Many people ask me about starting out in make up artistry. There is no easy answer. To start with what area of make up do you want to go into?

Fashion
Film and television
theatre (not as frequent work, you need to be able to do wigs too).
Teaching
Bridal and image consultancy

Once your sure of the area you want to go into its then a good idea to look at colleges that offer make up courses, both the Privately and local colleges. I agree with the old view that it takes you five years to be considered skilled and trained in your job. Many of the tricks that I use on a shoot were born of time, I did my training at college then learned how to do the job when I was out working. It doesn't happen overnight. I am still learning on site when I am out, this is a continuous learning curve we are on, enjoy it.

Gain as much experience as you can, when you start out you will be offered unpaid, portfolio work and low budget jobs. Take them if they will benefit your portfolio. You will learn little things doing this, if you can get work that will pay you well great but don't think that you are going to make it overnight. Everyone has to learn their craft, even Pat Mcgrath was a trainee once!

I am a big fan of make up brushes and the classic airbrush. Invest in your brushes and they will make your job easier, good brushes will last you for years. I rarely buy them from online companies, if you do, order one brush, see how it feels in your hand. What are the bristles like? I like different brushes for different jobs. Go to your nearest department store or make up supplier: Debenhams, Frasers, Boots, Screenface, Make up artist provisions to name but a few and look at the brushes they have on offer, ask questions. Most stores are happy to help you. I love Boots stores for make up as well as all the others I have listed because the staff are friendly and willing to help.

When it comes to airbrush, look into the companies, ask around about the various options that out there. Personally I have linked to the company I use and prefer on my blog and website.

What else can I say? Learn your craft, work hard and enjoy the job. Keep up to date with the latest techniques and know your market sometimes that's all that stands between you and the competition.

If your looking for more information then get online, there are dozens of sites that are tailored to make up and will have answers to all your questions, my favourite site for this model mayhem, a resource of artist, photographers, models and more.

Copy and paste this link and you can view a range of information that myself and some the best artist in the world have added to:

http://www.modelmayhem.com/p.php?thread_id=65200

James

I was in my garden today talking to my neighbour about make up in particular foundation and foundation brushes, and it inspired me to write this. I want to start with the most basic aspect of make up: foundation. Personally I prefer my airbrush foundation which is silicone based and looks fantastic on brides, films and fashion shoots. If you can't do airbrush everyday then look at your budget.

Most companies offer a good range of foundations. Personally I use mehron and rice powder foundation from Sally's, which are both cheap and really effective.

If you can't track them down then get to your local boots or any good make up retailer and look at the companies out there:

Loreal, Ruby and Millie, clinique and more are all available and will fit most budgets.

Brush wise I like smashbox and Rubie and Millie. There are loads of companies out there do your research and find out whats best for you. Go to the shops and look a them, feel the brush. Synthetics are my favourite, the hold the right amount of make up, the are easy to clean and are relatively inexpensive to. If you look after them they will last for years to. To keep them clean for non professionals, clean them once a week with shampoo, swirl the brush in the shampoo and rinse it clean, reshape the bristles and leave to dry.

For professionals I always say that you should keep isopropyl alcohol on hand for quick cleans and try to clean them properly with shampoo as you need to. If you have the time to sit at night, I find that last thing at night is the best I can then leave them overnight to dry and just pack them up for the next job.

Look after your brushes and they will look after you.

Good luck.

I have been working alot recently with different photographers and make up artist one of the most common questions I get is about airbrush make up. The best on the market? what make up to use? Should I give up conventional brush applied make up? How does it effect your work?

So I want to address this. Airbrush make up is expensive initially the cost of your kit is often the highest outlay but in the long term it does make your job easier. You are using less make up per face. On average its 10 drops of foundation to a face. 4 to 8 for eyes and around 6 for cheeks.

There are many companies on the market offering different options: Temptu, MAC, Dinair, Kett. Do your research, not everyone is going to like the same kit or the same make up.

Personally I like the Temptu S/B range for cosmetic work. I suggest looking at each of the companies and what they offer. An airbrush is a big investment. Make sure your happy with your choice.

Once you have your airbrush and you learn the basics of using it, its like any skill you need to practice it. I do most of my cosmetic work on shoots using the airbrush and apply embellishments like liner, mascara and lips by hand, sometimes adding little bits of make up throughout the shoot by hand: a bit more blush, bronzer, powder, a change of lip gloss etc.

Does it stop me working with brushes and using conventional make up? No. I like working by hand and sometimes you don't have access to a plug point or an air supply so I work by hand. I always make sure to have my powder eye shadow and blushers, make up brushes and other bits with me.


For many of the photographers I work with they love the airbrush work for digital photo's because they can get a natural look for glamour shoots, day, evening and bridal work looks good airbrushed, lifestyle shots can look fantastic to.

I use my airbrush on short films, photo shoots and many other jobs and love the way it looks.

For supplies of airbrush make up and kits use the following links:

http://www.impet2us.co.uk/
www.screenface.com
http://www.makeup-provisions.com/acatalog/Tattoo__Airbrush___Waterproof_Makeup.html

Training for airbrush:

www.jemmakidd.moodia.com/
http://www.airbrush-makeup.com/
http://www.woodbridgeproductions.co.uk/abfup.htm

The weekend of the 30th of June and 1st of July was a big weekend for me. I was involved in a massive event in Edinburgh through stock photography.com. I was hired (along with two others) to do make up for a range of models. It was a fantastic oportunity to gain new images for my portfolio.

All the models involved were extremely hardworking, all looked fantastic to be around and worked really hard. The photographers, both pro and semi pro were all easy to be around.

I can't wait to see the images.


James