Make-up Artists and Creative Portraiture 

Introduction

For my personal study I have decided to explore in depth, how make up can be used to transform portrait photography. I intend to examine how the face can be used as a canvas and look at how make-up artists and photographers collaborate to produce interesting imagery. Photographers such as Rankin use make up as a powerful tool to transform their models and I hope to produce a body of work that reflects this idea. Collecting images from fashion magazines such as Vogue and Elle will aid my research and inspire ideas for my own practice. Through this investigation I will expand my knowledge and skills in lighting and posing my models for shoots.                                          

I also hope to discover how to change and manipulate the face using various makeup techniques. I like the way that Rankin uses simplistic backgrounds to his advantage which enhances the makeup and the focus remains on the model. Different fashion photographers create their own styles to portray feelings and emotions often using makeup to both enhance features and conceal flaws and imperfections.

I will be using both exaggerated stage makeup when experimenting as well as simplistic styles, seeing how each changes the face and its features. I will be experimenting with editing, adding makeup through the use of Photoshop as well as experimenting with physically putting makeup on my model.

Costume and props such as wigs, stage makeup, and facial accessorize will help in creating strange innovative images.

 As well as looking into photographers using makeup, I will also be looking at makeup artists and how they use makeup to enhance or exaggerate the face and its features. I will be experimenting with makeup on both my models and using face charts. Easily finding what works for me and what doesn’t.

Artists Analysis

 I have looked into the photographer Madame Peripetie whose work I find extremely intriguing and strange. A few of the clients she has worked for include Selfridges, Topshop, canon, and Warovski. She takes her work to the extreme, pushing the boundaries of both makeup and fashion in every photograph. She plays around with the various elements within fashion and photography. She pushes the limitations between fashion, sculpture, and the human body form. She mixes high fashion with art, which allows her to produce her amazing innovative images.

She uses conceptual approaches while combining surrealist and Dadaist ideas focusing on the body and combining these elements together. She said in an interview that her world consists of many surreal and bizarre elements. Saturated colours, dark spaces, magnificent costumes, quirky stories and unexplainable ideas are what she intends to portray in her work.  She states that “I was never interested in depicting reality as it is – the escapism and interdisciplinary hybrid-thinking have always been fascinating me”. She is inspired by science fiction style head pieces, extravagant hair, man-made props and natural forms such as flowers. She combines these elements with her models using a clear use of studio lighting and carefully considered composition to create beautiful and strange images.

 Her work involves a huge deal of experimentation in terms of shapes and colours. She works in an extremely abstract way, leaving no stone unturned. Using anything and everything in her images. Each photo is completely different to the next each is random and innovative.

Taking into consideration the various photographers I have looked at, I was given a task to recreate Frida Kahlo’s famous look, involving props such as extravagant head pieces and jewellery. I first did background research into her and what she represented. I wanted to produce my shoot to an extremely high standard. I want to then develop this shoot further by putting a spin on the next shoot. Looking at the less glamorous side of Frida Kahlo’s life that was never represented through her exterior. I will be using props such as dead flowers for her head piece. I plan on doing another shoot inspired by these extravagant head pieces and weird ethereal photographs taken by these photographers. I want to involve both wigs, face and head pieces, creating strange imagery.

I was particularly drawn to the photographer David Benoliel. He is a photographer who centres his work on fashion photography. In an interview he discusses what influences him.  "While I was influenced early by the art, architecture and culture that existed in Paris where I grew up, I wanted to try something new, and in fact, I discovered my true passion here in Miami, fashion and beauty photography!”. I was particularly drawn to his work where he covered his models in white makeup, keeping his models hair also white but adding a few pops of colour on the lips which is commonly covered in red lipstick. There is quite an ‘out of this world’ strange theme to this particular series of work.

This is another photograph from his portfolio of makeup close-ups. This image is one of my favourites. This image has quite a harsh, hard feel to it. I like how he has integrated the hair in a weird fun way, a play on the full fringe look. The image has quite a dark feel to it, due to the dark eye makeup and hair. I have looked at his work, taking into consideration his lighting and angles. This is a good example of his work where he has grasped the best possible photograph using various angles.

I decided to produce a photoshoot taking inspiration from his work, though putting my own spin on it. I covered my models hair, eyebrows and lashes in white hair paint, adding an almost frost like look to her. I decided to stay with natural lighting, as I felt this lit the model well and added to the ‘snow queen’ feel running through the photoshoot I wanted. Combined with the white, I got my model to pose with a fluffy neck piece, concealing and revealing her face allowing me to produce both close ups and long shots.

When it came to editing my images I first cropped my images, I then edited the eyes using the burn tool, allowing them to be brighter, making them a large focus of the images. I thought the bright, light flecks in the eyes would keep in theme with the white eyebrows and eyelashes.

After exploring his portfolio of work, I came across a photo where he has seemingly used UV paint as a substitute for makeup. He has used an orange and blue theme in this image, sticking to using only orange UV paint. He has used the paint where we would usually put eyeshadow, lipstick and nail varnish, bringing out the prominent features of the face, working as makeup. This is something I wanted to reproduce in my work taking inspiration from work like Benoliel. Though I knew I didn’t want to produce a direct copy of his work so decided to change various components. I used more of a variety of colours such as green, pink and orange. I had previously produced paint experiments so I felt I knew what worked well for me and what didn’t. I put the paint, again where the makeup would predominantly sit such as the cheekbones, eyes, brows lips and nails. I used no lighting other than the UV light which cast a blue light. I felt this created quite an ethereal strange mood to the images, adding an almost magical element. I did minimal editing to my images as I knew I didn’t want to over edit them, taking the effectiveness away. Some areas of paint in my images are a lot more precise and neater than other areas. For example the eyebrows which I decided to be a lot more precise and the cheek area a lot more messy, creating more of a diverse image rather than something that could have been more effective.  I got my model to pose in an editorial style, looking back through Benoliel’s work and seeing what worked well for him and what didn’t. The paint itself is in quite a bold style so I wanted to contrast the poses to this, creating more of a glamorous editorial side to the overall feel of my images.

Steven Miesel created this spread for vogue magazine in December 2007. These beautiful shots has an extremely innovative style to them, clashing colours and patterns, weirdly working well together. They are reminiscent of Gustav Klimt’s work, which I also looked into previously. Though quite a lot of elements are extremely different. In Klimt’s work the patterns are contrasting with the subject’s skin where as Miesel’s work is quite the opposite. He covers the models skin, also in clashing random patterns, acting as tattoos. Using the body as a canvas rather than keeping it natural and ‘normal’. This is something that I have responded to in my own style, taking inspiration from both Miesel and Klimt’s work and integrating different elements from each into my own work.

This is one of my photographs that I produced in the style of Miesel. I am extremely happy with the way they came out. All the elements in the photos are ones which work extremely well together. I was slightly worried about how this shoot would turn out, simply because of the clashing styles and wasn’t sure I was going to execute it to a high standard. Though I am extremely happy with how they turned out. The makeup element to this shoot was something which I wanted to think about a lot rather than simply seeing what worked well on the day. I knew I didn’t want the makeup to be simplistic as I wanted it to coincide with the business of the outfit and the back drop to my model, keeping the theme flowing through out the images, even onto my model. Though the overall look of the image is extremely mad and there is a lot going on, I particularly like the fact that the figure and editorial style juxtaposes these elements, extending the image’s beauty into different elements. Though Miesel extends the hectic patterns onto the body using the idea of tattooing the body, I decided against this as I wanted to further experiment with these images, having the base image as an editorial style picture which I am able to play around with. I am a huge admirer of illustrative photographers whom combine both art and photography together which I think is an extremely unique element. I like the idea of both drawing digitally and physically drawing over the images, creating unique images. Again, extending the business of the elements without eliminating any of the qualities of the images.

Ruo Bing Li

Ruo Bing Li is a beauty and fashion photographer. I had the idea to produce a highly polished editorial shoot and researched into editorial photographers and came across Ruo Bing Li whose work I was extremely drawn to. I really like the idea of producing a simplistic minimalistic photoshoot. One image in particular that I was drawn to is the one to the left. There is something so simple and beautiful about it, I like the contrasting idea between the neat polished makeup juxtaposing the messy unkempt hair, working effectively together to form a beautiful shoot. Something that I knew I wanted to think about was the makeup as I knew this would be a large factor contributing to the success of the shoot. I wanted to keep the makeup simple and light rather than using deep colours. The image to the left is one of which I looked and admired the makeup in, seemingly sticking to neutral gold colours. I liked the idea of having quite a strong contour combined with a stronger highlight to provide a more chiselled look. 

For my final photoshoot I was heavily influenced by that of Ruo Bing li whom I spoke about

previously. Though throughout my course I have experimented with the eclectic side to fashion photography, I wanted to strip my final photoshoot down to such a raw simplistic style. For the lighting I used a beauty dish. This lit my model up, enabling the light to bounce off of the high points of her face, such as her cheekbones, nose and forehead. This allowed the makeup I used on her to be seen in full resolution. For her makeup I decided to keep it simple, again resembling that of Bing. I stuck to using a nude lip, gold nude eye and a subtle bronze and highlight on the skin, this projecting my idea of producing a Natural shoot. While photographing my model I continuously made sure her skin looked dewy as I wanted her to look almost like she has come out of the bath, as suggested by her wet her. I particularly like the idea of the un-styled hair, draping over her face with the more polished makeup, enhancing the editorial feel of the images. I was drawn to the idea of having an almost androgynous feel to some of the images. I wanted to keep my model central in the picture as I wanted to carry the highly polished element throughout the image, even when looking at composition. When it came to editing I knew the images didn’t need much doing to them, so I simply enhanced different elements such as her eyes and elements to her makeup. Overall, I am extremely happy with how my final shoot turned out. I would not change any elements if I were to produce the shoot again. It displays the editorial style I particularly wanted, resembling images commonly seen in magazines such as Elle.

From the start of the two years, experimenting with various photography techniques has allowed me to explore the diverse pathways I could have taken, exploring different photography
 techniques. The idea of focusing my project around makeup was heavily influenced by my own love of makeup as well as my sister having a large influence on me, her having a career in makeup artistry.  Rather than simply exploring portraiture in depth. I could explore two pathways rather than one. Both makeup and portraiture combined, creating unique images. I am now more confident when developing my ideas, taking more risks when it comes to my work. I approached my shoot in a different way than I used to, Because of my love of art I wanted to entwine both art and photography. This is why I used makeup as my alternative to art. When developing a new shoot, I now look more in depth at the makeup, what the model is wearing and the poses the model is doing. I then plan out how I will execute my shoot, taking all the elements into consideration. After I produce my shoot and am happy with the outcome I then move on to experimenting with the images, developing them further instead of simply moving on to the next one. I feel like this is a much more effective way of working.