This weekend I had the pleasure in providing hair and makeup for a vintage photoshoot in Saltaire, West Yorkshire. I had seen a post from Andrew Holland of A-H-Photography on a social media group that I am part of. Andrew was looking for a makeup artist to assist in a shoot he was planning with another photographer, Graham Binns.
I contacted Andrew last week and we put the wheels into motion! Andrew posted again to find a model, and one came along by the name of Becky Hill- AKA BeckyBizarre Makeup Artist. As well as being very beautiful, Becky has a alternative look about her, with an amazing variety of tattoos. Becky chose a red gingham dress for the shoot, and we contacted each other to decide on the style the shoot would be aimed around. With Becky's looks and the outfit she had chosen, Vintage Pin up became the natural choice!
Classic vintage makeup is all about matt skin, a heavy cat-eye, bright red lips and the all-important beauty spot. It wasn't hard to re-create this on Becky, and she also educated me in the process on the positioning of the beauty spot- apparently in the 40's and 50's, if a woman put her beauty spot on her cheek, this would mean she was single, where as if it was on the chin, it would signify she was married. This I never knew!
For the makeup I used Illamasqua skinbase foundation, and used my Real Techniques sponge for application. I used the Morphe 35W pallette for the eyes and just used a 2-stage technique for contouring of the eyes- a cream base and a mid-brown shade to add definition. For the cat-eye eyeliner I used Inglot AMC gel eyeliner in 77 and an angled eyeliner brush. As I needed this to be super-precise I had used tape as a guide before the application and then once it was removed used a small amount of concealer to correct any mistakes.
I used a nude pencil liner by NYX on the water line and the same brown Morphe shadow on the lower lashline for definition. Topshop cream blush was used for a creamy blush effect and the NARS bronzer in Laguna was used for powder contouring. The look was finished with a classic red lip which was from Soap and Glory in the shade Rougenie, and a beauty spot with a Black NYX pencil liner.
I also styled Becky's hair in a victory roll style, with one main roll on the right, and the left-hand side of her hair rolled to the back of her head. I was really pleased with the finished look and took it as a compliment that Becky also loved it too and was going to keep it on for the rest of the day! Becky is a working makeup artist in TV and film, who works mainly in London, so for me this was a great compliment.
During the makeup application Andrew was taking some photos of my kit, which I think look fabulous...
Next we moved to location. The first stop was at Albert Avenue, Saltaire. This is an old cobbled street in Saltaire, right behind the train station. This is where I got to relax and enjoy watching the shoot come to life! Andrew knew exactly the type of shoot he wanted and after a few test shots to check the lighting etc, they really got to work. Graham was also shooting at the same time, and it was great to watch the three of them working together, giving direction where needed and getting some great shots. I also took advantage and got some shots of my own, granted not on as good equipment! My other role at this time was to move on the pesky cat that made an appearance now and then!
Here are a couple of behind the scenes shots I took on the day, which I already love.
After about half an hour here, Andrew, Becky and Graham moved onto their next location- a mill just further up the road from the train station, Unfortunately this is where I had to leave the shoot as I had to get back to Huddersfield for my clients at re:hair & beauty salon, but I know that the three of them will have had a great time and got some more amazing shots. Here is just one of the final shots that Andrew has sent through so far:
I absolutely love the contrast of the styling, the setting, and Becky's distinctive look.
All in all it was a great morning. Andrew, Graham and Becky were true professionals, and also lovely people. It really is a fabulous part of this industry to meet new, talented people who are fabulous and what they do, have a clear passion and are also not afraid of sharing their knowledge to aid someone elses development.
So once I have the final shots, there will be uploaded for you all to see!
I hope you enjoyed this little blog on the behind-the-scenes of a photoshoot. Let me know any comments or questions you may have!
Vic xx