None of this is a new routine. If you already cleanse, moisturise and wear sunscreen, carry on exactly as you are. The run-up to a shoot is about not giving your skin anything new to react to, and about turning up in a state a make-up artist, or you with your own make-up bag, can work with quickly.
The week or two before
Don't start anything new
Most active ingredients take six to twelve weeks to show a result, and a new one can irritate your skin within days. So a new serum, acid or retinol in the fortnight before a shoot is all risk. The same goes for a new cleanser or moisturiser. Use what your skin already knows.
Book treatments early
Facials, peels, waxing and threading all leave skin red for a while, and some people break out after them. Give a facial or a peel a week or more to settle, and waxing or threading a couple of days. Having any of them done the day before a shoot is asking for trouble.
Exfoliate gently, and not the night before
If you exfoliate, keep to your usual two or three times a week at most, and make the last one two or three days before the shoot. Overdoing it brings on redness and sensitivity, which is the opposite of what you want on camera.
Stay out of the sun
Sunburn and tan lines are hard to hide and tedious to retouch. Wear at least SPF 30 every morning, and cover up if you're outdoors for long. Ask the photographer before you use fake tan: it can mark the clothes you're given to wear, and it changes the colour a make-up artist has to match.
The last few days
Sleep, water, and less salt and alcohol
You can see the difference between well-rested skin and skin that's short of sleep, and nothing in a bottle makes up for it. Aim for seven to nine hours in the nights before. Drink plenty of water, because dehydrated skin looks dull and shows fine lines more. Go easy on salty food, which makes you puffy, especially round the eyes, and on alcohol, which dries your skin out and makes it red.
Leave spots alone
A spot is routine to cover with make-up or to take out afterwards. A spot you've picked is neither, because broken skin is far harder to hide. Keep your hands off your face generally. Most people touch theirs dozens of times an hour without noticing, and every touch puts whatever is on your hands on to your skin.
The rest of you is in the picture too
Moisturise your arms, legs, elbows, knees and hands for a few days beforehand, because dry skin shows up in a full-length shot. If you shave, do it the evening before so any redness has time to go down. Look after your lips with a plain balm. Keep your nails clean and neat, and bare or plain unless the brief says otherwise. Chipped polish is the thing everyone notices in a close-up.
On the day
Arrive with a clean, moisturised face and no make-up, unless you've been told otherwise. A make-up artist wants to start from bare skin, and taking off what you arrived in costs time and leaves your skin redder than it was.
If there's a make-up artist
Tell them before they start about any allergies, about products your skin has reacted to, and about anything that's sore or broken out. They would much rather know. If make-up artists often struggle to match your skin tone, bring your own foundation as a backup. Some sunscreens leave a pale cast under flash, so for a studio shoot ask whether to leave yours off. Outdoors, wear it.
If you're doing your own
Most TFP shoots have no make-up artist. Ask the photographer what look they want and do it at home, or on set if there's time and a mirror. Skin shines under studio lights, so bring powder or blotting papers and check between looks.
What to bring
- A light moisturiser and a clear lip balm.
- Make-up wipes for quick corrections.
- Powder or blotting papers.
- Your own concealer and foundation, in case.
- Hand cream, if your hands will be in shot.
How to work with a photographer has the full bag list and the rest of the day.
If your skin plays up anyway
It happens to everyone. A breakout the night before isn't a reason to cancel, and attacking it will make it worse. If it's a bad one, tell the photographer beforehand so they can plan the light and the framing. Some retouching of a spot is normal. Retouching you into someone else is not, because your pictures have to look like the person who turns up next time.
Foundation and good lighting only go so far. Congested, irritated skin shows through on camera.
If you have acne that won't clear, or skin that reacts to nearly everything, see a dermatologist. That's a medical question and no blog post will settle it.
Afterwards
Take everything off properly that night. Shoot make-up is heavier than what you'd wear day to day, and sleeping in it blocks your pores. A cleansing oil or balm dissolves it, and your usual cleanser after that deals with the skin underneath. Then moisturise and leave your face alone.
Make-up artists join SaltBrite as well as models and photographers, and their profiles say what kind of work they do.
Questions people ask
Should I wear make-up to a photoshoot?
Arrive with a clean, moisturised face and no make-up unless you've been told otherwise. A make-up artist wants to start from bare skin. If there isn't one, ask the photographer what look they want and do it yourself.
What should I do to my skin the week before a shoot?
Keep to your normal routine and don't start any new product, because a new active ingredient can irritate within days and takes weeks to help. Have facials, peels, waxing and threading done well ahead so any redness can settle, and stay out of the sun.
What if I get a spot before a shoot?
Leave it alone. A spot is routine to cover with make-up or to retouch, and one you've picked is much harder to hide. If it's a bad breakout, tell the photographer beforehand.
Can I use fake tan before a shoot?
Ask the photographer first. Fake tan can mark the clothes you're given to wear, and it changes the colour a make-up artist has to match, so it needs agreeing in advance.
Join SaltBrite
Put your book where it can be seen
Join as a model, add five photos and a person reviews your profile before it goes live.
Join as a model
