How To Take Makeup Pictures For Instagram

How to Take Better Makeup Photos for Instagram

In that location may be chapter links in this post. If you purchase through these links we may make a small-scale commission at no toll to you. Please see our disclaimer, terms and privacy for more information.

At that place are thousands of makeup artists on Instagram, and fifty-fifty more makeup enthusiasts that are trying to gain a following past sharing their work on the social platform. Check out this listing of tips and learn how to take better makeup photos for Instagram – with your phone!

I of the nigh of import things you lot tin exercise to ensure an Instagram-worthy makeup post is spending time on your makeup look and putting your all-time effort into information technology!

If you have an awesome wait that you love, it volition be easier to get the consequence you desire. If yous take a wait y'all don't actually like and isn't super dandy, you won't truly be satisfied with the upshot no matter how great your photography skills are.

Hither are the other important parts of making your picture look perfect!

Lighting

If you lot don't have the correct lighting to capture the detail and beauty of your makeup, your photograph volition suffer immensely. It'south at the top of the list because information technology is so incredibly important!

The all-time lighting yous can have is medium-bright natural, indirect lighting. Allow'south become over what this ways.

Having a medium to high level of light will mean that information technology's bright plenty to lighten your entire face and show all the color and item in your makeup. If you take dim or low light levels, yous won't be able to capture the gorgeous shimmer or the intensity of the color.

Natural lighting is the best lighting.

Past natural light, we're talking about the dominicus! Sunlight is counterbalanced (not besides warm or cool toned) and shows the colour of makeup most accurately. If at all possible, taking photos using sunlight will make a huge difference in your picture.

Indirect lighting ways that the sunlight isn't shining right on your face, simply is instead diffused and bounced across other surfaces. For instance, an ideal state of affairs would exist having lightweight blinds or defunction in front end of your window, simply sunlight even so pours into the room through them and bounces off the walls and ceilings – creating a brightly lit room with no harsh sunbeams.

Why is indirect lighting better than direct lighting? A couple of reasons. Oftentimes direct sunlight is too bright, causing y'all to squint. Worse, it can damage your optics if you attempt to wait into the sunday to illuminate your face. Additionally, harsh sunlight tin can bandage unwanted shadows on your confront, such as with your nose, eyelashes, or with other objects around you lot.

Here are a couple examples of direct lighting, which is non the best for photos (featuring a light-headed face because I didn't retrieve I'd utilise the moving-picture show in a postal service, ha!).

In contrast, here is a photograph of the same makeup wait with indirect lighting in the same room:

If you don't take expert sunlight available in your domicile, try taking photos outside. Standing under the shade (a tree, maybe?) in the afternoon gives you lot plenty of sunlight without the dreaded shadows of direct lighting.

Alternatively, the 2d best lighting you lot can use is a RINGLIGHT! Yous've probably seen these all over Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube – for good reason. Ringlights illuminate all sides of your confront, which will prevent weird shadows on your makeup looks.

Check the Camera Settings

This article is written bold that you are taking photos of makeup using a smartphone, but this is important for any camera you are using!

If you go into your phone's settings, you can notice your camera'southward settings and check the stats.

I tin see that my camera'due south resolution can be changed – back camera, forepart camera, and unlike resolutions for video too!

Make sure your camera is set to the highest resolution capable. If information technology isn't, switch information technology!

On some phones, such as iPhones, at that place are some on-screen settings available when you open your camera app, such as HDR. Look into all of the specific settings your telephone has to make certain you lot're using all the optimal capabilities!

Use the Back Photographic camera

Typically, the back camera is capable of a higher camera resolution than the front, selfie camera.

This is normally because the lens is bigger in the back, or at that place are multiple to create the best image possible!

In my phone settings above, I tin can see that my back camera has a resolution of 12.2mp, while my front camera only has viii.0mp – that's over a 50% increase! It'southward a no brainer to use the amend camera y'all accept available to you.

I know what you're thinking now – how tin I have my own makeup photos using the back camera when I tin can't see myself?

Try taking the motion picture in front of a mirror, like this, so you lot tin see your own reflection in your telephone screen. Win!

Are yous still not convinced that using the back camera makes a difference?

Maybe this next comparison will convince y'all!

Neither of these photos are edited at ALL.

You lot tin clearly see that the dorsum camera's photo is sharper, more focused, and the color is more than vibrant.

Back camera > front end camera.

Clean The Lens

I can't tell you how many photos I took of my makeup, getting frustrated that they all turned out blurry or had a marker on them, earlier I realized that my camera lens was muddy or smudged.

Clean your camera lens earlier taking photos!

You tin can easily use a lens cleaner or glasses cleaner to make your camera lens spotless before you kickoff snapping pics – and trust me, it makes a deviation.

Coordinate Your Look

This isn't really a dominion, and it doesn't use if you're taking shut upwards shots of simply your eye(s), but coordinating your makeup look to your outfit or background tin assistance more than you think!

Just wearing the same color shirt as your eyeshadow or lipstick can actually pull the entire moving picture together, creating a improve sense of cohesion.

Backgrounds tin can make a deviation, too. A blank, light colored wall is your all-time bet – if you have expert lighting by one!

Don't think that everything always has to lucifer perfectly – it admittedly doesn't – just by keeping your outfit and environs more than simple will help keep the focus of the photo on your makeup instead of what is effectually you lot.

Avoid busy environment and decorated clothing patterns that will distract your viewer from what'south important… the makeup!!

Focus the Camera

Before y'all have your photo, tap your phone screen lightly where you wish to focus – your eye or your confront, commonly!

This will ensure that your photographic camera is focused on you instead of a random flyaway strand of pilus.

Information technology'due south also easier to have a clearer, more than focused photo with the back camera. This goes dorsum to the point above!

Have a Bunch

Don't just accept one photograph and strength information technology to work. Take multiple photos! Take dozens!

When I accept photos of a makeup expect, I ofttimes fill up a whole screen or two with photos in slightly different angles and lighting situations.

At the very least, take 10 photos to choose from.

Afterwards, simply get through the pictures and choose your favorite. Because they're digital, you can merely delete the ones you lot don't want!

Edit (Within Reason)

A lot of people edit their photos. I edit mine!

But, there is definitely a line of "over-editing" your picture.

With applications like facetune and photoshop, you can hands smooth out your whole skin so it looks flat, patch all your blemishes, and change the whole colour of your makeup wait.

Hither's my advice:

Edit your photo as little as possible.

I personally edit the brightness, highlights and shadows, and vibrancy of my photo to make information technology a little bit brighter and amp up the colors a tiny bit – which makes them look true to life, since the camera ever seems to wearisome them slightly. Sometimes, I edit out a blotch with a patch tool. I'll add my watermark to the photo, too.

Here's an example of an original photo and my edited version:

But for the love of skin, don't shine out your entire face! It looks extremely fake, blurry, and is never preferred over seeing REAL peel. If only your optics and lips have texture, it looks super simulated.

There was a catamenia on Instagram where information technology seems that everyone had to smooth out their skin on every photo to seem "perfect" when in reality, we all have flaws and that is okay! A loftier quality photo that shows a couple flaws is improve than a photograph that has been blurred in parts to hide them (which will only draw attending to the area, so in the end, everyone knows yous edited it).

Many artists, including me, have decided to Non edit our makeup or skin on Instagram. We are just showing real looks and real skin – something that should be normal and praised instead of existence expected to shine out your photo to zippo. I call back we should all be doing this and intermission the "Instagram perfect" image that no one tin can truly reach.

Pivot THIS:

I hope these tips were helpful for you!

Posting makeup photos to Instagram is super fun. If you use these tips to take any images, please tag me @beautybrainsblush so I tin meet!

Page load link