Magazine Submissions

So a lot of newer MUAs wonder how does one get their work into those elusive magazine. Anyone who wants to work in Fashion know that tear sheets (magazine editorials for those not in the biz) are an important part to any makeup artists' portfolio. It shows that you are actively working in the Fashion Industry, you work w/ good teams and it helps when you want to approach agencies for representation. The problem is how does one get themselves into these cool mags? It often feels like a catch 22 situation - you need the magazine credits to get established but you have to be established to get on the teams that are submitting to the magazines.

I'll be honest I really lucked into my first editorials. Anyone who has read my blog from the start knows that my very good friend and photographer Todd Anthony Tyler took a huge chance on me. He was visiting his family outside Toronto (he lives in Shanghai) and he was planning on shooting a few editorials while in Canada. He put an ad out on Craigslist of all things looking for a makeup artist and I was 6 mths out of school and I responded. We totally clicked and shot 2 editorials together while he was visiting which led to me going to Shanghai to live/work and the rest is history. That of course is not how it usually ends up working for most MUAs.

I'm not going to lie it usually takes a long time like 1 to 2 yrs before an MUA can get some tear sheets for their book. That means a lot of testing w/ photographers, building your portfolio till it's good enough to work w/ better photographers, testing w/ those photographers and hopefully after it's all said and done you'll get the chance to work w/ a great team that can get something published.

The positive thing is that there are a lot more opportunities to get things published nowadays. W/ all the online magazines popping up all the time there are a lot of great opportunities for newer photographers, MUAs, stylists to get their name out there. The problem is sifting through all the crap to find places that are actually worth submitting to. Not all tears are created equal! IF you want to do Fashion and you see an ad for a photographer looking for a free makeup artist for a submission shoot and the theme is Glamour or Alternative then that shoot even if it is published might be kind of useless to you b/c guess what...it can't really go in your FASHION portfolio...remember that when accepting submission shoots. I would only do Glamour or Alternative editorials if they were paid b/c otherwise they are of no use to me...remember how I mentioned before to only accept TF* shoots that will help your book...the same kind of holds true for this too.

Also a lot of times nowadays newbie/amateur photographers throw out the statement doing a shoot for submission in hopes that they can attract some good talent to the shoot. It takes a whole team to create a beautiful shoot and the shoot is only as good as your weakest link. Just b/c a photographer says they are going to submit the shoot doesn't mean it's going to be picked up by anyone so be aware of that before you possibly waste your day. Make sure you know the facts before you agree to shoot just like you would for any creative you were planning on getting involved with.

Do you like the photographers work and does it compare to things you see in magazines? If you don't like his/her work or it's not good it probably won't get picked up no matter how well you do the makeup/hair that day. If it's a fashion shoot is there a stylist involved and what kind of connections do they have to good brands? I can't stress this enough no matter how great your makeup looks and how great the photography looks if it's styled using only H&M clothes it has a very small chance of getting picked up. A good stylist w/ good clothing connections is an invaluable asset to any shoot...I've been on several shoots where the styling either made or blew the shoot. I give all the props in the world to the stylists out there b/c their job is hard and good stylists are GOLD! Also remember the model needs to be an agency model or at the very least agency standard so make sure the photographer you're working w/ works w/ agency models. Btw the photographer is the one responsible for submitting the story. We can suggest magazines for them to submit to but they hold the rights to the pics so it's up to them to do the submitting.

So now let's pretend that you have all those elements together you have to remember that Fashion editorials are shot usually several mths in advance. Therefore you have to make sure the shoot is for the appropriate season. Don't shoot a Summer story in May...all the Summer submission deadlines have already passed. You should be shooting Fall at that point. If you're working w/ a good photographer they should know this but still it sometimes needs reminding b/c sometimes photographers can get very busy w/ things and retouching can get put on the back burner and then unfortunately if you aren't shooting it far enough in advance the due date for submissions will pass and the story will have a hard time finding a home :( (I've had this happen on a few occasions and it's always sad esp. when the shoot is good but just too late).

Also a very important thing for newbie MUAs to remember - Editorial pays little to nil! You will not get rich doing editorial work! The money is in commercial work! You know those ads you see on the subway, magazines, tv...that's where the real money comes from! But editorials let us get our creative juices flowing and they help build our books so that we can get those lucrative commercial contracts :)

I should also mention there are different ways to get your work in magazines. You can do a shoot w/ a team and the photographer can submit it to various magazines hoping that one will pick it up...usually you will do this type of shoot for free. Or you may be part of a team that has been commissioned to do an editorial for a magazine. When you're starting out you'll probably have more luck w/ the submission then the commission side of things. Truthfully, most of my commissioned (paid) work for magazines came from when I was living in Shanghai. I think to date I've only been paid once by a North American magazine...but I'm still pretty new to the game ;) But that being said doing those so called "free" editorials can lead to a lot of PAID work b/c they really help build your portfolio...so like I've said before you aren't really working for free then!

A way that I make editorials a little more lucrative for myself is I make sure to credit cosmetic companies whenever possible. If it's a Beauty story it's easy b/c the story will require you to give a full credit list for each look and you can later show that editorial to cosmetic companies who will hopefully give you gratis (free product) for the credit mention. I also frequently mention cosmetic companies I use in Fashion editorials ie. Makeup & Hair Jessica Jean Myers using Yaby Cosmetics (I use a lot of Yaby Cosmetics lol). So if the editorial is strong and in a decent publication you can get some gratis from generous makeup companies which helps replenish your kit therefore saving you money...so technically it's like getting paid for an editorial ;)

Hope that answers some questions about magazine submissions :) For fun I've included a few images from MY first published editorial...man I've come a long way in 2.5 yrs! Good thing there were a lot of hats b/c my hair skills have DEFINITELY improved an insane amount lol! I won't even go into how long it actually took me to do a clean red lip b/c my hands were shaking lol. That being said I still think it's a pretty cool shoot..the location was amazing! This was shot Oct 07 I think.

Photographer Todd Anthony Tyler
Model Victoria (Elmer Olsen)
Makeup & Hair Jessica Jean Myers

Shanghai - How I Got Here!

So a few ppl have asked me to tell my story about how I came to live and work in Shanghai in these recent mths. So I'll try to explain it as best as I can w/out being too long winded and boring (umm definitely ended up being long winded, hopefully not too boring lol). I think it's actually a pretty interesting story but I guess that will have to be for you guys to decide :)

Okay well I'll start w/ a little background info. I'm actually a pretty new MUA. I've actually only been finished school a little less than 2 yrs now so in the grand scheme of things I'm still a rookie! I was doing shoots while in school but officially I've been at this less than 2 yrs now...overall I'm pretty excited and happy w/ how I've grown as an artist these past two yrs and what I've been able to accomplish and do thus far. I wish I had some pics from my very first shoot so you guys could see just how much I've grown but I'm pretty sure I've burned all that evidence lol! Actually here's a pic from my third ever photoshoot (it was for school). The model is my beautiful friend Sophia. I actually still really like this pic but I can tell you they weren't all winners like this one!

I've been able to find a few pics from shoots I did while still in school...ugghh I can't believe I'm going to show these to you guys but I think they will motivate and inspire newbies that they can/will get better. Also it will show I didn't always work w/ great photographers and models! Even though I had some hits (ice princess above) I definitely had some misses and still do and I think it's important to see and realize that not ever shoot is going to be amazing and it's good for the growth process to sometimes suck lol! Here they are (btw these aren't the worst...those don't exist anymore lol):

This was for a school assignment not a real shoot just my digital camera - see even I did cliches like sprinkles on the lips lol! It's actually not that bad I mean my lines were clean...always a big thing for me!
This was my take on Kate Moss' The Biba look in Kevyn Aucoin's Making Faces

This one actually does make me cringe...it was suppose to be pheasant inspired or something stupid...this was a shoot where I just felt oh no this is sooo not working! Btw same model as the pic above.
This was kind of a Halloween inspired look...for me the lines aren't clean like they should be!

Okay so that's a visit down memory lane now I'll get to my first "big break". About 6 mths after I finished school I saw an ad posted in Craigslist looking for an MUA for some magazine editorials. I thought this sounds kind of crazy (I mean what legit photographer advertises mag editorials on Craigslist lol) but whatever what did I have to lose! So I responded and the photographer got back to me and we set up an interview at Starbucks. So I went to the interview that day and that's when I met photographer Todd Anthony Tyler. He looked through my book and explained why he was looking for an MUA for mag editorials on Craigslist. Turns out he didn't know any Toronto MUAs b/c he was just in from Shanghai, China visiting his family in Toronto and wanted to do a few mag editorials while in town.

So anyway, he explained that he would be shooting editorials for two mags - Maxim China (male fashion editorial) and Vision (female editorial). We talked for a long time about his travels, work, fashion, the business, life...everything lol. I really lucked out b/c the MUA that was suppose to come after me never arrived so I talked to him for over an hr that day (I will forever be thankful to that flaky MUA lol)! He interviewed a lot of MUAs that day but he just really enjoyed my enthusiasm and excitment about the shoots and his work so he took a chance and hired me on the spot for the two editorials even though I can tell you my book was definitely not that strong!

So the first shoot we ever did together was for Maxim China w/ the male model. This started off awfully and thank God he didn't hold this day against me! I had to take the GO train out to the location (his mother's house lol) and I made a mistake and got off at the wrong stop. I was waiting for him to pick me up for over an hr and I was freaking out that I was blowing the biggest opportunity of my life. I kept trying to call him to find out what was going on but I couldn't get through b/c he only had a Chinese number. I was ready to cry right there and give up when finally this woman came frantically up to me "Jessica?" she asked..."Yes!!" I answered...it was his mother they had somehow figured out that I went to the wrong stop and she found me! YEAH! I felt soo bad though b/c I'm super anal about punctuality and all of that I even spoke to him about this in our first meeting...thankfully he didn't hold it against me lol!
Here's a couple of pics that were featured in that editorial (it was an X-mas shoot). The model's name is Justin:

So now on to the second shoot! The big shoot! I mean a male model is nothing but the next one was a female model...my makeup and hair concept! So this shoot was on a Sunday and I almost royally screwed up this one too! Again I had to take the GO train out to Whitby but I almost did not make that train! I forgot on Sundays the subway doesn't start until 9 am in Toronto and I literally almost missed that train...OMG my heart actually starts racing when I think about it! The train was set to leave at 9 am I got to the station and bought my ticket at 8:57 I then had to run through the station and up about 4 flights of stairs to get to the train...did I mention I had my kit w/ me of course! Now this is why I am so glad I've always been one to condense my kit and never believed in those kits on wheels. Relying on the metro and living in a city w/ a lot of snow in the Winter a kit w/ wheels just doesn't make sense so I've always had something I can throw over my shoulder and run w/. And man did I run....OMG I ran up 4 flights of stairs and I literally was ready to throw my body through the doors if the train was closing I didn't care what kind of bruises I would have gotten! I mean can you imagine after the other mishap saying to the photographer umm I missed my train you have to come get me in Toronto the next train isn't for an hr! I got on that train w/ 1 min to spare. I sat there shaking and hyperventiallating for at least 10 mins once the train got moving.

Once on set everything was great that day! The only real issue was the model - Victoria (Elmer Olsen) was brand new...she was 15. Like other than a test shoot this was her first real shoot...damn what a way to start an 8 pg editorial in an international mag! Of course her posing was stiff but Todd made it work for the story. We were shooting at this awesome location. It was this stone, gravel and sand work yard and Todd shot two stories 1. featuring the stone, sand and gravel and 2. featuring the trucks and metal. I personally liked the stone and gravel story better in the end but all the mags went for the truck story (China doesn't really have big trucks so I guess it was different for them). Here's a few pics from the shoot that day. I'm including one pic from the unused stone story and a couple that were actually printed w/ the trucks:

I still love this pic! From the unused story! She's 15!!

These pics were actually featured in the mags!

Okay so that explains how I met Todd Anthony Tyler and our first couple of shoots together. During the shoots he said something to me about all the opportunities in Shanghai and how I should think about going out there to work or something. I'm sure he was probably just saying it casually like when someone says yeah come to my cottage this Summer...I mean no one actually goes to the cottage lol. Well I didn't care whether he meant the invitation or not I was going to take him up on it. So before even the second shoot ended I said I'm going to come to Shanghai at some point! I'm sure he didn't think I was serious but he was like yeah that would be cool. It's so funny b/c to me it seemed like a no brainer to take this opportunity but after talking to a lot of ppl it seems I'm actually a bit crazy b/c most ppl I talked to said they don't think they would have done it but I looked at it like I'd be CRAZY to NOT do it! But I guess that's what truly separates ppl - some are willing to risk everything to go after what they want and some like to play it safe.

Anyway, over the next few mths we kept in contact and emailed each other every couple of wks. Then I started to seriously talk to him about the prospect of me going out to Shanghai. He was totally up for it and was willing to help me out a lot. I decided that I would go in the Summer and check things out. Unfortunately, this past Summer was probably one of the worst times as a foreigner to try and come to China...umm the Olympics anyone!?! Yes they were in Beijing but getting a visa was an ordeal in itself. So before I left for Shanghai Todd came back to Toronto and we did three more editorials together while he was in town and then I left for Shanghai w/ him! So during my two mths in Shanghai I tried to do as much as I could as far as networking, meeting other photographers, mag editors, ppl in the business etc. Right away I knew this was a much better market for a newer MUA like myself. To be honest it was not that profitable for me in the Summer b/c everyone was preoccupied w/ the Olympics so there just wasn't as many shoots as usual which sucked but I could see there was potential and I liked the city enough that I decided I wanted to come back and give it a real try a few mths later.

When I got back to Toronto I made it my mission to build my book as much as I could during the next few mths before I went back to Shanghai. Plus w/ the few editorials I had in my book and working in Shanghai for the past few mths I seemed a lot more exciting and enticing to a lot of good photographers in Toronto. It's amazing how cool you sound when ppl ask so what have you been up to and you can say "well I just spent the past few mths living/working in Shanghai" lol. I mean isn't that the way in Canada ppl only care about you once you've gone somewhere else and done something lol! So it was during this time that I met photographer Troy Moth and as many of you know some of my fav. work has been created w/ him. It's literally been like the last 6 mths that my book has just gone threw an amazing growth and change and I've really started to come into my own.

So come Nov. I decided to head on back to Shanghai where I've now been these past 2 mths. It hasn't all been easy as many of you know from reading this blog. I've been pretty broke and I've been working hard but I feel it's all starting to come together now. It's important to remember that it takes time even when you have a great connection like Todd. I'm really optimistic about this yr. and I'm excited to see where this crazy adventure will take me! I mean if someone had ever said to me 2 yrs ago you'll be living/working in Shanghai I would have laughed at them! So yeah basically that's my story...I know it's long sorry lol. But hopefully some of you will find it inspirational or something and I figure if nothing else I can be the Urban Legend of the Makeup Artist who got her big break through a Craigslist Ad lol!

UGGHH - Vision I Hate You Right Now!

So I just got word today that a shoot I did a million years ago for Vision Magazine has been postponed AGAIN! At this point I really don't see this shoot getting into the mag which is so disappointing b/c it's a really cool editorial. Hopefully, Todd can get it published somewhere else but the truth is it's kind of late for that uggghh! Vision is a totally cool magazine and I like it a lot. I've had a few editorials published in it and they do some really cool shit so I just don't get why they aren't all over this particular shoot!

What sucks is they were totally in love w/ a shoot that I actually really didn't even like all that much (personally I found the model REALLY weak). The model for this shoot was so good and I'm not just saying that b/c I personally chose her...the girl knows how to pose! I loved the location, the mood and I thought my makeup was good. The only weak point was the styling...and that's not to say the styling was bad at all b/c it wasn't. The prob is here in China they are obsessed w/ huge designer names. Basically they will go through an editorial and decide if they like it based on the credit list and not even the pics. If it has good names then it is deemed a good editorial if it has designers that they have never heard of then it's not usable. This is one of the frustrating things when you work in a market full of brand whores that won't take a chance on a new or unknown designer.

If anyone has any suggestions on some art magazines that might be interested in a submission let me know b/c I'd love to pass the info on to Todd!