Creative Fantasy Portrait Makeup

Ever wondered how some photographers seem to be in the news and rarely lack for clientele?

More than likely it is because they have specialized in a style of photography and done so quite well to the point of being know for their style worldwide.

One of these themes is portrait photography.

Sure almost any photographer can take your portrait but doing so in an unusual way which is also very creative and quite pleasing is what separates these professionals from the rest of us.

By specializing in portraits you can then become known as a portrait specialist and when a client wants their portrait they know where to go.

However it is not just doing one single theme. The key is to do this single theme so well that your images stand out from the rest and people look to you when they want something different.

For example, there is a photographer near where I live that only does Quinces (Spanish for 15 and in the US similar to a sweet sixteen)

He started doing these at the modest price of $800 a few years back which included the gown, the make up, the hair, 100 photos plus a video.

He now charges upwards of $1600 and no matter how much you ask he will not do weddings, portraits, or any other photography but this.

He has become so well known for doing Quinces that people come from miles when they want to give their daughters a special photo occasion and from what I have seen he keeps quite busy.

If only one could become so specialized and successful that you can run a business doing nothing but one thing.

One of the best samples I have seen is doing portraits with a theme like Winter.

The model gets her makeup in wintry colors like light blues and whites, including the lips.

Props like fake winterized branches and even fake snow are used, some even use "winterized" bluish contact lenses.

The shots are usually breathtaking to say the least and definitely stand out as they are anything but ordinary.

Among other popular themes are colors where the model gets make up in a particular color like reds in her checks, around the eyes and lips and sometimes even the hair.

A red scarf is then wrapped around her head and the set up is completed with a matching color backdrop.

Just like this color theme there are basically many other applications that can be molded into a theme and used for a specialty shoot.

You can use feathers, flower petals, little balloons or glass beads, even paint balls like the ones used for sports and there are also nature themes, the seasons, festivals and holidays.

By far the best themes are those that are "evergreen"; they do not fit one category or time frame but can be used year round.

But the easiest method to set yourself and your work apart is to do an out of the ordinary and very creative makeup.

You do not need props other than a matching backdrop and this is easily accomplished, but the makeup needs to be as creative, even strange, as possible and not something often seen.

The idea is to do beauty makeup and not "Halloween" type ones, strange maybe but beautiful nevertheless.

The makeup is the key especially around areas on which the eye of the beholder tends to go first like the eyes.

Even if everything else is the same, like props, backdrops, hair and so on, if the makeup is less than stellar and out of the ordinary then the portrait does not have the same effect that it would if the opposite were true.

If you do decide to go into business doing this type of portraits you may find out that your business grows as your expertise and creativity grows.

The better you become the more business may grow. If you are not a talented makeup artist but consider yourself to be a talented photographer, then hiring the services of a good makeup artist is definitely something you should consider.

These artists will often work on an on-call or as as needed routine. But if you grow then you may even consider hiring a full time dedicated one.

Regardless of how you approach the makeup work, it is up to you to offer guidance as to what you want and how you want it done.

Sit down with your makeup artist and be sure to explain what it is that you want and what it is that you expect.

The more successful photographers who do this type of work even have their own dedicated prop makers but it does help if you at least learn to do some of your own props.