Inspiration for my Face Mask photoshoot

To accompany my article I wanted to have a picture of a model with either a face mask on, or with sand stuck to her face to mimic rough, flaky skin. I wanted it to be obvious in the picture that it was sand and that is was only mimicking dry skin. I think that the one showing the face mask would be more relevant to my article but still would like to play around with the sand to see the results.

Grossman, M. (2014) The best face mask for your skin type. Available at: http://stylecaster.com/beauty-high/best-face-mask-for-your-skin-type/#_a5y_p=2935737 (Accessed: 3 December 2015).

November 2010 - page 32 of 113 (2010) Available at: http://www.eyeshadowlipstick.com/date/2010/11/page/32/ (Accessed: 3 December 2015).

Thorn, K. (2014) 13 simple tricks to get clear skin overnight. Available at: http://www.brit.co/clear-skin-overnight/?utm_campaign=pinbutton_hover (Accessed: 3 December 2015).

and, D. N. and Nelson, D. (2013) Stunning photography inspiration. Available at: http://www.fromupnorth.com/photography-inspiration-676/ (Accessed: 3 December 2015).

(no date) Available at: http://images.totalbeauty.com/uploads/editorial/articles/321/thumb-totalbeauty-logo-15-homemade-face-masks.jpg (Accessed: 3 December 2015).

Lighting for Editorial & my 'Get the Gloss' shoot

Lighting is very important for editorial beauty shoots. Different lighting affects how the skin appears on camera, how bright the eyes are and the colour payoff you see from the make up. There are several different set ups that can be used to take your picture and which you choose depends on a number of things. 

• The age of your model and condition of their skin. Softer lighting is more flattering on anyone with problem skin, or someone of an older age. Soft-boxes are great for this. If you know your model has flawless skin then you can get away with using a harsher light. 
• Are you shooting close ups, body shots or both? Close ups should be shot with a beauty dish as the light is more concentrated in one area, where as Soft-boxes diffuse the light more so are perfect for full body shots or shooting multiple people.
• Work with your idea's. If your design calls for a harsher/softer lighting then go with it. The lighting is a tool to benefit your design for example if you think that it would look best with very dramatic lighting and half the face in shadow.

As the main thing I wanted to stand out in my images is the glossiness of the make up, I needed lighting that would help emphasise this. I decided as I was shooting close ups and my model had nice skin,  I would use a beauty dish directly in front of the model and two soft boxes on either side. This lighting set up insured that whichever way my model turned or moved, there was light coming sideways across the face to catch the gloss on the eye or cheek. I found the shine showed up the most far more when she stood side on or diagonally instead of facing the camera head on. 

McKim, J. K. (2013) Secrets to crafting top-quality beauty portraits: Studio lighting. Available at: https://fstoppers.com/studio/secrets-crafting-top-quality-beauty-portraits-studio-lighting-8426 (Accessed: 25 November 2015).

Beauty Illustration

I tried to design an illustration of a tube of moisturiser I could use in my project. I wanted the design to look quite cartoony and sketchy. I didn't end up using this drawing as it didn't fit the look of my final article, but I enjoyed experimenting with illustration and how to work it into a project and the design of the page.

Article intro & Trend Feature Captions

Article intro: With Winter looming, it is important to start giving your skin some extra TLC. A smooth, moisturised canvas is essential to a polished make up application, especially with the sheeny finishes were seeing on catwalks this A/W. Inject some extra moisture into your routine with the addition of Serums and Oils. I love the Aesop Parsley Seed Anti Oxidant Serum - If you don't like the feel of heavy oils on your face then this is the one for you! Bursting with super hydrating and soothing Aloe Vera, this gel like serum delivers soft and soothed skin overnight. Prefer something even more nourishing? Try an overnight treat like the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask. Simply slather on in the evening and wake up to peachy, plump skin.

Captions for each trend feature look:

The new office chic. Pep up tired weekday make up by defining the eyes in subtle berry tones and swap matte lipstick for a gloss in a creamy beige. We love the Charlotte Tilbury Lip Lustre in Bardot Beige for a high shine finish. Pretty and professional!

For a fresh take on the Vampy lip, keep lids nude and sheeny for an undone look and let the berry lip do the talking! For a colour that will hold all night, try the By Terry Velvet Rouge in Bohemian Plum.

Who says dewy skin is just for Summer? Exude off duty cool all year round with an 'I woke up like this' glow and berry stained lips. Get the look by popping MAC Cream Colour Base in Pearl on the cheekbones, nose, cupids bow and anywhere else that catches the light.

Product Shots

As my product shots were going into my article, I knew I wanted to keep them simple and something that I could cut out easily and place onto my page. Also as I am writing about skincare, the products aren't as fun to smear out and photograph as they are mostly all white and hard to differentiate between. I knew that I needed separate shots of each product against a white background to cut out and use in my article, but also wanted to capture the products all together and try adding some props to create more interesting photo's. I really like this first image I took with the citrus fruits and lily although I don't feel like this layout is something that you would see on the type of magazine article I am hoping to produce. For this reason I am not including it in my article or on my final page as I just don't think it fits my theme, article or colour palette, but I had fun experimenting with the props to see what I could create.  

Make up trials

This is my practise for the first of my designs. I used a semi matte foundation so that the skin looked matte but not lifeless. I used a pale pink shadow on my lid and blended a plum shade into the crease. I feel like the lips need to be glossier and will keep this in mind when re creating this look for my shoot.

This is the practise for my second design. I used the same lip colour as in the third design but blended it over my lips to create a stain. I used a bronze shadow on the lids and added highlighter to the high points of my face to create a strobed effect. 

For the third design I started by applying a nude gloss to the lids. I decided that I wanted a more opaque effect, so mixed a nude shade out of MAC Lip Mix and applied the nude gloss on top. I was happier with this result so this is what I will apply to my model at the shoot. I will powder the skin more when it comes to shooting as I would like it to be more matte with no shine on the forehead etc. 

Face Charts

These are the face charts I have created for my three designs. 

Look One: The Polished Pout

Look Two: The Winter Glow

Look Three: The New Vamp