Beauty Portraits- Creating the most beautiful version of you!

Beauty Portraits

One of my favourite shoots is the beauty portrait. Beauty is most definitely in the eye of the beholder, but what woman does not want to have a special portrait taken that show her in a manner like we see in beauty magazines or glamour images?

Beauty or fashion portrait is about using photographic techniques to create a stunning image. For me it is about the eyes and simplicity of the face.

A talented makeup artist is a great starting point for this type of shoot. The subject should look and feel her best to help her relax and achieve the best results.

The decision needs to be made as to the direction of the final image. Questions to reflect upon are;

Age of the subject- is the look appropriate
Face shape and features. Not many of us are born symmetrical. Often we have one eye larger or a crooked smile. The photographer must observe and take this into account when posing the model.
Will the final image is colour or black and white?
Do you want the final image to be formal, casual or engaging? For me the engaging image is one where the model looks into the viewer’s eyes.
Emotion- what feeling are you wanting to capture?

Once these decisions are made the shoot can proceed with makeup that suits the end outcome.

Lighting

Being a student of the master Peter Coulson I shoot mainly with one light. My light of choice is the 1.5m octagonal soft box from above.

The beauty shoot is about clean lighting for the subject and minimising shadows. The use of clamshell lights one above and one below, or a reflector from below and key light above.

Because these setups reduce the shadows on the face the image is clean, skin appears smooth and eyes reflect the lighting brightening.

The second style of beauty portrait I shoot is more dramatic and emotive. I use a large soft box from the side with a grid to direct light like an open window. I pose the model looking towards the light and move her so that I shoot back from the light. This can create dramatic beautiful images.

The third style I have used is to light the model from behind and the front to create a wrap around effect. Flooding the model with light.

Catch lights

For those who may not know catch lights are those white reflections in the eyes we see in many portraits. The use of round or octagonal soft boxes gives great catch lights. I always use a single point focus on my camera and focus on the eye every shot and recompose.

Posing

My preference for beauty portraits is for the model to wear a strapless top to allow the bare shoulder and neck to be seen. This creates a clean simple natural beauty look. Soft curl hair can soften the face and give that movie star look.

I always place the model on a stool for these shots. Firstly, because they are more relaxed sitting down, they do not need to worry about posing or what to do with hands, and it allows the photographer to move around the model finding the best angle and lighting.

Editing

I use a number of software packages to edit in my normal workflow processes. Much can be done using Adobe Lightroom 5, Photoshop CS6 and even portrait plug in software to speed up the process.

For this purpose, I will only discuss the use of Photoshop CS6. The main purpose for me in editing is to make each model the very best version of her natural self. I do not manipulate and distort the face.

What I do is refine the skin and remove blemishes in the same way as the makeup artist does in applying foundation and other makeup. Why is it then necessary? This is a good question. The use of the studio lighting strobe not only provides amazing light and fills shadows, but it also cuts through most foundation and allows the camera to see many things the eyes would miss.

I use the healing brush and clone tool to refine the skin and remove major blemishes such as pimples or unwanted moles. A range of techniques can then be used to even the skin and create that magazine look. The most common is frequency separation.

Frequency separation is creating a detail layer (tonal layer) and a texture layer and blending the two together.

Next I select the eyes and brighten or saturate the eyes to bring out the natural colour. Some sharpening is applied to make them pop!

The final stage in my editing for all images is the creation of a dodge and burn layer. This is where magic happens. A clear overlay layer is created and using a dodge tool ( making lighter tones) or a burn tool ( dark tones) I work across the image painting the tones of the image to add depth and bring out the texture. This is particularly effective on hair and can be used to couture the face in the same way as the application of makeup does.

Here are some examples of beauty portraits