SKIN PREP GUIDE FOR STUDIO NEWPORT
Whether you have booked a boudoir, maternity or headshot session, you want your skin to be youthful, healthy.
The key to picture-perfect skin starts before you walk into our photography studio.
These are the steps we encourage our portrait clients to follow, based on years of portrait photography. Think of your skin as a canvas, and we will take it from there with makeup, lighting, posing and Photoshop.
Following this skin prep guide (or in some cases ignoring it) makes a difference! So please don’t ignore your skin before your session.
AS SOON AS YOU BOOK THE SESSION
1. ) Stay out of the sun. Beach babes will just have to trust us on this one.For boudoir and maternity, we want glowing skin and consistent tones. Sun-kissed skin might look great in person, but in photography, tanned skin can look dry and red. The combination of redness and dryness will make you look older. Yikes! Also, deep tan lines are distracting and difficult to retouch, so it will limit outfits and posing.
2.) Do not spray tan. Spray tans rub off and are often uneven, especially around underwear lines, hands, feet, etc. A spray tan will limit the outfits and poses. If you want to look more golden, this is something we can achieve in Photoshop and backdrop colors.
A COUPLE OF DAYS BEFORE YOUR SESSION
3.) Exfoliate. To have glowing and healthy skin, dry and dead skin cells need to go. They create dark patches and dry spots. Exfoliating remove dead skin cells from the outer layer of your skin, leaving brighter and healthier skin.
This is a key step to get glowing skin and should always be done before you have your makeup applied. If you have dry patches and dead skin, makeup can be uneven and even leave dark spots.
You don’t need to buy products to exfoliate, as you have the best ones in your kitchen!
My personal favorite exfoliation trick is to mix a few drops of olive oil into sugar. Rub it into your skin, then rinse with warm water. This is a great one for hands and face. So many products irritate the skin, but this gives you bright, soft skin in just a few minutes.
The reason this DIY solution works is the sugar scuffs off the dead skin so the olive oil can actually moisturize the skin. Try it! You wonder why you never did it before.
If you are doing a boudoir session, make sure to exfoliate your entire body and don’t forget your hands! A dry loofah is perfect for stubborn areas such as elbows, knees and legs.
A little goes a long way. If you over-exfoliate your skin will fight back.
After this step, This is a good time to give your skin a break. Let your pores breathe! Use gentle cleansers and limit makeup.
4.) Hydrate. When skin is not hydrated, fine lines are more noticeable. The skin also may look dull and uneven. However, chugging water before you leave for your session won’t make a difference and you will spend the entire session running to the bathroom!
It takes a couple of days to hydrate your body and skin. The best way to do this is just fill up a water bottle and bring it with you.
Alcohol, which is dehydrating, can make skin appear dull and inflamed. If you enjoy drinking, skip the wine for a few nights. You will also feel better because your sleep might improve.
