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Tips for photoshoots

As a photographer I have undertaken lots of beauty/fashion shoot and from my experiences, I have complied the following "tips" that would help one to prepare for the shoot.

These tips applies to any photoshoot:

Have a good night sleep. Have a good rest the night before. At times the photoshoot can take many hours, can be very tiring and it is hard work. Therefore you will need to have energy to last you for the whole session of the shoot. Yawning during the shoot will make you very unpopular with shoot team. The other advantage is that you do not want to have those puffy eyes. Do you? You do not want to get on the wrong side of your photographer and the whole team!

No alcohol the night before, as this will make your skin dry, your breath foul, not to mention that you may behave unprofessional and project a wrong impression to the team working on the shoot. In addition avoid spicy dishes, as well as food which makes you feel bloated. You do not want unpleasantly smelling perspiration or even worse - uncontrollable gases. Both will make you feel embarrassed and they can be avoided, easily.

At any shoot the makeup artist will apply various cosmetics which may irritate and dehydrate your skin. Therefore, drink lots of water to keep your skin hydrated. Clean your makeup very well the night before and wash your hair. Both skin and hair should be fresh and natural, which will help give the natural look in your image.

Do not apply any makeup or hair products on the day of the shoot, as professional makeup for photography purposes is completely different to your daily makeup and your hair will be difficult to manage.

Get rid of any body or facial hair as you do not want them to be visible on the images. Although current day IT technology can remove them in post shoot processing, i.e. retouching, but your preparation would help this to the minimum. Again, do not leave it until the night before or the morning of the shoot, as any redness or irritation of the skin will be noticeable and not all of it can be retouched. Be careful with tanning too, as swimming suit/lingerie white marks are undesirable and difficult to hide. Very dark or orange coloured complexion is not a good idea either.

During the shoot, be polite and pay attention to what is being said to you - listen to the instruction given by those working with you, as these people will have many years of experience in modelling/fashion industry, they know what they are doing.

Simile as it will put you in a great frame of mind and smiling always helps, it will also motivate you.

You need to able to enjoy your time in front of the camera, so preparation is a key to your success.