate them.  In fact it actually holds a lot of the same principals and facts as to why brides should hire professionals are their day too!

I thought it might be smart to outline some of the important reasons and benefits as to why businesses should hire professional makeup artists for their photo or video needs.

Reasons to Hire a Professional Makeup Artist

1. Makeup Reads Differently On Camera - You may need more makeup than you typically wear day to day.  A lot of women think that the makeup they put on for work is perfectly fine for pictures or videos but the camera takes away about 30% of the makeup.  That's why you need to "up it" a bit but still look professional.  A makeup artist will know how to keep you looking like you while still enhancing your look enough that it will show up on camera.

2. They Use Professional Camera Friendly Products - I'm sure it's obvious to most but not all makeup is created equally.  A lot of consumer products are great for day to day use but they aren't necessarily "camera friendly" meaning they might create a flash back (white face) for pictures or just not be strong enough for film or pictures.  A professional makeup artist will know what products work for what situation and will have a kit stocked with camera quality products that they've tried and tested out so they know exactly how they react and what works best depending on the lighting, setting and type of picture or video you're working on.

3. They Will Be Available For Touch Ups - When you hire a professional they will typically be just off camera and ready in case you need a lip touch up, powder for shine or to fix fly away hairs.  Small things like this may not seem like a big deal at the time but they will be huge on camera and ultimately very distracting.

4. It's An Investment For Your Business - You are already investing so much into your pictures or video it only makes sense to make it the best you possibly can.  There is not point in investing all of this money into a project if you're not going to look your best in it.  If the star element of the picture or video doesn't look good it doesn't matter how much money was spent on the photographer/videographer or production value the project will ultimately look cheap and unpolished and I don't think anybody wants to have that as their last impression.

5. How Many People Will See These Pictures/Videos? - These pictures and videos will probably be around for a long time and hopefully be seen by thousands of people.  It's important that the impression you leave people with is a good one.  If you look disheveled or unpolished that's the impression you're going to leave clients or potential business contacts with.  If you're going to use these pictures or videos for several years it's only smart to make them look the best and most
professional you can.

6. You'll Feel More Confident - When you hire a professional makeup artist they come to you.  You don't have to worry about anything on the day with regards to your hair and makeup.  The convenience of it all can't be beat and it can be a very relaxing and pampering experience to get your hair and makeup done which in turn can raise your confidence and reduce your anxiety which will both show on camera.

7. Men Need Makeup Too! - This is actually a big one!  Most men don't realize the benefit of having their makeup done for photos or videos.  It's true that day to day the average man does not wear makeup and because of that a lot of men see it as something only women need for pictures or film but that's not true. As mentioned above the camera picks up small details and magnifies them.  A lot of men just like women have redness in their skin or dark circles under their eyes.  These sorts of things can make a man look tired or unpolished on camera.  Now of course the level of makeup needed on a man compared to a woman is very different but even just some concealing of redness or dark circles and a bit of powder foundation to reduce shine can make a a world of difference in photos.

8. It's More Affordable Than You Think - A lot of times budget and money are huge factors in this sort of thing but when you break it down the cost of hiring a professional makeup artist for your shoot or video is actually a small percentage of the total cost.  Plus if you think hiring a professional is expensive imagine the costs if you need to do a re-shoot because the first shoot wasn't good enough!

Now like any professional or business there are different levels of skill and quality.  It's important for people to do their research before hiring someone.  Like the saying goes - "You think a professional is expensive, try hiring an amateur" ;)

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Wedding Movie Magic!

Videographers are becoming more and more popular and commonplace during weddings now.  It's another great way to capture all the special moments of the wedding in a live action way that you just can't get through photos.  It's like watching your very own special mini movie completely dedicated to your special day!

Last Sat. I worked a wedding w/ a wonderful bride Mary Rose and her amazing and gregarious group of friends and family.  She had a full house packed into the conjoined hotel rooms - Bride, Mother, 6 Bridesmaids, Flower Girl and a whole photographic and video team...oh  yeah and me and my assistant Angelina lol!

Her videographers were amazing and I don't know how they did it but they already put together a video from the wedding!  Actually I think Rose sent me the video on Monday...the wedding was Saturday...that's an INSANE turnaround time!  And the video is SO GOOD!  Rose looks gorgeous and you can't hide anything w/ video so I know I did a good job ;)  I did her Hair & Makeup and the rest of the bridal party's hair...and can I just say my hair skills were ON on Saturday lol!

Check it out here and ENJOY!  You'll even see me making a couple of "cameo" appearances in the video ;)

alex + mary rose SDE
 from mc sabado on Vimeo.


Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Dairy-Free Love Promo Video

Last week I got the opportunity to re-create my beloved giant beehive and vintage makeup look for my friend Victoria Murdoch for a really cool promo video for her upcoming one woman show Dairy-Free Love!  I was actually a little nervous I wouldn't be able to re-create the epicness of my last beehive for a photo shoot we did a couple of mths ago.  Luckily for me, the hair gods were w/ me and I think I created an even better beehive then the first time!

Here's the promo video...you can even see me for a split second (or my mouth/hands at least).  I was her friend  "Tina" an important character in the show...never actually seen in the show (it's a one woman show after all) but referred to a lot.


Director: Robert Shaw
Makeup & Hair: Jessica Jean Myers
Dawn: Victoria Murdoch

There's also going to be a mini behind the scenes video to come later featuring me at work so stay tuned for that!

Here's a couple of behind the scenes shots from the shoot too!






Thursday, July 28, 2011

The Importance of a Good Brow!

I don't know if you guys have realized this about me but I'm a bit brow obsessed...partially b/c I don't naturally have the best brows in the world anymore (women PLEASE I beg you DO NOT over tweeze!) and partially b/c they really do frame the eye and are such an important but often overlooked feature on the face.

It's like I was saying before w/ guys and makeup when something is good and done well like a good shaped brow you don't even really notice it you just notice that that person has great features but when someone has messed up brows (we've ALL seen them) you notice right away and you realize how much it messes up the balance and aesthetic of the over all face.

For me it's even more so...like I'm seriously brow obsessed when working on clients and looking at ppl in general.  I ALWAYS notice the brows!  Whenever I have someone w/ good brows sitting in my chair I make sure to tell them and say DON'T ruin your brows they are AMAZING!  Whenever I have someone w/ sad little over plucked brows I don't hold back either and I will politely suggest that they might want to try growing them in a bit b/c it would help shape their eye better.

On a side note one of the biggest ways to see how good a makeup artist is IMO is check out their work w/ brows in their portfolio.  Newbies often forget about them or neglect them but will still do a very strong smokey eye and w/out the brows filled in a bit it just looks unfinished or they will go the opposite way and shade them in too dark or just not understand what needs to be filled in and what needs to be left alone to make a nice, balanced shape on the face.

There's also a lot of different products on the market for filling in brows and really it does come down to a matter of preference.  It's funny b/c on my own brows I often use a brow pencil but on clients I NEVER use a pencil and pretty much stick to brow powders...this is also b/c I don't like to carry around a lot of loose pencils in my kit...I almost never use lip liner either believe it or not.   There are also various waxes and brow gels that can also be used to fill in the brows.

So anyway, getting down to business.  Anyone who knows anything about brows has probably heard of Anastasia - the brow guru of Hollywood and beyond...if you haven't heard of her what rock have you been living under lol!  Seriously, her reputation is intense and her client list includes ppl like Oprah, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez just to name a few...umm that's some pretty big names w/ even BIGGER standards!

I got an email yesterday asking me if I wanted to review Anastasia's Beauty Brow Express Kit and of course being the brow freak I am I jumped at that opportunity.  So in the next couple of wks look out for my review on the Beauty Brow Express Kit and until then enjoy this little tutorial from Anastasia herself on what you need to do a great brow!



Monday, June 20, 2011

Torlys Web Commercials!

A few wks ago you may remember I got to work w/ a great new team on some web commercials for Torlys Smart Hardwood Flooring.  Well today I got my hands on the two commercials we did and I have to say they are pretty cute in a tongue in cheek sort of way.  Great thing is the client LOVES - YEAH!  Thanks again Signature Video Group can't wait to work w/ you guys again in the future!

So here they are below...check them out!

Video #1


Video #2 - This one is my fav out of the two.  I think the ppl playing the married couple did such a good job...funny thing was they actually knew each other from before b/c they had been hired to play a newly dating couple for a dating website commercial previously and the director had no idea about this when he brought them on for this job - crazy eh!  Apparently, they must look like a good match or something lol!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

YYZ Spring/Summer Sneak Peak Video

A few wks ago I mentioned that I worked w/ an Awesome team on an Awesome editorial for an Awesome magazine - YYZ Living.

Anyway, the people at YYZ are so cool they created a little sneak peak video of the Spring/Summer editorial.  Gives you a little taste of the shoot, makeup, hair...all that!  I love these little behind the scenes videos...everything always seems so much more glamorous and hip when put to a sound track lol!

Plus look for a quick second and you can see me working my magic in all my concentrated serious glory (seriously I always look so SERIOUS in EVERY pic or video lol) at 11 sec & 56 sec.

Now I'm getting SUPER excited...can't wait for this one to come out!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Eve - Ford

About a mth ago I did a test shoot w/ Alexis Walker a visiting photographer/stylist from L.A.  We worked w/ a really cool Australian model Eve who had just signed w/ Ford in Toronto.  I was super stoked to work w/ Eve b/c I totally LOVE her look.  It's so different from a lot of the other models in Toronto right now and I really hope I get a chance to work w/ her again.

Here's some of the results from the shoot...they're pretty cool...kinda wish a couple more were in colour though but that's always the struggle w/ photographers and MUAs.  Photographers LOVE B&W...MUAs like it too...but we need some colour or let us know it's going to be in B&W and we'll adjust the makeup accordingly. 

Still the pics are cool and Alexis and Eve were super cool to work w/ too...totally laid back and chill. 





Here's a little video from the shoot...I really want to do more of these they are so cool!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Makeup Artist Must Watch Videos - Too Funny!

Another Makeup Artist - Rochelle O'Brien posted these on the networking site Model Mayhem and I just had to share them b/c they are too funny!

I'm sure EVERY makeup artist can relate at least a bit to them lol ;)





I think this one is my favourite


Let Bridal Season Begin ;)

Sunday, February 1, 2009

YouTube

So basically I spent my Sunday watching A LOT of videos on YouTube. It's okay though b/c they're all related to makeup, beauty and hair so actually I'm doing "research" or "working" if you will. My favs are Smashbox, Johnny Lavoy (Ford Artists - Hair), Sephora Beauty Editors and Eve Pearl. Although, does anyone else out there feel Eve's technique feels a bit dated and heavy handed when it comes to the foundation. Every video I saw of her's I do admit they looked good but also a little tranny or mask like. Felt a little 90's to me but again maybe that's just me. If anyone has any other suggestions of YouTube videos they love I'm totally open...as I've mentioned before it's Chinese New Year and I'm really really bored w/ NO WORK!!

And on to Chinese New Year...can it just end already!?!? I mean do you really need 15 days of celebration?!?! It's getting back to normal now and stores that were closed have started to open again but still no work in the Fashion World right now...Boo :( Also, the firecrackers were neat at first I suppose but do I really need to be woken up at 8 am while they go off for like an hr. I mean it's Sunday geez! And before you say oh that sounds cool...it's not and it gets old quick trust me. These are firecrackers for the most part btw...not fireworks...no real pretty spectacles in the sky just loud annoying bangs and cracks. I definitely think everyone has done their part to scare off last years Ghosts or whatever it is they are doing it for.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Old Video - Me @ Work


So I found this video of me doing some makeup at a shoot about 10 mths ago and I thought I'd share the link w/ you guys if you wanted to watch it! I guess for some of you it might be interesting to see some of my work from the past and where I've come since then. I don't actually have the video it's just tagged on my facebook so I can't actually upload it onto here but I'll try and do some videos in the future. It's so crazy b/c this shoot feels so long ago...wow a lot has happened in the last yr! I had finished school pretty much exactly a yr before this shoot and 3 mths later I went to Shanghai (first trip) to work for the Summer!

So this was just a creative I did almost a yr. ago in Toronto w/ photographer David Chang, Hairstylist Tony Jorge and Model Shiya (Sutherland). Shiya was pretty much brand new at this time and she's actually really kind of exploded in Canada. She's appeared in all the big Canadian mags, ads for The Bay, Rogers, Winners and even worked in Milan this past Summer. So talented and so beautiful!

Funny I was in Toronto during this shoot but I guess even then I was trying to surround myself w/ Asians lol!

Here's the link: Me @ Work

Here's a few pics from that shoot!
First Look of the Day!


I actually still have this pic in my book!

This is a pic from the look featured in the video...sorry it's small but full size it's a cool pic!
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