– MAKEUP AND BEAUTY

 Makeup and beaut

y is my topic of choice for my unit three personal project in photography. This topic has caught my attention as it offers a lot for me to explore within photography, as well as develop my own individual style. As makeup and beauty are also things that I hold close to my own heart, I feel that this topic is something that will retain my interest throughout the duration of the project and allow me to be really creative – it’s a topic that I think I won’t get stuck on ideas for nor feel uninspired with either. Makeup and beauty are highly prevalent in society today and they have become a big part of everyday life. You see the evidence of this everywhere in daily life such as in magazines, on TV, on fashion catwalks and by celebrities – this in turn has created pressure on young girls, and some young boys too, to find interest in makeup, in turn widening the audience that is exposed to the beauty industry. In terms of photography, the beauty industry have used the technological advances in photography today to create the ‘perfect picture’ when in advertising or promoting a new makeup product as there are now programs like Photoshop that have features allowing photographers to change and manipulate images into what the client wants. This again adds to the pressure in society of people now wanting to be aesthetically ‘perfect’. Makeup and beauty is also present in other places such as on stage and in theater. This exposes a whole new side of makeup, like special effects and horror makeup (that is also evident in films too). This kind of makeup portrays the more fun and versatile side of makeup and the different outcomes you can create – these may not necessarily be ‘pretty’ either. Instead they may hold an uglier edge, or be something unique and weird. Some of the biggest makeup brands now use this kind of edge to attract an audience. By creating an unpractical look that is not designed for everyday use captures the eye more, and this is where the aid of photography can come in too. Lightening and set is important for these kinds of looks as it can help to create an atmosphere and change the overall feel of an image. Portrait photography is the most likely form of photography in terms of cropping and positioning for makeup and beauty. This is so the makeup can be clearly seen as well as the facial features and expression (this can completely change a look) and the angles of the face too (in today’s society this is something that is being seen more of, especially in the professional industry, as it’s considered fashionable and is the ‘it’ thing to see the angles and hollows on the face). Other forms of photography are being seen more of now too though as makeup has closely merged with the fashion industry and therefore entire looks with costumes are being photographed a lot too (especially for big fashion magazines) and therefore the whole body is being captured. Entire sets are also being used to enhance looks and add more emotion to an image. Makeup is a very versatile industry as it can be applied and photographed anywhere. Some of the most interesting images are not simply done in a made-up set or in a studio, but on location in e.g. in the water, in a city, on a beach etc. and all this helps to create the overall vibe the image gives off. Though makeup is evident to have been around and used for thousands of centuries within humanity and has been embraced by many different cultures and interpreted and used in their own way, photography has not. Thomas Wedgwood was the first person to invent the camera in 1790, and since then there have been many technological advances to the

1. 2. photography quality we have today and withthe cameras we have today too. For example, digital photography did not come around till the mid-late 1900s, and with it being such an expensive art, there weren’t many people before the 21st century could afford to have a camera or be exposed to photography. Over time there were many photographers and inventors that then contributed to the development of the photography technology. Makeup and beauty photography itself has adapted over time with the idea and use of makeup becoming more prevalent in society along with the more recent high-fashion, editorial and artistic side to makeup that we see today. As mentioned though makeup has been around for such a long time, it really started to become and everyday fashionable item in the 1920s with the arrival of the ‘Flappers’. Show business was at all-time high and everyone wanted to look like their favourite stars and celebrities, who were photographed for all kinds of prestigious publications and advertisements. Over time, makeup became an iconic part of society and it has gradually become more and more acceptable. Every decade sees a different iconic look, whether it’s the long lashes, smokey doll eyes of the 1960’s teamed with pale lips, or the bright and vibrant hues that were worn throughout the 1980s, there is a multitude of different looks that have famously been photographed. Makeup in photography is also now being interpreted in different ways, and gone are the days of regular, wearable looks that were only seen in publications and photographed for art. The 21st centuary welcome a whole new kind of makeup and beauty photography, where models were no longer ‘perfect’ and looks could be as wild and as crazy as the heart desired. The way in which beauty is now perceived in society is different and therefore photography adapted with it, embracing the alien, unique and artistic looks that were now being seen and created by people everywhere. As the makeup world has such strenuous links with the fashion world and therefore with fashion photography, entire theatrical sets were being to emerge more for the sake of on photo and the idea of beauty and makeup photography strictly being portraiture work or a product for advertising was gone. Two photographers that are currently working in the area of makeup and beauty photography are Becky Van Ommen and Akos. Becky Van Ommen is a photographer form the Philippians who started her career in the industry at the age of 19 under top commercial photographer Francis Abraham. She is now based in London. Her work has strong cultural influences from both Holland and Nepal, and her style includes a unique blend of highly technical digital effects and traditional art, resulting in surreal conceptual imagery. She has worked for a number of prestigious clients since graduating from Ateneo de Manila University such as McDonalds, Nokia, Lynx and Pepsi to name a few and has an extensive body of work spanning the commercial industry. Nevertheless though, it was her work in the fashion and beauty industry that caught my attention themost, with Becky having photographed for numerous magazines and various fashion/beauty labels. This photo by her really caught my attention due to its contemporary execution and modern look. The photo is very clean and sterile, with only one colour (white) being present in the photo. The makeup in the photo reflects that seen in high-fashion or conceptual photography, making it a visually interesting piece as it’s not an