A makeup must...

While having a lot of makeup on your face isn’t a requirement for a lifestyle portrait session…

…this one type is critical for most people.

During every lifestyle portrait session, there are a lot of variables in play with regards to capturing high-quality and compelling visual assets. 

A lot of them can be accounted for during a comprehensive strategy call. 

• Figuring out the types of promotional and lifestyle photos that need to be captured

• Identifying the types of wardrobe that will be worn in each scenario

• Zooming in on the various props and other materials that will be photographed

But the one variable that cannot be accounted for in a phone call is your skin. 

How does it react to the lighting? 

For some people, they have naturally balanced skin that shows up wonderfully in the images with little to no effort at all…

…and for that, you are all angels in my book :) 

But for others, their skin is naturally oily, and that can become an issue throughout their sessions. 

It’s not like this fact signals doom for the session - it’s just an added variable that needs to be accounted for before the camera comes out of the bag. 

Otherwise, there will be a lot of images where there is a lot of shine on their faces. 

Now, some shine is not the worst thing in the world, mind you. Shine, if in moderation and placed on the right parts of the face, add a level of dimensionality to the photo. 

Too much shine and it becomes a distraction. 

So what do you do?

You lean on your new best friend - foundation.

Foundation does an amazing job of toning down highlights on your face, while not being obnoxiously overt in its effort. 

I’ve worked with several clients - male and female - who have a container of foundation with them when they know a photographer will be working with them.

Whether it’s on a stage, in front of the room facilitating, or during their lifestyle portrait sessions. 

Now, I know that for some people, they simply don’t touch the stuff. And I get it. I’ve worn foundation for some video projects in the past and it feels so weird.

But, for the sake of protecting the value of your investment in professional photos, it’s something that needs to be taken quite seriously, especially if you have oily skin. 

The amount of time it takes to remove unflattering shine from your face will delay your ability to implement these photos. 

And, in some cases, if the shine is too strong to save in post-production, what otherwise is an awesome photo will now have to be trashed. 

As a result, be sure to at least have foundation on your face so that excessive shine will not be a deterrent to you having the opportunity to use any of the photos in your image portfolio.

If you are completely dead set against any form of makeup, there is another option. 

At various makeup counters, you can buy a pack of oil control blotting tissues. Truthfully, they’re not as good as foundation, but they at least help out the cause.

Keep all of this in mind before your next branded lifestyle portrait session - it’ll save you, your team, and the photographer a series of headaches on the backend of the shoot trying to fix all of these photos.