Beauty & Make-up filming

Beauty and Make-up filming is a large part of my work as a London based videographer.  It’s one of the niches of video production that I love working on.  Over the years I have developed a few tips and tricks for creating great looking beauty and make-up visuals.

Lighting techniques for make-up filming

Lighting is the single biggest factor for beauty and make-up filming.  The quality of light will largely determine how good the model will look.  It’s all about making the skin look great.  So how do we achieve this?  Soft light!  A large soft lighting source will create a beautifully soft light that will make the model look great.  The larger the light source, the softer the light is.  I often like working with older tungsten nights for this reason.  That being said there are some amazingly soft punchy LED lights such as the Arri Sky Panel S60 which create great looking light.  The key is to soften this light.  Diffusion filters and soft boxes will help get you there, as will bouncing light.

The position of the light will also play a large role in making the model look great.  Having the light above the models head so it’s picking out one side of the face and a little triangle on the cheek bone on the opposite side is where I usually start.

Camera techniques

There are a few camera techniques I love to implement for make-up and beauty videos.  First is slow motion.  4k 100fps to be precise.  When life gets slowed down, things just look great.  You see life in a way you cant with your own eyes and thats why it’s so special.  Another thing I love to do is use macro lenses.  When you get that close, once again, you’re creating something you cant see with your own eyes.  A lot of the time I like to combine macro and slow motion.  It’s always a winner!

Beauty video examples

Below are a few frames from a recent beauty video we created.  What kind of techniques do you like to add to your make-up and beauty videos?