Expert: Kitty Kavey - 3/14/2007

Question

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The text above is a follow-up to ...


Thank You for your quick response.

What type of make up and headshot to recommend for the New York city market?
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I am latina woman in her mid thirties but i can pass for a light skinned black  woman in her mid twenties and i am persuing acting.


What is the best make up for a 8x10 black and white actors headshot for the L.A. market.


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I have two suggestions - don't shoot black and white for the L.A. market.  Shoot color.  The majority of casting directors and talent agents prefer color here.  Also, for ethnic people, you lose the details of skin tone/color in black and white photography.  
My other suggestion is to use the makeup of the makeup artist the photographer uses.  He or she has someone they work with specifically because that makeup artist gets the best results for them.  Many headshot photographers will not even allow outside makeup artists or the talent to do their own makeup, simply because they cannot ensure the quality is going to be up to par.  
If you haven't already chosen your photographer, when you meet with them make sure you look at their work of people who look similar to you.  If your skin is sensitive to certain makeup ingredients, you can certainly ask about the specific brands/types of makeup the makeup artist will be using.  
Good luck to you - Break a leg,
~Kitty

Answer
The same thing goes for the makeup artist in NYC.  But, black and white photography is still being used quite a bit in NYC, as opposed to LA.  The top headshot photographers in LA shoot all color, digital only - and NYC is more traditional.  I still think that particularly in the case of ethnic skin, you'll get a more accurate representation of what you look like with color photography, but NYC likes to hold to the past more than LA.  Just make sure if you do choose to shoot black and white it isn't the brand or colors of makeup, it's the amount and application that's different than color photography (which in itself is different than regular everyday makeup you would walk around in.)  That's why headshot photographers use their own makeup artists.  Of course even if you shoot in studio lights as opposed to natural light, you'll get a difference (more so in color) in photography makeup.
Good luck to you,
~Kitty