Over the weekend, I spent a lot of time with some very talented photographers and beauty retouchers. Beauty retouchers are the talented folks behind those makeup ads that make the skin, teeth, hair and coloring look real and perfect while still keeping the genuine lines and textures of the skin. In some of the interviews conducted, we asked the beauty retouchers specifically what type of educational resources they watch or read to inspire themselves to better their skills. And one of these talented artists gave advice that you may not have thought of putting in your educational arsenal.

“Watch makeup tutorials”.

Beauty retouching a face or digitally fixing makeup mistakes takes more than a vast understanding of Photoshop; you must also understand the dynamics of the human face and the secrets of a well-practiced makeup artist.

In this makeup tutorial, Carli Bybel shares the secrets of highlighting and contouring the face. We as photographers can do this by “dodging and burning”, an analog photography trick that’s been used throughout the decades in the darkroom and now in digital photography. Carli shares ways to make the nose appear smaller, or how to align the eyebrows or even shape the face to maximize the cheek bones.

To see more of Carli’s makeup tutorials, check out her Who knows, you might just learn a thing or two to impress your makeup artist on your next shoot.

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