Alice in Wonderland Wedding Shoot

Last wk I got the chance to participate in this really interesting wedding photography workshop hosted by this really awesome wedding photography duo Justin & Mary (they are actually husband & wife) visiting all the way from New England.

I have to be honest normally this isn't something I would help out w/ b/c well to be perfectly frank I wasn't getting paid but this shoot did actually fall in lines w/ my Rules on When Working For "Free" Is Okay.

1. The photographers hosting the workshop have really nice wedding work and therefore I knew I would get some really nice pictures for my wedding portfolio which is still growing & in development (hard to track down photographers or brides after weddings sometimes to get the professional shots not just the ones i take on my digital camera).

2. It would give me a chance to possibly network and meet other wedding photographers in the area...always a good thing.

3. I really liked the theme b/c it wasn't just your typical wedding stuff - they were doing something a little more whimsical and edgy for Toronto - Alice in Wonderland - this meant I also got to be a little more creative then the stuff I usual get to do for weddings - also I had a say in what the girls looked like - obviously this is not the case for most weddings lol.  And Justin & Mary were going all out w/ set pieces, dresses, locations and little accents just to make it a bit more unique.  They were literally taking the photographers through getting ready in the hotel, portraiture of the bride, church stuff, on location stuff & reception - it was literally like shooting a whole wedding.

So like many shoots there is always a little upheaval right before and this was no exception!  The couple they had originally got for the shoot bailed at the last minute.  Thankfully for them they met me lol!  Being the always professional and generous person I am I posted an ad on MM (Model Mayhem) for couples for the shoot and they got a great response.  In fact we got two great couples!  This meant that I could do an Alice type bride as well as a White Queen type bride.  The girls they picked for these two ideas were actually so perfect.  Olivia was very petite and cute and perfect for Alice while Jenna (who I've had the pleasure of working w/ a couple of times) is tall and elegant, a perfect White Queen.  I'm not going to lie though this was a touch stressful for me beforehand b/c it's one thing to get one bride ready but to get TWO brides ready in a relatively short amount of time is a lot lol!  Actually though, if I do say so myself my timing was awesome that day!

For Alice (aka Olivia) I wanted to keep the makeup light and youthful w/ just a pop of pink on the cheeks and lips and the main focus was going to be the hair. I spent the night before sewing many many extension pieces for Olivia's hair b/c I wanted her to have a big, massive head of long curls - to go along w/ the whimsical feel and I knew I couldn't get that from her own  hair.

For the White Queen (aka Jenna) I wanted something much more elegant, cool and sophisticated looking.  I slicked back her bangs and did a very high ballerina bun (using my hair foam donut).  I kept the focus on a very deep, strong red lip b/c Jenna has gorgeous lips.  I also contoured her cheeks in quite a bit and did a clean swipe of white on the eyes and of course false lashes.

Thanks to Jillian at Headmistress Accessories I was also able to borrow a couple of AMAZING headpieces that were SO PERFECT for the shoot!

I took a few pictures at the hotel of the girls after they were ready but unfortunately I wasn't able to go to the actual locations - the church and the ruins/forest reception area so like my usual weddings I had to leave my brides w/ a touch up kit and believe my work would hold up the entire day...late into the reception.

I can't wait to see some of the pics from Justin & Mary and actually one of the photographers from the workshop Taylor Jackson was actually kind enough to send me a couple of pics she's already edited from the workshop!  They look great and I'm so excited to see more!

My Behind the Scenes Pics

Olivia aka "Alice"...I actually wish I would have made the hair bigger...oh well

 Jenna aka The White Queen

 Mary giving lessons on shooting Portraiture...she had A LOT of really good tips!

 Justin & Mary tag team shooting Olivia

Here's a couple of the shots Taylor sent to me

Great shot of Jenna

 Olivia out on location...Love that her "husband" Joe has a top hat & bow tie...so Mad Hatter!

Weddings - Makeup Artist Rules to Live By

I'm happy to announce my wedding business is progressing along very nicely now! I've actually booked 2 weddings this wk for June & July! What sucks is turning down weddings b/c you're already booked that date :( ...come on brides there aren't only 2 dates in the Summer to get married lol.

So I want to give a few tips to the Makeup Artists out there about weddings.

1. DON'T UNDERCUT

I know this sounds like basic knowledge but you don't know how many MUAs I see that post their prices on craigslist or their site and I wouldn't even leave my house for the price they are charging. Of course understand your area and what you can charge but if you're in TORONTO (like me) this is a major city...charge for it! I'm not quite sure if these MUAs are doing this as a hobby and have a husband at home to support them, live w/ their parents or if they've never actually figured out their costs and what they end up making per hr. Doing a bride's makeup or any of her bridesmaids for under $50/person is NOT acceptable...hell doing a bride for under $100 in my book isn't acceptable but I'll give some room I suppose (btw I'm taking just makeup here, no hair).

Remember when you undercut you're not just hurting yourself you're also hurting the business and all the other makeup artists out there! You'll never be able to raise your prices b/c you'll be known as a budget makeup artist and therefore you'll only attract budget brides. Plus remember you have to travel to the person's house or hotel or whatever...so your rate needs to reflect this service. Your product costs money and needs to be refilled. You have taxes...you do pay taxes right ;) You have to pay for your website and advertising. Plus all the time you spend not just doing makeup but cleaning brushes, emailing, networking etc. Weddings are WAY too much stress and trouble to be giving our services away...have a little respect for yourself and your profession!

2. Learn How to Do Bridal Hair

This will open up so many doors for you as a makeup artist if you can offer this service too...plus it means more $$$ which is always a good thing in my book lol! If you're hopeless at hair find a hair person to team up w/ and make a go of it together. Brides love anything that makes their lives easier b/c the planning of the wedding can be a very stressful time.

3. Know the Importance of a Trial AND Charge for It!

I see a lot of MUAs giving away trials for free. I don't agree w/ this (esp. when this same MUA is only charging $50/person...OMG). Time = Money and MY TIME is important! Why would I give away my time and skills for free when I could better spend that time making money on another makeup job. I get booked for photo shoots, music videos, print advertising, proms etc. I don't have time to GIVE away my talents when I could be making money for that time. I'm not opposed to charging a bit less for the trial but understand the trial is A LOT of work. Sometimes it can be more stressful then the actual wedding day b/c this is the chance for the bride to figure out exactly what she wants and to assure her that you can help create her vision...sometimes it takes a few alterations that day. Plus it takes a couple of hours...hours I can't book other work during! If a bride went to a salon to get her hair done would the hairdresser do that for FREE...I don't think so. If yes tell me the salon b/c I think I need a trial updo next time I have a night out ;)

4. The Trial is an Interview

So often we think of the trial as a way for the bride to decide if she wants to use our services. It's like an interview/audition of sorts. But you have to remember to look at it from the reverse point of view. Makeup Artist Liz Yu really got this concept into my head - YOU are also interviewing the BRIDE! YOU don't have to take that booking if you get a bad feeling at the trial b/c you think she'll probably be a bridezilla or more stress then she's worth! Truth is if you're good and do your networking you'll probably get another bride inquiring about that same date...someone who might not be worth the headache. This is why it's important to charge for a trial. It shows that you respect yourself, your time and your skills and it also let's you have the power to turn down a wedding if you don't want to take it b/c you don't think it will be a good fit. I'm not saying this will happen often or anything but it's good to be able to say no if you want to.

5. Avoid Bargainers

If the bride is trying to bargain your prices right at the beginning it's a warning sign of bad things to come. I'm not saying it's a guarantee but in my experience ppl that bargain and care more about the bottom line don't appreciate what you have to bring to the table and will NEVER be satisfied w/ your services b/c they don't respect your services in the beginning. These will be the ppl that email you constantly and complain about everything and want multiple trials (free of charge :S ). You want clients that respect your craft and the skills you bring to the table...remember we are ARTISTS!

6. Network, Network, Network!

Bridal business is just like any other makeup business it requires A LOT of networking. Build a good website. If you're starting out set up some mock bridal shoots w/ photographers so you have some nice pics for your website. Contact local wedding photographers and introduce yourself to them...lots of brides ask photographers about makeup/hair artists. Set up a links page on your site and link to vendors that are also willing to link to you. Get your website SEOed! Go on bridal forums and give your opinion or advice about things. Even network w/ other bridal makeup artists...they aren't the enemy or competition sometimes they can help you out! If they are booked they might refer you to the bride and likewise!

I know I've missed some things so let me know what you think is great advice for other Bridal Artists out there!

http://www.weddingmakeuptoronto.com/

When Working for "FREE" is Okay

So after my last post I decided more needs to be said on the subject of "FREE" work. From reading forums, listening to Newer Makeup Artists and just being around for a bit I've realized there are a lot of misconceptions about working for "FREE".

Okay, first off working for FREE is NEVER okay but there are times when you'll do a job and there will be no transaction of money between the parties involved but there will be OTHER benefits for doing the shoot...so you're not ACTUALLY doing it for free. For beginning makeup artists this is sometimes a complicated thing to understand and grasp.

All the time I hear newer Makeup Artists complaining about the costs of lashes or other products for TF* based shoots (For those who don't know TFP or TFCD means Time For Prints/Time for CD). IF you are doing a shoot and using lashes and you're not willing to absorb the cost of lashes b/c you're not sure the pictures will be worth it then you are working for FREE. Never do a shoot if you don't think it will benefit your portfolio in some way for FREE.

I know when starting out you want to do as many shoots as possible and work w/ as many ppl as possible but be picky. If you are doing a shoot and you think you'll get good images for your portfolio out of it then you're not working for "FREE" you are getting something in return for your services...it may not be money but in some ways really good images or tears (magazine spreads) can be MORE beneficial then money on the day of the shoot and lead to MORE paid work in the future.

Before accepting a shoot ask yourself - Will this photographer's work benefit my portfolio? Is the model involved going to benefit my portfolio? If it's a Fashion shoot is there a full team involved - aka a Stylist? Are we shooting a theme or concept that I need in my portfolio? What direction do I want my portfolio to go in? Remember to always try and test up...you want to grow not plateau!

If the shoot doesn't fit into the criteria that you need at that time then pass it up! If the model is blonde and you have a book full of blondes it might not be beneficial for you at that time to do the shoot. If the photographer wants crazy avant garde makeup and you need clean looks pass on the shoot. It doesn't hurt you to NOT do a TF* shoot...it hurts you and wastes your time to do a shoot that has NO benefit for you.

If you are like me and you want to focus on Fashion & Beauty work or have hopes of representation from an agency don't do TF* Glamour Shoots or Alternative Fashion Shoots. I mention these two specifically b/c in the beginning of a Makeup Artist's career these are shoots that are frequently offered to them. I would only do Glamour or Alternative Fashion work if it was paid b/c guess what - I CAN'T use it in my book so what benefit would it do me to do it for FREE.

I, personally never do shoots that are referred to as TF* shoots - I HATE the term...this is an internet term, it sounds amateurish and it's not used in the real world. If I do a "Free" shoot it's a Creative or it's for Submission to magazines (side note a lot of my Fav shoots in my book were done for "Free" for Submissions to mags). I work closely w/ the photographer and stylist to help develop the concept and theme of the shoot. This sometimes takes wks/mths of talking and planning...if I'm going to give my time away I want to make sure it is WORTH it! I walk into the shoot w/ my whole Makeup & Hair concept planned for the day. I've seen the model before the shoot...there are NO surprises. I will NOT accept last minute Creatives b/c the other Makeup Artist canceled. For me I need proper planning time and I want to be involved from the ground up. I take Creatives VERY seriously and do them w/ the intention that this will be something to add to my book and benefit me in some way. Lately, all of my Creatives have been a lot more Hair Heavy or Clean Beauty based...I knew I needed stronger Hair Stories in my book and some Cleaner Beauty images so unless the concept fit that criteria I said no thanks.

A tip I wish I would have learned sooner when doing creatives is start to think in terms of stories early on in your career. When I started I did shoots where the model wore different random outfits and I did different random makeup/hair looks and yes I got some nice pics out of it at the time but there was no cohesion to the shoot...it didn't flow or tell a story or have a theme. When you start working on stories and not just one off looks you know you're working w/ a better team w/ a stronger concept of what's going on.

Another thing that unfortunately is becoming common in the industry at least in my city is photographers trying to pass off model tests as creatives. Be wary of these things. I personally DO NOT do unpaid model tests. If the photographer sounds kind of vague about the concept and it seems like it's going to be really simple - white background, start w/ clean makeup and build from there - doing 3 looks be careful unless you REALLY want to work w/ this photographer and you're using this as a chance to meet them and talk about another idea you have or something. I say this b/c I know for a fact that many agencies these days won't pay photographers for tests anymore b/c there are so many photographers begging for models (see how ppl giving away their stuff for free degrades the WHOLE industry). What the agencies will do is say do the test and we'll make sure the model buys images off of you. Get a Makeup Artist tell them it's a creative. So basically, you're giving your talents away for free while the photographer will sell his/her prints and make money. If you think you'll get some great images from it b/c the photographer is super good and you wouldn't normally get a chance to work w/ them then take the chance if you want...it's just not something I would do at this point in my career.

So I hope that clears up some of the confusion about "FREE" work and FREE work for some of the newbies out there.

Also, just one last bit of advice but clean, beautiful beauty work will ALWAYS get you WAY more paid gigs and attention from agencies over Crazy, Feather, Rhinestone, Glitter Beauty shots. I know when starting out you want to do Big, Crazy, Creative Makeup and a lot of times New Photographers want Big, Crazy Makeup but it's actually really hard to do that and not make it look tacky or gaudy and it takes the right model and a really good photographer to make it work. Walk before you Run...Perfect that Clean Makeup look...it's not as easy as you think ;) Ask any artist you admire or photographer you love and they will tell you nothing sells you better then a Beautiful, Clean Beauty shot.

This shot is actually one of my most popular shots w/ Makeup Artists...all my friends outside the biz say "It doesn't even look like she's wearing makeup why is this in your book?" lol...they just don't get it ;) Photographer: Manolo Ceron Model: Jae (Sutherland)

EDIT: Oh one more big thing I forgot to mention - Say NO to Kit Fees! This is a Film Term that somehow got brought into Fashion by Amateurs. A lot of times photographers might offer a "kit fee" b/c they know the shoot might not be beneficial to a makeup artist's portfolio. Guess what if it's not beneficial to your book when you're doing it for Free then making $25-50 for the day isn't going to suddenly make it worth your time. If you accept a Kit Fee of say $50/day and the pics are going to be useless to you then you are saying my rate is $50/day...I don't think any Professional Makeup Artist wants to work for $50/day now do they?

Just Because I Love My Job Doesn't Mean I'll Work For FREE!

I'll admit it...this is a bit of a rant so if you're not in the mood for a little ranting don't read on lol. Basically, I'm just sick and tired of ppl thinking just because I love my job that means I'll do it for FREE! A Doctor or Lawyer can LOVE what they do that doesn't mean they don't expect payment for their services. Sometimes I'm worried about this industry and my place in the industry. Everyone wants stuff for free. I don't know when ppl stopped respecting and valuing their craft and giving their talents away but it really has hurt EVERYONE in the biz...esp. Newer Artists...it's really sad :( Even artists undervalue themselves and undercut b/c they think I love what I do so much I'd do it for nothing. It's wonderful that we love what we do but that doesn't mean we don't deserve payment for our services.

Anyway, you may be wondering where is this coming from...I mean it's not like I haven't been witness to this undercutting and undervaluing before. Well late last night I got a text from a photographer saying that their Hair & Makeup Artists canceled and they need someone to fill in for a job tomorrow (today) and was I available.

Right away I thought this was a bit weird b/c 1. I have only ever worked w/ this photographer once and it was like 7-8 mths ago 2. Why not just call me? But I figured I didn't have anything planned beside the gym I might as well call the photographer and see what the deal was. So I called and asked about the details of the shoot. Right away the photographer asked if I was available and I said well I need some info before I decide that. So I'm told the shoot is for a new designer (a friend of theirs)- the designer's Look Book and Campaign. It will be 2 models - clean hair and makeup. Shoot 8-4:30. Okay that's great but I think we're missing ONE BIG DETAIL HERE. So then I go okay...what's the rate? The photographer then had the nerve to say it's Tip Based!...LMAO TIP BASED (WTF is THAT!)...and some clothes if I want. LOL...Um hold on let me see if my Land Lady will accept clothes as PAYMENT for RENT! I almost laughed on the phone...it's not like I haven't seen or even had crappy offers like this before but I guess I was just shocked that a Professional Photographer would have the NERVE to contact me late on a SUNDAY NIGHT to work a full day for CLOTHES!

It's bad enough when regular folk think it's okay to offer crap money for these kind of services...sometimes it's not even their fault b/c they don't know better and they've seen ppl giving it away BUT for a PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER to undervalue my skills and talent is just plain insulting to OUR WHOLE PROFESSION! We (Photographers, Stylists, MUAs etc.) are in this TOGETHER. If WE don't VALUE one another and the skills WE bring to the table we're all SCREWED!

FYI New Makeup Artists - If someone is going to potentially make MONEY off of something you worked on then YOU should be getting PAID for your services! This is a RULE everyone should live by...NEVER do Headshots, Look Books, Campaigns etc. for free w/ promises of exposure or credit b/c guess what it doesn't mean SHIT and it won't get you anywhere!

Okay end of Rant...Happy Times Now :)