Should I hire a makeup artist?

Should I hire a makeup artist?

We’re excited to hear that you’ve decided to update that outdated photo and get a new kick-ass portrait! Now, let us help you look your best

Regardless of if you’re a business professional, a creative freelancer, or an actor, we always recommend hiring a professional makeup artist and hair stylist to make you look your best.

At Retratos Barcelona, we have spent a long time carefully hand-picking our team of professional beauty experts that are trained as makeup artists and hair stylists. We are proud to work with some of the best in the industry in Barcelona (our artists have worked for RayBan and Adidas, and have been published in Cosmopolitan and GQ).

Why book a professional makeup artist?

The camera sees more and less than the naked human eye. This means that it records every imperfection and mutes colour at the same time. This is why makeup artists train for years to find the ideal products that transfer perfectly onto photos. Besides being experts in skincare and hair prep, makeup artists also know a lot about the photographer’s lighting and how to best do makeup for different media.

Even if you can apply liner like a pro, makeup for everyday wear doesn’t necessarily transfer well to photos. For example, dewy skin may look great in person but on camera it can seem like oily sheen; or a bronzer that gives you the post-summer glow may come across as very orange.  

Even worse is that some make up can react with the studio flash, causing it to shift colour in your portrait. Suddenly, the makeup that looks so natural and beautiful in daylight can completely change in a photograph! Yikes!

An example of before and after makeup on a woman

Our talented makeup artists enhance your best features, even out skin tones and keep the make up looking natural. Neither of these images have received any retouching, and are used to demonstrate the work of a professional makeup artist. 

It’s not just for women: Makeup for men

Let’s face it, men are typically not the best at looking after their skin. The idea of having makeup applied may seem very foreign to a lot of men. However, if you want your new professional headshot to show you at your very best, a little male grooming and makeup will enhance your best features, while reducing any problematic areas. Typically, men’s makeup is all about:

  • Remaining undetectable
  • Taking away any skin redness or discolouration
  • Muting any shine (this can happen a lot during photoshoots, due to nerves, and camera lights)
  • Making sure the hair is styled and any facial hair is neatly trimmed
An example of before and after makeup on a man

Men’s make up is all about reducing flaws, whilst remaining undetectable. Neither of these images have received any retouching, and are used to demonstrate the work of a professional makeup artist.

A team collaboration to make you look your best

Typically, any professional portrait that you see published in a magazine is the result of a team collaboration, between a makeup artist, photograph, and retoucher (for fashion portraits, a stylist, and often art directors are added to the team).

At Retratos Barcelona, we have spent a long time hand-picking our team members so that we can work towards a common goal – to give you magazine quality portraits where you look amazing!

  • Our specialist portrait photographer has invested years into learning. Learning how to use lighting, how to pose, and how to connect with the client. In order to make you look your best they have have learned how to bring out your best features and get natural looking portraits.
  • Our professional beauty experts have spent years learning how to emphasise this further. They know how to enhance your best features, while reducing any flaws in the skin, to make sure that you look your best.
  • Our professional portrait retoucher has spent years learning how to retouch your photos in a natural way. This includes removing any temporary blemishes (skin imperfections), evening out skin tones (redness in skin or dark skin under the eyes) and fixing any problems with the clothing and hair.

Professional makeup artist – that’s a wrap

We want all of our portrait sessions to be an enjoyable experience, whilst giving you the highest quality results. We hope that this insider knowledge has helped you decide if hiring a professional makeup artist is for you.

If you are still unsure, you can read our ’20 insider tips to headshot makeup’.

Thanks to our head makeup artist Nika Ambrozic for her input into this post. View her work here.

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