(Want More Advice? Sign up for our free report 17 Tips on Selecting Your Wedding Photographer)
[contact-form-7 404 "Not Found"]
As a male wedding photographer – I’m an expert when it comes to professional makeup on the wedding day. You know – when the ladies are getting their hair and makeup done, drinking mimosas – I’m right there with them relating my stories of how I used to use bare minerals but then I found a new line of…
hahahahahaha. NO.
Here’s the question you have to ask yourself: How do I want to look on my wedding day?
Do you want to look like you did the best job of doing your own makeup? Do you want to look like someone who hired a really great professional makeup artist? Neither is bad – you just have to decide which one is the better choice for you. Of course you can have your friend do your makeup – and then you can add ‘Do you want to look like your friend did their best job of doing your makeup?’ (if your friend is a professional makeup artist then the 2nd option still applies.)
SO. How do you want to look? Once you’ve decided that, there are only a few more things to consider. Things like – do you want your bridesmaids to get their makeup done professionally? Your mother? (& possibly your soon-to-be mother in-law?). If they’re getting their makeup done by a professional makeup artist it might be a good choice to just join in.
Of course – depending on where you’re getting married, you may not have many options. We’ve photographed many weddings in the middle of nowhere and the nearest salon/makeup artist was 100 miles. Literally. So having everyone’s makeup done by a team of makeup artist was out of question from the start. Obviously if you’re having your wedding out in the middle of nowhere, your makeup might not be at the top of the list of challenges.
SO. Which choice is right for you? Budget-wise, and depending on your skill level with makeup – it’s generally not out of reach to hire a makeup artist to show up at your home, or hotel room on the morning of your wedding day (wherever you’re getting ready).
Here’s a Pro Tip from a Professional Photographer though – you do not need MORE makeup so that it’ll show up in the photos. Many makeup artists still tell this to their brides – but they’re not photographers. I’m a Professional Wedding Photographer and I’m telling you that regular amounts of makeup is plenty – more than enough to show up in photos. Unless you’ve hired some part-time wannabe wedding photographer that doesn’t know what they’re doing.
Professional digital cameras are powerful and amazing – especially in the hands of an actual professional wedding photographer. How your makeup looks with your eyes is how it’ll look in photos. If you SEE that you have too much makeup on, even if it’s just a little too much – THEN IT’S PROBABLY TOO MUCH. It’s not that you can’t wear a lot of makeup and look amazing and great and flawless – it’s when you LOOK like you’re wearing too much. (Sometimes it takes a lot of makeup to look like you’re not wearing any at all – get it?)
You don’t need to get anywhere near looking like a hooker-clown from Mars – no matter what your makeup artist tells you. (If you hire a great makeup artist you won’t have to worry about this anyway.)
All photos by LeahAndMark & Co.
Comments? Questions? Need more information?
[contact-form-7 404 "Not Found"]
Atlanta. Wedding. Photographer. LeahAndMark & Co. Wedding Day. Makeup. Artist. Professional. Need. How to. Find. Pick. Choose.