Analysing Advert 2 Shoot

Equipment:

-Johnson's Baby Lotion

-Mac Studio Fix Foundations in NC45 and NC50

-Nars Illuminator in Copacabana

-Real Techniques Contour Brush

-Pro LA Girl Concealer in Fawn

-Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent

-Real Techniques Setting Brush

-Rimmel London Eyebrow Pencil in Black Brown

-theBlam Bronzer in Bahama Mama

-Zoeva Luxe Sheer Cheek Brush

-Makeup Forever Pro Sculpting Duo in Golden

-Urban Decay Primer Potion

-Zoeva Luxe Soft Crease Brush

-Bare Minerals Shimmer Eyeshadow in Azure

-Urban Decay Flat Brush

-Mac Fix+

-Max Factor Wild Shadow Pot in Sapphire Rage

-Zoeva Luxe Petite Crease Brush

-Zoeva Pencil Brush

-Rimmel 24 Hour Supercurler Mascara

-Duo Lash Glue

-Ardell Demi Wispies

-the theBalm Nude Tude Eyeshadow Palette

Step by step:

1. I first applied Johnson's Baby Lotion to the skin to hydrate the skin. 

2. I mixed the Mac Studio Fix Foundations in NC45 and NC50 to match the model's skin tone. I then added some Nars Illuminator in Copacabana to the foundation mix and applied this all over the face and down the neck with the Real Techniques Contour Brush. 

3. I next applied the Pro LA Girl Concealer in Fawn under the eyes in a triangle shape, in the centre of the forehead, down the nose, on the cupids bow and on the chin to highlight and conceal those areas. I applied this on any imperfections too with my fingers. 

4. I powdered under the eyes with the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent and the Real Techniques Setting Brush on any other areas I want to be matte, like either side of the nose. 

5. I applied the Rimmel London Eyebrow Pencil in Black Brown to the eye brows by first lining the top of the eyebrows and then the bottom to create the shape I wanted; I then filled them in. 

6. I lightly contoured the cheek bones with theBlam Bronzer in Bahama Mama with the Zoeva Luxe Sheer Cheek Brush under the cheek bones, on the temples and either side of the nose. 

7. I applied the Makeup Forever Pro Sculpting Duo in Golden to the tops of the cheek bones, down the nose, on the cupids bow and lightly on the forehead. I did this with the Real Techniques Setting Brush. 

8. I applied some Urban Decay Primer Potion to the eye lids to prevent the eye shadow from creasing. 

9. I powdered over the top of the primer with Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent and the Real Techniques Setting Brush so that the powder eye shadows blend more seamlessly on top. 

10. I first blended the theBalm Bronzer in Bahama Mama into the crease as a transition colour and to warm the blue look up with the Zoeva Luxe Soft Crease Brush. 

11. I next added the Bare Minerals Shimmer Eyeshadow in Azure on the eye lid with the Urban Decay Flat Brush sprayed with Mac Fix+. 

12. I then blended Max Factor Wild Shadow Pot in Sapphire Rage into the crease and on the outer third of the eye lid and inner third. I did this with the Zoeva Luxe Petite Crease Brush for precision. 

13. I applied Max Factor Wild Shadow Pot in Sapphire Rage to the inner and outer third of the lower lash line with the Zoeva Pencil Brush. 

14. I applied the Bare Minerals Shimmer Eyeshadow in Azure with the Zoeva Pencil Brush to the centre of the lower lash line and blended the colours together. 

15. I applied a coat of Rimmel 24 Hour Supercurler Mascara to the top and bottom eye lashes. 

16. I added the Ardell Demi Wispies to the upper lash line with Duo Lash Glue. 

17. I applied the colour Sassy from the theBalm Nude Tude Eyeshadow Palette to the inner corner and on the brow bone with the Zoeva Pencil Brush. 

Makeup/Hair

I am so happy with how the makeup came out! I used a mixture of a cream highlight and a golden powder highlight and I love how dewy that made the skin look (SS16 trend), especially on her cupid's bow and tip of the nose! I really like how the skin on the body and face both have the same texture and dewiness because makes her look very complete and not as though she is wearing a mask of makeup just on her face. I used a shimmery body oil on the body to create the dewy look and added the powder highlight on top on the shoulders to intensify the glow. I am really happy I chose a matte lip because it contrasts with the glowing skin and metallic eyes; I think if the lips were glossy as well, they would have taken the attention away from the eyes and made them not as metallic looking. I am also happy that I chose this nude (Mac Taupe) because it is similar to the skin tone, but slightly more pink, so it is flattering but doesn't add any distracting colour. I like how the eye brows came out because they look very sharp and clean, but not too dark or dramatic, so they still look natural and don't pull too much focus. I think I could have used a bit of blush on her cheeks a similar colour to the lips to give the cheeks some colour; however I am still happy with how bronzed the cheeks look. I struggled to find a contour colour dark enough for her skin because all the contour colours I have looked too ashy, so I ended up using a dark brown eye shadow to contour her cheeks, nose and forehead. I am so happy with how the eyes came out because I think the combination of rich, warm blues compliment each other so beautifully. I love how big the eyes look with the darker blue on the inner and outer parts of the eye and the brighter turquoise in the middle because it created a spot light effect round her eyes, making them look very round and doll-like. I love how the metallic colours (SS16 trend) glow in this image against the flawless dewy skin because they are all such warm, rich shades. I used very natural looking fake eye lashes because I didn't want the eyes to look too dark and I didn't want the eye lashes to cover the blue around the eyes. 

I am happy with how the hair turned out because the hair looked so glossy and healthy. I curled the hair with curling tongs then put the hair in a middle parting as this was her natural parting and we both agreed it suited her better than a side parting. I ran my fingers through the curls to break them up and make them look more relaxed and bouncy. I really like how some of the curls catch the light to show how shiny they were and because it framed her face slightly. I love how the wind machine blew the curls backwards so that the hair was completely out of the face because the hair frames the face and there is no hair on the face distracting from the makeup. 

Lighting/Backdrop

I had a lot of trouble with the lighting, not because I didn't know where I wanted them positioned or what power to put them on, but because they weren't being very responsive to the censor. However once this was sorted I was really happy with how the lighting worked with the model. I used a soft box to the right of the model and slightly in front to achieve the shadow down the left side of her. I didn't want the light to be completely on the side because then it would create an unflattering shadow next to her nose. I like that the light catches her cheek bone on the left side because it gives her face shape, instead of completely blacking that side out. I used a reflector on the left side of her face to bounce some of the light back in to fill in any blacked out areas; however I didn't so much in this image because I liked having that black space there as it added mystery to the image. I used a soft box for the main light because I didn't want the light to be too harsh, like if I had used a beauty dish or a spill kill for example. I wanted the lighting to be very flattering on the skin and I liked how soft the light was from the soft box. I made sure that the lighting was far enough away from the backdrop so that it was completely black as I wanted it to look as clean and block colour as possible. 

Lighting Set Up

Model/Camera Set Up

The model I used is on the slightly larger size so I had to be clever with the angels I shot from. I knew that if I shot an image front on, then it would make her chest and arms look wide, so I took the shot with her shoulder in the foreground and then I cropped anything below the shoulder. I really like that she is looking back at the camera over her shoulder because it is very slimming as the only part of her body showing is the tip of the shoulder and the lighting almost cut the body size in half where there is a shadow. I also like that the shoulder covers any neck rolls so that it is just the face that is the focus. I think the should acts as a leading line towards the face, directing the eye to the model's makeup. My model is so naturally beautiful and she knew how to work her face for the camera so after I showed her an image of what I wanted, it wasn't an issue. I used a Canon camera; however I wasn't able to use a macro lens for this shoot as I was not using the university studios, meaning I had to use the lens the camera came with. I prefer to use a macro lens because you don't have to worry about the zooming in distorting the image and it means the camera is specifically designed to work at that distance; however I am still happy with the quality and focus on my image. 

PhotoShop

I used PhotoShop to improve the look of her skin using the technique called Frequency Separation to smooth out any uneven skin tone and to remove any imperfections. I found this the most difficult on her shoulder because I didn't want to lose the highlights created on her forehead from the highlighter; however I wanted to smooth away all the little bumps; I had to make a compromise by not making the skin look as perfect. I found a Mac logo with a high resolution and no background and added that onto my advert so that the Mac logo was perfect. I had to change this logo to white from black so that it looked bright against the black background. I also added more text from the font selections in PhotoShop and added the text 'Mineralise Skinfinish' as this is what the advert is advertising and this is how Mac cosmetics sets out their text on their adverts. I wasn't completely happy with the lighting because I wanted it to look more as though just a strip of light was being cast across her so I created a black layer beneath the main image and used the Eraser Tool to remove some of the image where I wanted the light to block it out. I am really happy with how natural this looks and I also think it is flattering on the model as it slims her down. 

FINAL IMAGE