Trust Your Makeup Artist Before a Photoshoot
Sharing why trust matters most when you're in the makeup chair before a big shoot
After more than 25 years as a celebrity makeup artist in the San Francisco Bay Area, I’ve learned something that has absolutely nothing to do with the latest foundation, the perfect lipstick, or whatever beauty trend is having a moment.
Great makeup starts with trust.
I’ve worked with celebrities, athletes, brides, executives, models, and women who simply want to look and feel beautiful for an important photograph. And one thing I know for sure is that the makeup you love looking at in your bathroom mirror isn’t necessarily the makeup that will photograph best.
That’s where trusting your makeup artist comes in.
What Looks Good in Person Can Look Very Different on Camera
One of the examples I talk about in my video is black liquid eyeliner.
I love a great liner. But for a photoshoot, a strong black liquid line can sometimes photograph harsher than you expect. Depending on your coloring, eye shape, lighting, wardrobe, and the overall look we’re creating, I may recommend a softer brown, a beautifully blended pencil, or even shadow along the lash line instead.
That doesn’t mean I’m not listening to you.
Actually, it’s the opposite.
I’m listening to what you want while also thinking about how the makeup is going to translate through the camera.
There is a big difference between doing someone’s makeup for dinner and doing makeup for professional photography, television, a red carpet, or a headshot. The camera sees things differently.
Your Makeup Artist Should Still Listen to YOU
Trust goes both ways.
I never want someone sitting in my chair feeling uncomfortable or like she doesn’t recognize herself. If you hate a certain color, don’t feel like yourself in a particular lip, or absolutely cannot stand something I’m doing, tell me.
You are allowed to speak up.
A good makeup artist should listen to you, understand your comfort zone, and then use their experience to guide you.
Sometimes I’ll say, “Trust me on this one.”
But that trust has to be earned.
My goal has never been to turn a client into someone else. I want you to look in the mirror and see you—just beautifully polished, confident, and camera-ready.
Why Professional Photoshoot Makeup Is Different
When I’m doing makeup for a photoshoot, I’m thinking several steps ahead.
I’m thinking about the lighting. The photographer. The wardrobe. Your skin. The colors around you. Whether the photographs are going to be close-up. Whether we’re shooting indoors or outside. And, most importantly, how everything is going to work together once you’re in front of that camera.
Sometimes the tiniest adjustment makes an enormous difference.
A softer liner. A little less powder. Strategic highlighting instead of putting glow everywhere. A lip color with slightly more depth so it doesn’t disappear in photographs.
These aren’t necessarily things you would notice standing two feet away from the mirror—but you may absolutely notice them in the final images.
Feeling Beautiful Matters Just as Much as Looking Beautiful
This is the part people sometimes forget.
If you feel uncomfortable with your makeup, that can affect the way you carry yourself. And when you’re in front of a camera, confidence matters.
I want my clients walking onto a set feeling beautiful—not worrying about their eyeliner or wondering whether they have too much makeup on.
When you feel good, you relax. You smile differently. You move differently.
That confidence is something no makeup product can create.
Communication Is Everything
If you’re having your makeup professionally done for a photoshoot, wedding, headshot, television appearance, or special event, talk to your artist.
Bring inspiration photos. Tell them what you love. Tell them what you don’t love. Let them know what makes you feel most like yourself.
And then be open to their expertise.
You hired a professional for a reason.
I’ve spent decades learning what works on different faces, different skin tones, different ages, and under different types of lighting. I’m always going to listen to my client—but I’m also going to tell you when I believe there’s another choice that will photograph more beautifully.
That’s the relationship you want with your makeup artist.
Not someone who simply puts makeup on your face.
Someone who sees you, listens to you, and knows how to bring out the very best version of you.
And sometimes, yes, that means I’m going to ask you to put down the black liquid eyeliner and trust me. 😂💄
XO, Christina
Christina Flach is a celebrity makeup artist and beauty expert based in the San Francisco Bay Area, working throughout San Francisco, Marin, Napa, Silicon Valley and beyond.