MUA for EllieFunDay, Fall 2014 Photoshoot!

It was such a pleasant surprise to receive an e-mail from Sarah, the Chief Blankie Crafter and 

Co-Founder of EllieFunDay! Talking with her several years back at a mutual friend's wedding, and following their blog, you can sense the passion and love she has for EllieFunDay and the women that are empowered through it. Please take some time to browse through their website and see what they are all about :)

So it turned out, they were going to do a photoshoot! Yay! Introducing,

THE GODDESS SWADDLE WRAP

Who: Janine (Model)

What: Fall 2014 Photoshoot for EllieFunDay

Photographer: Calvina Photography

Sarah was great about sharinging her vision for the photo shoot. We were able to talk on the phone about the look and feel she was going for. She also sent me some photos that reflected her ideas... fancy design pages that made me go, "Ooh! Wow!" 

I met Janine at her place to help with hair and makeup. Looking back, it still amazes me that she was able to juggle and balance life with a toddler and a newborn that day and STILL rock out her photoshoot with her baby!

MAKEUP

Before and After

Yes, not exactly the best lighting, and photos taken with my iphone... but you get the idea :)

Look: Glowy, goddess, waking up in the morning fresh

To get Janine's lips just right, I mixed about seven different lipcolors!

HAIR 

Before and After

Cool facts: Sarah made the flower crown and the pillowcase dress Janine wears in the photoshoot!

Thanks Janine for sending this one over! 

EllieFunDay Goddess Swaddle Wrap Gallery

That was fun!

On a side note, Honey and I were able to visit Sarah and Elton at their EllieFunDay booth at the Renegade Craft Fair in SF this past July. Seeing photos of their blankets is one thing, but feeling how soft and luxurious they actually are is something completely different and wonderful! 

Keep up the good work Sarah and Elton! Looking forward to more of your adventures :)

MUA for New Studio & Photographer

I while back, Matthew from Matthew Basile Photography and Design contacted me to see if I'd be interested in helping out with makeup and hair for a beauty shoot to test out a new studio space in San Jose. Yes! Of course I was! I had been taking a break from booking any jobs due to the birth of my 2nd son, but man was I ready to get back into it! That, plus the excitement of working with another photographer and checking out another studio really intrigued me.

New studio workspace for Matthew Basile Photography - LOVED the bright tangerine colors with the happy vibe. So inviting...Look! There's my trusty makeup & hair bag and kit, making themselves at home in the brightly lit corner.

Who: Vannessa (Model)

What: Beauty Shoot for New Studio Test

Where: San Jose Studio

Photographer: Matthew Basile Photography and Design

Matthew was very professional and introduced me to the model, Vannessa, when she arrived. Vannessa was great! I loved chatting with her and working on her super photogenic features.

Before and After taken with my iphone

Before and After taken by the professional :)

I applied Vannessa's makeup with tones that would go well with the different colored outfits she had brought with her. Once I finished her hair with some volume and curls, she was ready for her photos with Matthew!

Behind the scenes

Matthew was great with giving directions and suggestions, explaining how certain shots would turn out, even if it meant making certain angles with the body and face that might have seemed a little awkward at first.

The metal wall you see there is actually like a garage door! Matthew was able to help me open it during the makeup application so that I'd get plenty of natural light.

Photographer and Model hard at work!

Curious to see how the photos turned out? Thanks Matthew for sending these over!

I like this one!

I always love hearing how the models I work with get their start. For Vannessa, it was doing a modern day Disney Princess photo shoot for her friend. I guessed Belle right away because of the similarities in Vannessa's hair and features... and I was right!!! She WAS Belle!

Do you see it?

Another one of my favorites

It was a pleasure working with both Matthew and Vannessa! If you're looking for a photographer to get some studio shots in, please click here to check out his website. He's really good with communicating and getting back to you with whatever questions you may have in a timely manner.

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LADIES... on a side note, I do want to remind you to BE SAFE if you ever go into a studio for shoots with a photographer that you are unfamiliar with. Vannessa wisely brought her boyfriend with her. Other models in past shoots I've worked in have also brought their mothers, significant others, or a friend along to play is safe. You don't want to ever be caught in a sticky or dangerous situation! Know all the details about the shoot and what the agreed upon expectations are.  I myself always google the address and area surrounding first, to get an idea for how the neighborhood is. I'll read up on the photographer and any reviews that come up on the internet, as well as try to check out as much of their work as possible prior to meeting in person. I also let my husband know the address where I'll be, and text him when I arrive and leave a photo shoot. Thank God everything has always worked out nicely! If I ever had a sense that something wasn't right, I'd book it out of there! ...okay so that being said, Matthew was great :) The door to the studio was open and welcoming, Matthew was friendly but kept a good professional distance, and he explained everything that he was doing! He was also open to Vannessa's boyfriend hanging out during the shoot.

Rapper, Songwriter, Model, Artist: Mindy Suga!!!

Photo courtesy Ricci Photo Art

Who: Artist Mindy Suga

What: Photoshoot for Album Cover 

Where: Santa Clara Studio

Photographer: George Ricci

This shoot happened all the way in July! WHERE has the time gone?!? Again, another perfect opportunity to push out this post in time for Halloween :)

George had contacted me earlier to see if I'd be interested in helping out with the makeup prep. Some key notes I took in from George's e-mails to help create Mindy's look:

"The shoot is suppose to deliver some dramatic images for Mindy Suga's (stage name) cd cover.

She a rapper and models. She's the model doing the Pris shoot:

http://www.meetup.com/Bay-Area-Artistic-Shoots/events/122770642/ her

MM is on the site so you can get her look.

I'm dressing her in a long white velvet hooded cape with red latex

looking lingerie under the cape. Obviously, I'll need the eyes to hold

up to that outfit. With maybe a blue/black lipstick and

fingernails I want something to make people notice her.She'll probably

have some gold accessories. I want a wayout eye

look; so, I'm thinking either white to gold or maybe white to red eye

color. But, I'll want your input."

Alright!!! I was stoked to create a "way out there" look, and was even more happy when I met Mindy for the first time. It was so easy to work with her, and her enthusiasm for her work could not be beat. Hearing about her story and how she got started in her music and modeling track was amazing, and it still brings a smile to my face. Mindy's personality is contagious, and anyone who meets her just ends up rooting for her and cheering her on :) I had a chance to work with Mindy again during another photoshoot, and had the same awesome experience. 

BEFORE AND AFTER

Makeup points:

- Flawless face

- Clean dark brows with arch emphasis

- Black eyeshadow, lots of blending

- Lashes, lashes, lashes, with gel liner feathering for upper and lower lids

- Bold eyes rimmed all around with thick liner

- Black lips

* George bought two different contacts for Mindy's extreme eyes... we went with the one you see in the picture :)

George and Mindy hard at work!

THE RESULTS

Best wishes Mindy! Keep it going! George, great captures as usual :)

MUA for Western Saloon Photoshoot!

Photo courtesy Robert Eng

What: Bay Area Photography Shoots (Western Saloon Photoshoot)

Where: Santa Clara Studio

Models: Amanda Sophia Novello, Bramani Quinn Spiteri, Callie Sue

This photoshoot happened awhile ago, but I thought it would be a perfect entry to help gear us up for the Halloween festivities! I knew there would be three ladies coming in to get their makeup done for this super fun Western Saloon setup (Great job George!). Since I was short on time, I asked the models to come to the studio with false lashes already applied. Thinking about the Western time period, and the probability of more black and white pictures, I requested the lashes to be the biggest, thickest, longest the models could find. When I applied their MU, I also focused on making the models' features extremely and dramatically bold and defined...almost over the top! Black shapely brows, deep red and full lips. Honestly, in real life, it was a little scary! Scary, but necessary for getting the right look in the photos :)

BEFORE AND AFTERS

Model: Amanda N.

Model: Bramani S. aka The Fire Lady!

Model: Callie Sue

Western Saloon Gallery

Photo courtesy Rex Mann

Photo courtesy Rennis Kauffman

Photo courtesy Sandi Allen

Photo courtesy Robert Eng

Photo courtesy Robert Eng

Click here to see more photos from this event!

MUA for a "Shoot the Replicant" Photoshoot - PRIS from Blade Runner!

Photo courtesy Ricci's Photo Art

Who: Mindy Suga as PRIS from the movie Blade Runner

What: Bay Area Artistic Shoots (Shoot the Replicant)

Where: Santa Clara Studio

Okay, honestly I had no clue who this PRIS character was when George e-mailed and asked if I had ever seen the movie Blade Runner. Needless to say, I looked it up immediately and two things came to mind... 1) PRIS would be an AWESOME character to do makeup for and 2) Wow, Harrison Ford was crazy young!

To help with prepping for the MU for PRIS and this Meetup, I pulled a few screenshots from the internet to use as guides. PRIS was played by Daryl Hannah.

I had worked with Mindy before and was so excited to be able to spend a morning with her again! She's an absolute artist, down to earth and full of great conversation. Time with her is always refreshing and I'm so happy with how all the photos turned out! Good job Mindy!

MAKEUP

Mindy's hair was already teased when I came into George's studio. I was able to get started right away with the PRIS makeup. I went for more of a porcelain facial skin tone using my lightest airbrush foundation to start, then liberally dusting matte white eyeshadow onto Mindy's face until I was satisfied with the coverage.

The eye look was achieved with a metallic blue tacky shadow applied in the general shape around Mindy's eyes. I then used black eyeshadow to finish the "unfinished" look around the eyes. Although the PRIS look in the movie had more muted lips, we decided to bring Mindy's lips out a bit more for photoshoot purposes.

THE SETUP

There's this scene in the movie where Harrison Ford's character comes into a creepy room filled with all these dolls and mannequins. Little does he know that PRIS is actually there, HIDING as one of the mannequins... eeks!!! Of course, I'm sure you can guess what would happen next.

(Doesn't Harrison Ford look so young here?!?)

So George has the fantastic idea of having a similar setup. Once Mindy's makeup was done and she was dressed, she made herself look all mannequin like (extremely still with unblinking eyes) while George then let the photographers come in. Some of them didn't realize Mindy was real!!!

PHOTOGRAPHER GALLERY

As always, I loved the energy and enthusiasm all the photographers had coming into the shoot. It was fun seeing their reactions to Mindy/PRIS :) Here are a few shots I've pulled from their postings.

Photo courtesy Vinny Arrigali

Photos courtesy Vinny Arrigali

Photo courtesy Felicia Hong

Photo courtesy J.J.

That was fun! Plenty more amazing photos here if you would like to see more :)