Photographed faces

[bethany1021]

I'm always seeing perfectly made up faces and the makeup is always on point. But when I do my own face (a full face, mind you), my make up doesn't even show up in photographs. What am I doing wrong? Am I not putting on enough?? What do these beautiful people do that makes their make up show up so vibrantly in pictures? 

[SistarPhilly]

I keep trying to take pics of my eyeshadow looks, but I can never get the different colors to show vibrantly in pictures.  I bought a selfie ring light and it really helps.  It adds a good amount of light to your pictures.  I got mine on Amazon for around $10.  But general rule, make sure you are facing a source of light when you take pics; the light should be shining on your face, not behind you.

[aykellymarie]

Nowadays especially with makeup being heavily influenced by social media and beauty bloggers and whatnot, there is definitely a style of makeup that is specific to special events and photography. For example, flash photography will dramatically wash out the way your makeup looks.. so go heavier on the blush/contour and choose that brighter lip color if you want it to be seen as vibrant in photographs. If you're planning for a special event, do a test run and snap a few shots at home, and adjust accordingly to achieve the look you want! Be careful with products with a high SPF as they may give "bounce back" (a white cast) when you're also being photographed with flash! Hope this helps 😊✨

[bethany1021]

@aykellymarie, Thank you. I religiously wear sunscreen because if I don't, I'm prone to hyperpigmentation from sun exposure so that could explain why I always seem to look so different in photographs. Do you know of any sunscreens that don't have that bounce back effect or do they all do that?

[liv545]

@aykellymarie I had no idea on the SPF thing. Just goes to show here's always more to learn! Thank you for the info. I've actually wondered that exact same thing myself. I put what I thought was a ton of makeup on only to have it barely show up in photos.

[skcfan]

@bethany1021 Makeup that photographs beautifully does not look the same up close as a more every day makeup look you're probably wearing. Hopefully someone who knows more than I do can comment on more specifics, but every wedding I've been in they have put so much blush on me that I think I look insane, but the pictures look perfect.