We all want to look our best on camera, but what do you do if you have dark circles under your eyes, or shiny skin on the day of the shoot? Here are our easy makeup and hair tips to help you create professional videos.
Does your talent have patches of shine on their face visible under the lights?
You have two options:
Get your talent to wash their face if they aren’t wearing any makeup. This will wash away any natural oils to minimise any shiny patches. If your talent isn’t wearing makeup and/or there’s no bathroom nearby to wash their face, ask them to ‘pat’ their face with some blotting paper. See Step 2 for more information about blotting paper.
Ask them to ‘pat’ their face with blotting paper if they are already wearing makeup. Blotting paper is a specialised thin paper that is used to absorb natural oil found on the skin's surface. You can purchase blotting paper at any makeup store. In Australia, try Sephora, Mecca Maxima, or even Priceline.
See some dry spots or cracked lips? Apply lip balm. It minimises the look of dry, cracked lips. You can also use lip balm for any other dry spots your talent might have.
Still shiny? Apply translucent powder with a makeup brush to create a matte effect on the skin. This will help to keep the oil away for longer and to minimise any extra shine. Translucent powder is appropriate for all skin tones and will not bleach the talent’s skin under lights.
Makeup application tips:
Once your talent has makeup on, take a photo in the lighting that you are filming under, to see what your talent will look like on camera. This also works well if the screen on the camera is too small for you to see whether your talent needs to re-apply makeup.
If your talent normally wears makeup, ask them to bring their own to set. This allows them to re-apply and touch up any makeup that might have rubbed off during the shoot.
Ask your talent to keep their makeup natural and on brand. Generally, there’s no need to have over-the-top makeup for a business update video!
Now that your talent’s makeup is perfect, have a quick look at their hair.
Crazy wispy hairs?
Usually, the issue of wispy hair is more noticeable when your talent is standing against a background that contrasts with their hair colour.
There are three ways to fix this issue:
Hair spray. If there are many uncontrollable wispy hairs, apply a small amount of hairspray to a new toothbrush and use it to comb back any wisps.
De-frizz oil. You only need a small amount of the De-frizz oil. Squirt a little into your hands, then rub them together before applying the oil to the hair, smoothing down the wispy hairs.
Bobby pins. For longer wispy hairs, use a bobby pin to secure them to the talent’s head directly.
SOS makeup kit for video:
Create a makeup kit to bring to every video shoot for any emergency touch-ups.
Here at Shootsta, we have a makeup kit which includes:
Blush brush
Translucent powder
Blotting paper
Hairspray
De-frizz oil
Bobby pins and hair elastics
Toothbrush to comb down hair
Lip balm
Safety pins
There are many other aspects to plan for when filming a video, for more information check out our article on How to plan for a video.