Hair & Makeup Tips & Tricks to Elevate Your Beauty Portraits

Beauty Portraits

Hair & Makeup Tips & Tricks to Elevate Your Beauty Portraits with David Beckham & Ericka Reid

Six years ago, 80% of my senior girls used my makeup artist. This year, it’s about 30%. They all follow their favorite YouTube influencers and think they can do it themselves or have “a friend with a really nice palette” do it for them. The fact is, most of them cannot. Which means more editing for us. When I talk to them further, they are afraid they will not like what they will get. They had a bad experience at a Sephora counter once and cannot risk that for senior photos. The typical senior client that does choose my MUA, Ericka Reid, wants something “natural,” “neutral,” and maybe a “smokey eye” with lashes… We are going to do a little more than that this time!

We have five different looks on five different faces and are incorporating outfits to go with the Beauty Portraits they are receiving. Lauren, Emma, Emily, Rachel and Kensley are on my model team and were eager to be part of this project. After the release of this issue in January, I will be featuring each one of the model’s makeup process on my IGTV. (@DavidBeckhamPhotography) You will want to check that out. Ericka will also be commenting in this article with what she did with each model and why. I’ll fill you in with the techs on posing, lighting, equipment and settings and maybe spill a little tea.

Beauty Conceals

Lauren’s slate blue eyes and emotionless look are perfect for beauty photography, but her high cheekbones and blank expression also hide the realities of life. Her father passed away 18 months ago. Now it’s just her and her mother doing their best to help each other through the challenges of each day without him. Lauren puts on a face like everything is alright, even when everything isn’t. Lauren loved the escape of this shoot and her mom loves the photos and thinks about how proud her dad would have been.

Beauty Portraits

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To read the full article, launch the digital version of the January 2021 magazine.

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