I am way too behind on my blog...May through July is just one big blur of bridal, commercial, portfolio upgrades...! So...instead of a text heavy post, let's have an image heavy one! These are screen shots of recent online features or works! I am also very thrilled to see more of my hair and makeup work on Georgiou Studio's website! Lots of excitement, I guess..a lot of early mornings, packing/unpacking kit, and going to bed to fall asleep between 10-11pm due to exhaustion! Ok ok enough rabbling~! :) Will have a meatier blog soon! <3
Woohooo!!! This is my 3rd magazine cover - but actually, it is the first time the magazine printed my name! The previous times, they did submit the info, but it was unfortunately omitted, and it felt really bad to be honest...a few tears later, I just thought that eventually it will happen - and it DID happen!!! 3rd times the charm I guess???
Congratulations to Vivian & Richard, who tied the knot June 18th, 2011! These are from their engagement photo shoot, which happened in May - rescheduled due to the rain! Thanks again to Junshien for the referral!
I also wanted to thank Vivian, for putting up with my runny nose on the engagement shoot makeup day! :( I had caught a cold from the traveling I did, and definitely wasn't at 100% that day...! And...I felt super embarrassed when I was doing her makeup and my nose would be running, and I had to RUN to the bathroom, wash my hands, and then continue! :( I felt really bad...but I was relieved that everything turned out OK in the end!!!
On their day-of, I arrived in SF, at the Glam-Up salon to get Vivian ready, and usually I ask where they are getting ready instead of where they are getting married/having reception...and it turned out...Vivian knew my cousin's bride, Jen, who happened to have their reception on the same day at the same venue, AND they knew each other because they went to the same graduate school!! What a small world!!!!!! Vivian told me they were going to take a photo together - I can't wait to see it - as well as the beautiful photos of Vivian & Richard's big day in Sharon Heights!!! ^o^ For now, please enjoy the beautiful photos of their engagement session, taken by Junshien International Photographers! I loved both of their outfits! These are some of my favs, but Junshien also made a slideshow of their photos from e-session in HD on their blog! Check it out!!!
This is my busiest summer yet...! I am not complaining and grateful to be blessed with wonderful bridal/commercial clients! The sun has been waking me up EARLY and then work work work, collapse=sleep deprivation! Finally a day off this Sunday, I collapsed at 9:00pm last night and slept till 8:33am! Intense deep sleep and I think I am caught up because I feel great!! :) :) :) I really need to update my portfolios/blogs/facebook, etc...! <3 I need to charge up for my busy week ahead and 'destination wedding' in Monterey, CA! woohoo~ I am excited. Have a great 4th everyone...!
Yayyyy! This photo shoot finally happened! We had to reschedule twice due to the rain during spring time, and finally finally it came together! While it's not my first time working with kids, it is my first time coming up with my own ideas, finding the locations, getting the props, shooting the photos, and putting together a team! I've done those tasks before, but not all at once. While there's still room for improvement (like always!! ^^), I am very happy with the results! We were blowing bubbles towards the end, and everyone was having fun!
I want to thank Shannon @ JE for being patient with us with the rescheduling..! And of course, my team members Andrea, Erika & Erik. Casey & Kai are adorable, and are such troopers! May-June 2011 has definitely been the craziest ... I need to organize my computer, and keep up with my blogging! I'm also super excited to share more photos from weddings/bridal clients when the photos come back! For now please enjoy super cuties Kai & Casey! :)
Woohooo!!! A reel!!! This one I recorded myself with my little CanonS95 and used CS5 After Effects for the first time~~~ It was really intimidating opening that program, so I had to watch a few youtube tutorials and ask Erika for her advice! Anyhow...the indoor lighting during the shoot was very warm, so I applied a cooling filter to color adjust the video! Again it's my first time fiddling around with that stuff, so nothing fancy, not effects or anything.
We did a clean look before this, and I wanted to keep the look very 'classic.' Jordan's face looks a bit like Rachel McAdams/Kristen Bell/Rachel Evan Woods combined in some of the angles, but she is stunning! A lot of my work features really clean makeup, and I find that perhaps people might think that's the only look I know how to do...so I really wanted to do the classic smokey eye look and add some variety - I also want to do different colors smokey eyes later, but I wanted to start off with the "classic" one! I'm looking forward to see the images! :)
Because Jordan's skin was a little dry that day, the foundation had a bit of trouble adhering in the nose area...which is why I decided to pull out my airbrush. Now if I didn't tell you that, could you have known and noticed the difference? :) Like I say..the airbrush is just another brush, another tool in my tool box (Albeit a slightly more expensive one).
The whole shoot had a bit more of a New York vibe to me than the Bay Area...but I feel like it's good to change it up, keep it loose and interesting!
This morning, I woke up and saw a photographer posted this helpful post titled: "Why are Professional Photographers so expensive?" and after reading through it, I feel like if you just switch some words in the sentence around and replace it with words related to makeup/hair services over photography, the article totally works to answer the question "Why are Professional Makeup/Hair Artists so expensive?" Well...of course as the vendor providing the service, I honestly don't feel it is expensive. When I was a bride, I also expected my Hair/Makeup services to cost about this - anything less expensive I would start to wonder how they make a living! I guess this is a post that's a continuation of my previous blog post this year "What you should know before hiring a makeup artist"
I've seen so many threads on wedding forums talking about the 'sticker shock' and I bet a thought that crossed their minds are: "If it only takes 2 hours to complete my hair and makeup, WHY does it cost x?! This is robbery! They are extorting me just because it's my wedding! "
Similar to photographers, the time we spent on one client is not just the few hours we spend performing the makeup and hair service, but additionally, makeup artists need to:
Administrative (Respond to inquiries, emailing, phone conversations, setting up and confirming appointments, preparing contracts and invoices.)
Perform makeup & hair services at a trial or consultation appointment.
Clean & pack kit, double check kit, load it on the car.
Travel to the session
Setup, prepare to perform services.
Perform the services
Travel from the session/return
Unload kit from car, pack & clean kit
etc etc etc.
On average, I spend 6-10 hours min. per client. If I also take the photos for photography, then the list is the one above, plus the one in the photography article! Some clients only send you 5-10 emails, and others send 50-60+. So...while on average I spend 6-10 hours, some I spend double the time. It depends on the circumstance, and no client is exactly alike! Therefore, in a sense you are always receiving a customized service.
Then, there's experience/expertise. As wedding coordinator Christine told me during our first meeting about the importance of hiring a professional makeup artist something to think about is: Can the artist complete the service in the specific setting [Bridal]? Can they handle the time pressure, understand time management and also satisfy the demands of my demanding [insert friend/family name here]?
In the article, they talk about Wal-mart/chain store photo booths that gets the job done fast, with a standard push of a button, and if the child cries, then there is most likely not enough time to care what the outcome is, and "you get what you pay for." But a personalized service provider would take the time to take care of the child, make him/her laugh and deliver a great photo. On a similar note, if you want to, you can go to a Mall, or to a specific makeup counter, pay $50 in product purchases, and have the "makeup artist"/sales associate do the makeup for you for the occasion. What if they allocated 30 minutes, but did not completely finish, but there are other customers ready to pay for other products and the makeup artist/sales associate needs to stop the complimentary makeup application, and actually make more sales, as her salary/wage depends on actually making the cosmetic sales, and not how lovely of a makeup job she does for you? What a sales associate sells is the products, but the makeup artists sell only the service. On the same note, why not just buy the products, and do it yourself? The authors of the article puts it beautifully:
"A pair of scissors costs $1.50 at the drugstore. Still, most people will gladly pay a lot more to hire a professional hair dresser to cut their hair."
"
On that note...Do you remember the translucent powder fiasco? You might have seen it on the gossip news or something and the big thing was that it was Makeup Forever's HD powder that caused it but only visible with flash photography. In the end, if I recall, (feel free to correct me!) it was said that Nicole Kidman did the touch-ups herself in the car, and not the makeup artist. Makeup artists would have known that you would never use that much translucent powder, whichever the brand! My point is...is it really worth the risk on an important occasion like your wedding or your very special events to walk out like this by either doing the makeup yourself, or paying a "chain store" for the $50 worth of products and makeup application at the makeup counter?
The bottom line - it's an investment, and there are some things that are worth the investment!
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