A knowledgeable and experienced PROFESSIONAL makeup artist shod know how to apply makeup for various kinds of photography. To start with ordinary "street" makeup or "evening" makeup may not be suitable for photography nor is theatrical (stage) makeup or extremely stylized out of the box extreme makeup necessarily good for the average portrait client. What might be suitable for a fashion shoot may not be appropriate for a traditional portrait, corporate portrait or a standard business head-shot. Nowadays, even some modeling and theatrical agencies require more natural images without extreme "shading" or retouching so the can better assess the natural attributes of applicants and potential hires. Inversely, publicity portraits of actors, models, and other personalities may require the "full treatment"! This why it is important to plan the session accordingly so the results will be a good fit for the eventual usage of the images.
In a city where the is a great deal of the fashion industry, fashion advertising and model agency activity, there may be a pool many experienced makeup artists that understand the requirements for various kinds of photography otherwise you may be at the mercy of less experienced operators, folks affiliated with a local beauty salon or hairdresser, or a person who specialized in wedding party makeup. There is always the chance the makeup will be overdone or insufficient. Some of the basic no-nos to avoid are uneven application of makeup that does not continue and blend on to the neck and upper chest or overly flat makeup that negates all specular highlights- not do you want a greasy or shiny look, however, there are many more technicalities to consider.
As a photographer, you may have to guide your client or the makeup artists but there are lots of variables and one method or approach does not fit all cases.
The first step is to speak to your client in advance and determine their requirements and expectations. Some folks use minimal makeup, no makeup or are pretty good ad applying their personal cosmetics. The job is to plan the makeup for the requirement and type of shoot and coordinate it with your corrective lighting and photographic methods.
For example- In my particular classic portraiture method, I approach makeup to correct certain blemishes, lines, certain wrinkles or specific issues lie dark pigmentation under eyes, etc. I, however, prefer to shape or sculpt the face of the subject with light and posing techniques and also address certain issues like deep-set eyes, long or short noses, asymmetrical facial structure, double chins, heavy or very thin facial structures, etc, in my shooting strategies. I routinely do gentle retouching or post-processing corrections.
In a fashion shoot, oftentimes the emphasis is on the clothing and the lighting for the fabric, fur, or leather, or synthetic material may not necessarily be flattering for the face of the model. The ligh may be too flat, too washed or (as top brightness and contrast) and lack modeling and dimension. In the absence of portrait-like lighting, the makeup artist will add shading, color, tone, and accentuate or destitute certain facial features such as cheekbones, eyebrows, lip lines, etc. Applying this kind of corrective makeup in a traditional portrait may become too obvious or look extremely overdone. In a soft-focus image or where some optical diffusion is applied in shooting, heavier makeup may blend in better.
So...how do you advise your client or a not-so-experienced makeup artist? Being a guy, I knew as much about makeup application as I did about brain surgery- enough to know I didn't want to do it myself to give folks the wrong advice. I asked my wife, who never uses makeup except for lipstick and has a perfect complexion. I asked the good makeup artists that I encounter on my commercial assignments and I did some research online and in books. The problem is, styles and trends change, there are different strokes for different folks, age issues and more. So I have attached a link (from F/stoppers) that gives y'all some idea of current trends. I have a printout of these articles which I give to clients and rookie makeup artists. It has some interesting guidelines and tips.
Another approach is networking. I work with various estheticians and cosmetologists that work with local salons, spas, and hairdressers- the gals that sell makeup. If you speak with these folks you will get the lats information on all the various kinds of makeup products, lipsticks eye shadow, liners and lash makeup.- the works. You also need to familiarize your makeup artist with your lighting methods. If you read int the linked literature you will note that many makeup artists assume "flash" photography will yield skin tones that are too bright. This is why I mention "fashion" light in a previous paragraph. Also, back in the film era, many kinds of makeup contained certain additives such as ultra-violet brighteners that fluoresce with electronic flash lighting which does have UV content. Digital sensors, however, do not react in the same way as many color films- especially transparency materials which were commonly used in commercial fashion photography.
If you routinely recommend makeup or use the services of a good makeup artist, you shod run some tests with your lighting methods and equipment and determine the best combination of makeup products. Natural daylight, tungsten, LED or other forms of existing light may present very different results.
I seldom recommend makeup for men, however, I have used it on guys with bad so-called 5 o'clock shadow that wanna look clean-shaven. Some men want the stubble, scruffy, rugged unshaven look- it depends. Beards are in. For the 5 o'clock thing we use a ligh powder and call it "dry-shave for the guys who think makeup is a too feminine solution.
For traditional portraiture, I usually do not recommend any extreme stylization of makeup. A classic portrait should never become overly dated. Of course, styles change, hairstyles come and go but conservative approaches have better visual longevity. I have noticed while watching television, even some of the news anchors are heavily made up- it is beginning to look lie a bad embalming job! Even the guys are washed out and too smooth. There seems to be a trend toward super pale skin times- even on people of color and exaggerated lipstick! It doesn't look too bad on my old CRT set in the den but on the high-def. flat screen, it looks like something out of the "Adams Family" or the "Munsters"! I suppose it's a matter of taste so govern
yourselves accordingly!
Look this up:
https://fstoppers.com/originals/makeup-artist-dishes-working-photography-and-video-298822