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Strike A Pose!

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, and that statement is probably most powerful in the hair and beauty industry where a collection of your work is a great tool to use in the salon, or for publicity or promotional use. Even for the busiest salon, creating and
promoting the kind of image you want through the medium of photography is essential if you want to compete on the highest level of your profession.

Whether you’re a freelance make-up artist, spa owner, stylist, manicurist or own a chain of barbershops, a photographic portfolio will help you educate your clients on all of your special talents, introduce your seasonal fashion trends, and promote any extra services. But what with having to find the models, hire the photographer, set aside a date the process can seem pretty daunting. Fear not! Business Edge caught up with two of the industry’s top performers for some tips on how to beat the odds, avoid the pitfalls, and end up winning at the photo finish. Desmond Murray is one of the UK’s most accomplished hairstylists. He is renowned worldwide, not only for his European and Afro hairdressing skills, but also for his exceptional ability to use the camera as a powerful advertising tool. Calvin Rattray is founder of the award winning Hype Coiffure salon chain, also famous for its prolific and innovative photo campaigns.

Identify Your Goals

Identifying your goals is the first step in any planning process, and often the step we overlook. Start by thinking about why you’re doing the shoot and where the images will end up. A consumer magazine like Pride or Black Hair? Your salon newsletter? A local newspaper or magazine? A trade publication? You might be building a portfolio for the hair awards, your own website, or for a product company. For many salons, the photo shoot doubles as a team building exercise. It also offers stylists a creative outlet - a chance to indulge their artistry without being limited by the requirements of the client. Regular photo shoots also help your team to keep up to date with industry and fashion trends.

Develop Your Concept

“Whatever the purpose of your shoot”, says Desmond, “it is essential to have a clear idea of the end product. Throughout the entire process, you need to have everybody singing from the same hymnbook and if you don’t know what you want, you can’t relate your vision to the rest of your team.” “A brainstorming session is a great way to develop a concept”, says Calvin Rattray, owner of the Hype Coiffure salon chain. Everyone on the team comes prepared with ideas - from art books, photographs, advertisements, pages torn from magazines - we draw our inspiration from everything and anywhere.” But don’t just copy ideas straight from a magazine. Take a good, hard look at the idea and figure out what it is about it that excites you. Thenapply your own style to develop it into your vision. Better still, create your own trend based on what you see becoming popular.

Communicating Your Vision

To help get their ideas across to the rest of the team, the professionals have two key tools. The first is the mood board. A mood board is a large piece of card on which you compile photographs, sketches, fabric samples and any other material to form a collage that communicates the look and feel of your idea. It indicates the sort of colours you might want to use, and the overall theme of the shoot. The other tool is the storyboard. On the storyboard you sketch the composition of the individual pictures as you see them in your mind. This helps you focus on what is really important in each shot.

Planning The Budget

Both Desmond and Calvin agree that the most important thing to consider when embarking on a photo shoot is the budget. Make sure you know your budget, and research all angles for hidden costs. For example, is the cost of processing and printing the film included in your photographer’s fee? Has your photographer built in the cost of extra staff or additional rolls of film? If you’re doing a studio shoot, does the price include equipment, e.g. lamps and props that you want to use? Your budget should include the photographer, models, make-up artists, hair stylists, film and processing (if you’re not using digital), Polaroid shots, and catering. If you’re shooting all day with five or six models and an entire team, food and drink can take up a lot of your budget, so be prepared for that. Also, if you’re using your photos for awards, retouching will be essential for fixing those little details, so make sure you’ve allowed for these production costs.

Your Dream Team

Desmond lists six key elements to a successful photo shoot. They are photographer, model, hair stylist, make-up artist, wardrobe stylist and art director.

Photographer

“Do your research first and get a good photographer,” says Desmond. “That’sone thing you can’t afford to skimp on. A photographer can make or break your image.” Uncle Franklin’s nephew might do fantastic wedding videos but he probably won’t give you professional results with film, nor would he know the first thing about shooting hair. Look in the hair industry publications and take down names of photographers whose work you admire, then call the publication and ask for a name and number. Be sure to choose a hair photographer since s/he understands the nature of the industry and may also be able to recommend other members for your team. Your photographer should have experience of shooting the range of ethnic groups you choose to work with. “You need quite different lighting for dark skin,” warns Desmond. When you first meet with the photographer, bring a folder full of examples - clippings, stills, model cards, etc., - so the photographer can get a sense of what you want. Look through the photographer’s portfolio and be assertive about what you do and don’t like. Good communication is key to a good shoot.

Models

Calvin tends to prioritise what’s in front of the camera over what’s behind it. “A solid team is important, and you need an excellent photographer, but the wrong model can ruin a shot. Regardless of what you are selling (hair, make-up, clothes) people always look at the face first! If your model doesn’t look like a model - photogenic face, good bone structure, neckline and stature - then you’re just spinning your wheels.” Desmond agrees, “Nine times out of ten I go to an agency”, he says. The reason is simple. “Professional models are professional, and when you’re shooting for a prestigious award or a high profile feature, you need to make sure you get the best out of what you do. Using a professional model minimises your risk. You can do anything with the hair and she’s still going to look good!” That said, be careful when using professional models. Many working models don’t like you doing things to their hair, especially those who have already had head shots done, and don’t want their image changed too much. Though he admits agencies can be difficult to work with, Desmond believes that it can be worth the effort. “Ask for a casting where all the potential models will come to see you, complete with their portfolio. Don’t forget to get a colour match for the models’ hair so you can work with extensions if you want.”

You might also decide to have a prep day, where you double-check what you can and cannot do with the models’ hair. Play around with different ideas. Take a couple of digital or Polaroid shots to remind you of what each model looks like. “Come the day of the shoot,” says Desmond, “you’ll be really stressed and you may have forgotten that great little idea you had.”

Caution! If the shoot is for awards, agencies tend to charge more. They will also threaten to sue you if you use a non-endorsed photo set for awards, and you will be asked to sign a disclaimer or contract. Some agencies also distinguish between domestic and international use. “That’s fair enough,” says Desmond. “It’s the model’s career, after all.”

Make-up artist

If you’re a make-up artist doing a shoot to showcase your own talents, then you’ll probably want to skip to the next section. If you’re not a make-up artist, you’re advised to hire a professional. If you’re working with black or other ethnic models make sure that the make-up artist has the right blends for darker skin tones. There are some brilliant black make-up artists at the top of their game, who do equally stunning work across the range of skin tones. “Check the magazines, “ says Calvin. “People like Allison Edwards and Kim Menzies are renowned for producing incredible effects with both black and white models.” Experience is important, as your make-up artist needs to be able to work quickly. If you have more than one or two models, the shoot shouldn’t come to a halt while the models are waiting to be made up. For bigger shoots, consider having two make-up artists, or at least an assistant. Desmond warns us not to be shocked when seeing the make-up for the first time. “Make-up for stage, print and television is always much heavier and thicker than for everyday use because every aspect of the look needs to be played up. It needs to be larger than life!” Similarly, models always look completely different from their portfolio shots. “Make-up, clothes, lighting and mood all combine to blend and shape the model’s looks.”

Hair-stylist

If you’re not a hairstylist or don’t have one in your team, the same rule applies as with make-up. Always hire a professional. “Regardless of who’s doing the hair”, warns Calvin, “be sure to pay attention to details. Don’t be slack! Finish the whole head.” Calvin emphasises the fact that the products of sloppy styling are magnified in a two-dimensional photo. “If you can see it, you can be sure the camera will see it too.”

Wardrobe Stylist

When it comes to wardrobe, try to keep your concept as timeless as possible. “Don’t do a shoot with clothes that are going to be dated within a few months of the photo being taken,” advises Calvin. “Magazines have lead times that range from two to four months, so if you shoot a model wearing a gold hipster belt in winter 2005, it will be dated by the time it gets to an editor, who’s already looking toward summer and autumn 2006.” Shooting with “seasonless” clothes means you can use your pictures all year long. Even if you only do one shoot a year, with careful planning, you can get enough photos to use throughout the year and for a variety of purposes. Sharing your ideas and vision with a professional stylist can help you avoid these pitfalls, but make sure you have all the necessary props and accessories for your shoot as the stylist may only bring the clothes.

Art Director

If your salon has an art director, then so much the better, but the likelihood is that you may well be reading this article with the intention of wearing that particular hat in your next photo shoot. Choose the location, the date and the time, and you’re ready to roll. Pre-plan your shoot carefully within a certain time frame so there are no surprises in the end. Desmond suggests the following points to consider when drawing up your schedule for the day. “Make sure you set aside enough time before the shoot begins so your team can style the model or models. If your photo shoot uses a collection of three or four models, set up an assembly line. While the photographer is shooting the first model, the makeup artist should be finishing the next model. You or a stylist will be working on the hair of the model thereafter while your assistant is doing the donkey’s work on the fourth one.” Calvin believes a photo shoot can be both professional and fun at the same time. Plan short breaks for tea, coffee and refreshments into your schedule. The situation can become quite pressurized, so try to make sure that everybody’s comfortable and having as good a time as possible. You won’t have a successful photo shoot if your people, especially your models, feel unnecessarily stressed or unhappy.

Setting The Scene

The setting is important for the overall mood of your shoot. If you’re working in a studio, check that you have the right backdrop. Will it be plain, white, coloured or textured? Lighting is equally important. Desmond explains that there are different types of lighting, but the essential ones are tungsten, flash and daylight. “Lighting can allow you to create many different moods and feelings, but don’t forget the shadows. If done correctly, your mood board will tell the photographer what s/he needs to know.” If you’ve chosen to work outside, make sure you choose the right scenery for your shoot. “Check that there’s a wall somewhere, so that the wind doesn’t mess things up,” says Desmond, “and don’t forget to check the weather forecast!”

Film

Some consideration should be given to the type of film you will be using, if this hasn’t already been dictated by the reason for the shoot (e.g., the rules for certain awards might require prints in 10 x 8 format.) In terms of colour, there’s colour film and black and white film. B/W is sometimes preferred for artistic reasons. It is possible to process colour pictures into black and white, but there will usually be some loss of quality. This becomes a non-issue if you’re using digital photography, however, since digital colour images can be rendered in black and white without any loss of quality. For actual physical photographs, you need to choose between prints (photographs as you know them, on paper) and slides, to be shown on a screen using a slide projector. The two types are made from two different types of film, referred to as ‘positive’ for slides and ‘negative’ for prints. It used to be the case that slides had more vibrant colours and finer detail than prints, but that isn’t really the case any longer. In favour of prints it should be noted that it is easy to correct for moderately wrong exposure (too dark or too light) when making prints, whereas one cannot make similar corrections to slides.

Finally, digital photographs are rapidly becoming very popular. For a high quality, large photo, such as a glossy magazine cover, real film is generally the medium of choice, but for most other uses digital images can be more than good enough. Moreover, not only do they have the advantage that you can see each photo straight away, without having to wait for development of the film, they also lend themselves to easy retouching in Photoshop or other computer applications, whereas the equivalent for traditional film requires extensive darkroom skills, or scanning into digital form. “Don’t underestimate retouching” says Desmond, “the actual photo shoot is generally only half the final result, the other half comes from Photoshop or the darkroom.”

Who Owns What?

When negotiating with a photographer it’s imperative that you agree who owns the photography before you begin. Granted, if you pay for a photographer’s time, equipment and expertise to create images uniquely for you, it seems reasonable enough that you will want to own and be able to use those images as you see fit, but under the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, copyright in any photograph automatically belongs to the photographer. Similar laws also apply in other countries. Unless you have written agreement to the contrary, by law the copyright in any photograph still belongs to the photographer, regardless of any verbal agreement. If you intend to you use the images later on, say for a website, or your marketing materials, make sure that these terms are clear to the photographer and that your agreement is evidenced in writing. Calvin urges salon owners to be careful about the legalities. “You need to have your paperwork in order. Model releases, talent releases and a photographer’s contract; ensure you know exactly what you’re paying for and exactly what you own. It’s best if you can get them to sign over the rights. A photographer might negotiate for the rights and it’s best to buy them outright. You don’t want to have to pay every time you use an image.” Everybody needs to sign an agreement that says that you, the salon owner, owns all the rights, and you can use the work in press releases, awards, marketing materials, etc. By everybody, I mean the photographer, the model, the agency and the talent (make-up artist, hairstylist, nail technician, stylist).

Once you’ve got everything in place, try to relax and let your team do the job of creating beautiful photographs that represent what you and your salon can do. And remember, the more you do it, the better it gets.