13 Helpful Beauty Photography Tips
4. Create a mood board
In the glamour and fashion industry, it’s common for photographers to create a mood board before a shoot. Essentially, it’s a scrapbook of concept art you can show to your model and stylist to make sure you’re all on the same page.
Leaf through magazines or a search engine to find images that are similar to what you have in mind for the shoot. Find a few different images that show the makeup, lighting, and costume styles you want to draw from.
5. Use a high-resolution camera
Shooting in high resolution is a must for beauty photography. Whether you’re doing close-ups or full-body shots, you’re going to want to capture every single pore and eyelash. Plus, high-resolution images allow you to crop the image without losing any detail. Use a camera like the Canon 5DS, which shoots up to 120 megapixels.
6. Get a macro lens
In addition to a high-resolution camera, it’s a good idea to have a macro lens for your shoot. Shooting with a 90mm or 105mm lens will allow you to get closeups of your model’s eyes, lips, and jewelry. You’ll be able to get sharp, detailed photos without any grain
7. Choose a backdrop color
While it’s common for beauty photographers to use a standard white, gray, or black backdrop, those aren’t your only options. Some photographers like to use colored seamless backdrops, which can give a different look and feel to your finished product. You can get a variety of shades out of a single color — if you know how to light it properly.
Most Peerspace hosts include colored and standard seamless backdrops included with their studio rentals, so keep an eye out for that if you don’t have your own.
8. Use a ring light
Like backdrops, many Peerspace studio hosts also provide ring lights in their studio rentals, either included with the rental price or as an additional charge.
There are dozens of ways to light a beauty shoot, so it’s a good idea to have a variety of lights on hand. This way, you can try a few different setups as you go. And trust us, rings lights are one of those indispensable lighting options. If you’re unfamiliar, ring lights are a circular light source that reflects light onto your subject. This will allow you to highlight all of their unique facial features and create a “natural glow.”
9. Mix and match light modifiers
In addition to ring lights, there are plenty of other tools you can use to light your shoot, including softboxes, bounce boards, umbrellas, and even strobe lights. Depending on how experimental you want to get, you can modify your lighting setup to add shadows, soften or sharpen the light, and change the color tone of the backdrop.
10. Tether your camera to your laptop
Reviewing photos on your camera can be distracting and time-consuming. Instead of scrolling through shots on an LCD screen, link your camera to a laptop or monitor so you can review your photos throughout the shoot. Don’t leave your laptop facing the model, though — it might be distracting.
Hoping to do a beauty product demo? Then check out these great salon sets you can rent on Peerspace for the perfect setting!
