Your skin

Posted on December 16, 2009

Your getting ready for your photo shoot. You want to make sure everything is perfect. Skin can be covered up with makeup and with Photoshop made to look just about any way you want. But, for great looking skin no matter where or what you’re doing, there are a few basic steps. Good skin provides several benefits to your shoot and gives you a certain glow that can’t be done with just makeup or Photoshop. We shoot with a lot of models and have worked with Skin care professionals to understand just what it takes to create flawless model skin. Diet and genetics plays a big role, but four basic steps used consistently can create dramatic changes in anyone’s skin.  Start now, the longer you adhere to these simple steps prior to your shoot, the better the results.  Your skin type, oily, normal, combination, dry, sensitive or sun-damaged can change how you care for your skin.

1. Cleansing
Keep it simple.  You don’t have to go for the fancy cleaners, just a good basic cleaner works great.  Don’t use a bar soap, they tend to dry out your skin on your face.  Check out The best cleansers for your skin type. You’ll want to take off your makeup with a proper makeup remover first. If you do this at night, in the morning, you cna get away with just some lukewarm water in the morning for removing excess oil. Always use warm water, not hot or cold water.

2. Exfoliate
This should be part of your weekly routine and can make a huge difference in your skin. There are three primary ways to exfoliate skin: Chemical peels, retinoids and Microdermabrasion. Scrubs simply remove the top layer of dead skin cells that tend to dull your complexion. Use a tiny grain, gentle scrub. Cheaper scrubs can damage the skin. Check out Lancome’s Resurface-C. It’s a bit on the pricey side, but the next best thing to a professional monthly peel. Retinoid such as Retin-A work by removing the dead skin and help generate collagen in the skin. Most skin care experts consider Retinoids a skin saver.

3. Moisturize
Don’t moisturize if you have acne. Moisturizers help with tight/dry skin. Be careful not to over moisturize as it may clog pores. Your skin will tell you if you need moisturizer. You can also use moisturizer instead of eye creams.

4. Sunscreen
The single most important step to save your skin, not only for today, but for years to come. If you moisturize, use a non-SPF at night and use a SPF one in the morning before you go out. Mexoryl-based is the best in our experience and can be found in the Neutrogena product lines among others.

Web resources
Nothing replaces talking to a skin care professional or a dermatologist for problem skin.  Everyone’s skin is different and sometimes minor modifications to your routine will make work far better for your particular skin type.  We’ll post a set of links to web resources for additional skin care information.

Eye makeup tips

Posted on December 15, 2009

Stay with us, we’re just beginning to update this section.  We’re going to provide new makeup tips and internet resources for amazing looks and styles. We’re starting with the eyes and we’ll cover everything from toes to hair.  The first tip post is around eyes and eye makeup.  Although we can provide an makeup artist with our session, often times, simple changes to your makeup.  We’ll be updating eye color as we go along and provide some great makeup tip links for different looks you might want for your shoot.

Green Eyes
Warm colors such as deep purples, plums, lilacs, golds, bronze, deep green, mauves, copper, brown, medium pinks, apricots and peaches work well for green eyes.  Avoid the cooler colors such as blues, silvers, whites and pastels.  These will tend to make you look washed out.  Use brown instead of black eyeliners, or perhaps bronze or gold.  Your lips and blushes should be similar colors.  You can also match with a burgundy color for lipstick.

Try out a few of these looks and styles and see what you like before your photoshoot.  Since our sessions typically have several sets/outfits, you want to start with less dramatic first.  Make sure your wardrobe has several outfits that match the look. Also, get some decent sleep prior to your shoot. Red, tired eyes can ruin even the best makeup.

Blue Eyes
Generally, blue eyes work best with gray, violet, taupe, purple and deep blues. Using dark shades of blue bring out more natural blue tones in your eyes. If you mix black liner with bright blue, it gives you more of the popular smoky effect.

For a more fun/funky look, mix silver, fuschia or turquoise in. Blond hair, fair skin can also mix in violet, lavenders and pink where as red hair might work better with shades of brown…your hair and skin tone really call for a more natural looking eye shadow. Add a gold shimmer to the brown tones to add a distinct finished look. Blue eyes have different shades and intensity, so experiment a little to find the color combinations and shades that work for your particular shade of blue. Warm browns, taupes and soft peach colors work well also.

Brown Eyes
Okay, here’s the easy part. Brown eyes work with almost everything stated above. Darker skins should stay away from white or light colors and look for eye shadows with deep, rich colors. Fair skin tones should stay away from the darker colors and migrate toward lighter shades.

The bottom line is, experiment. So many factors come into play such as outfits and the casual or formal nature of the event or look. But, from dramatic to relaxed and casual, the tips above will make sure the foundation of colors and tones are in place for a great look!

Erika in Urban

Posted on December 6, 2009

One of our favorite senior venues is down town Denver.  Erika hails from the Southern Colorado area.  She drove all the way up to meet us and shoot.  Not quite the setting of the rest of her classmates photos :).  Several changes of outfits and a bit of a hike around LODO and we had the final results.  Erika has such a classic beauty, it made her so easy to shoot with.

If you’re out of Denver and want a total different look for your yearbook, give us a ring.

Jay