Wondering how to take great makeup pictures like all your favorite Instagram artists?
Don’t worry, it’s not as hard as you might think!
I have answered all your questions about having game-changing makeup photos and collected helpful tips and tricks for you to take great makeup pictures in just four easy steps.
Let’s dive in and check them out!
Table of Contents
How to Take Great Makeup Pictures Like an Instagram Pro
There is nothing more annoying than taking a picture many times and not having a good one at the end.
All professional makeup artists and makeup enthusiasts have great pictures on their Instagram profiles. So, how do YOU get them?
There are several essential tips to help you take the best makeup photos.
Usually, makeup looks different in the mirror than in pictures, even if you have a dazzling look.
It is not necessary to have a professional camera to get stunning shots. You can do it with your phones too!
Let’s start with some quick tips, then we’ll answer a few of your burning questions about taking outstanding makeup pictures.
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READ MORE: Best Foundation for Olive Skin
4 Quick Tips for Taking Great Makeup Pictures
#1 Love the Makeup That You Have On
First things first, your makeup should look good in real life, which can then ensure an Instagram-worthy post.
So it is much easier to get your desired result if you like the makeup you have on.
No matter how fabulous your picture-taking skills are, you can’t get the best outcome if the makeup does not sit on you well.
Along those same lines, only use makeup that meshes with your own ethics and ideals.
A lot of wanna-be new beauty influencers try to impress brands by using stuff that they’re not passionate about, and it really shows.
Personally, I only use cruelty-free beauty brands, so I’d feel pretty uncomfortable wearing, say, Neutrogena (they’re NOT animal-friendly).
#2 Use the Right Lighting
Lighting is the absolute game-changer when taking makeup photos. And natural lighting is the best option. Selfie ring lights can also be a great option to get the best results, especially for eye makeup.
So rather than having harsh and shiny lightbulbs directly pointed to your face, take shots in a place where natural light at its most. Artificial light can make your skin and makeup look unflattering.
Instead, you can take pictures in a room with big windows and a good amount of indirect sunlight or even outdoors.
Natural light will help you enhance the colors on your face, make it glow, and flatter the sparkle of your eyes.
Taking shots in an open space can be a great choice as you can take pictures anywhere and naturally enhance your makeup.
#3 Use Bright Makeup Colors
Using bright and bold colors will give you an Instagram-ready look. Don’t be afraid to try bold colors. They always look great on camera.
Wearing bright pink eyeshadow, beautiful false eyelashes, and complementing lipstick will surely stand out rather than having mascara and lip gloss.Â
Also, having your makeup a bit more intense than usual results in better pictures, so go a little heavy-handed with your application.
And if you edit your photos after the shots with a photo editing app, you can always enhance the colors to make them more pop.Â
Check: Take Me Back to Brazil Palette Looks
#4 Choose Correct Angles
Try to take photos from various angles to highlight different parts of your makeup.
So if you want to show the glow of your highlighter, you can turn your head insignificantly down to the direction of the light.
When wanting to show your eye makeup, make eye contact with the camera to accentuate your lashes.
And if you wish to show the eyeshadow, you can always look out of the frame. It will help to highlight the eyelids.
Taking different versions of the same look will help you find the one that will get many likes on social media and level up your makeup photography skills.
#5 Don’t Over-Think It
It takes a while to get perfect makeup photos when you are a beginner. But when you start doing it over and over and practice your techniques, you will get better results as you go.
When I take makeup pictures, I always try to show natural beauty.
So I always edit the photos as little as possible, maybe remove blemishes here and there, and try not to use filters that will change my look.
Another great way to get the best results of your makeup photo is to focus on a specific part of your face.
Do you want to show the eyes, lips, or cheekbones? Focusing on a specific part helps to get the best result a lot.
Check out the video below for more tips:
How Do You Take a Good Makeup Selfie?
Taking selfies has become an unconditional part of our lives. And if you want your makeup to pop on your selfies, you will only need to follow a few simple steps.
Clean the lens before starting the photoshoot. Cleaning it properly with a cotton lens cloth will help you avoid smudgy or blurry pictures. It surely does make a difference.
You can always edit your photos within reasonable limits. There’s nothing wrong with enhancing the colors and playing with the brightness, contrast, and highlights.
Cameras might show the colors in a faded and smudged way, which is why you can play around and get the desired result. However, overediting will make the photo more unnatural and unappealing.
The video below offers great tips, too.
CHECK: Best Makeup for Medium Skin Tone
Is it Possible to Take Good Makeup Pictures With Your Smartphone?
Most modern smartphones have outstanding camera features and can replace professional cameras in many cases. Front cameras can give you decent results for selfies, but back cameras have way better specs.
So if you want to highlight your makeup, try using the back camera more.
No matter the phone model, back cameras have amazing features and can give you better outcomes, unlike the selfie camera.
For to be easier to take selfies with your back camera, stand or sit next to a mirror for you to see where the camera is pointing.
With this little trick, you will also have better eye contact with the camera lens.
For eye makeup closeup photos, you can look down, rather than close your eyes as these poses show wrinkles.
With this, your eyelids will be seen more and the makeup will be perfectly shown in the photo.
