Tulsa Photographer - Beauty Photography

Beauty photography is a specialized area of photography. Beauty photography is a photograph or digital image of a professional model's face only sometimes it can show the entire body, but mostly it is close up head shot photography. Just as an artist paints a portrait, the professional photographer and or digital retouchers enhance close up beauty head shots with photoshop. I'm talking about the beauty industry, it's a multi-billion dollar industry that demands high quality images. Everything about beauty photography takes time and is very well thought out. It's not a photo snapped on the fly with a phone and a filter applied. The model is always a professional model hired by the brand or their advertising company to represent ideal and modern beauty. The photo is not taken with a phone but a high quality digital camera. The photographer is hired because they specialize in beauty, fashion and model portfolio photography. They realize that the end result for the image is to make the consumer want to buy cosmetics, skincare, hair care and even jewelry advertisements. Another demand for beauty photography comes from professional models and actors who need retouched beauty head shots in their portfolios. A lack of a professional head shot in a model or actor's portfolio tells me they are not serious about his or her career and not a professional model. Modeling agencies will always want their models to have beauty shots in their porfolios. The finished head shot is aspirational and it's goal is to stir emotions to buy the makeup or skincare or hire the model to advertise your beauty or skincare product. High end digital retouching is needed to attain this aspirational image of beauty. Nobody is perfect, even professional models need retouching to obtain the smooth skinned faces we see in makeup and skincare advertisements. Even when the model has good skin, sharp images show pores in the skin which can be softened using photoshop. Child models need a little retouching in their headshots, children have dark circles and sometimes bags under their eyes, these can be lightened using photoshop. Professional models need retouched beauty photos and head shots in their portfolio so their modeling agent can market them to the better clients and brands that will pay top dollar for beautiful faces to sell their products.

Tulsa Modeling Photographer - New Model Test Shots

Tulsa is full of natural beauty as you will see in a few of my favorites shots from a new model test I recently shot. Brogan came to me in need of modeling career consulting, she had shot with other photographers in Oklahoma and even New York but they were not the type of photos that were right for high fashion modeling. I could immediately see why she wasn't booking high fashion print or runway.  My daughter Jade and I knew she needed to change her look (hair, make up, style) and much more. It was good that Brogan was open to the change that would transform her into a high fashion model. We suggested a new hair color that was closer to her natural color. The color brought out her eyes! Jade styled her hair, did her makeup and clothing styling for the shoot and also gave her a lesson in movement by suggesting several poses throughout the session. Brogan did well at following direction and kept a great attitude through out the shoot which is something I take note of when developing a new model. Many young women don't realize that a model must develop stamina for photo shoots and the job is not as easy as it looks. Below are a few of my favorite shots from her fresh start portfolio. When I saw what we came up with, I could see her potential as a high fashion model and I will continue to consult her on the next steps of her modeling career development.

60's Bridgette Bardot Inspired Photo Shoot - Oklahoma Fashion Photographer

Gretchen needed some new looks for her portfolio, so my stylist Jade Gotcher, pulled a look together that was part Bridgette Bardot and Dolce and Gabanna inspired. She wanted it to look 60's yet modern. Jade also did Gretchen's hair and makeup to compliment the clothing by painting a flicked out cat eye liner and a barely there soft lip. When Jade was only 10 years old, she would assist me when I would do hair and makeup for modeling portfolio shoots, adding some lip gloss and a little blush for touch ups on the set. Her experience on those shoots has been well utilized since I became a photographer. I even painted Gretchen's toe nails and finger nails so we could expedite this glam look, that took a few hours!     Before the shoot I looked at Gretchen's portfolio and felt like there were some basic modeling portfolio pictures that she needed. A close up beauty shot and a full length that really showed off her legs. As a model you should have a leg shot in your portfolio, if you don't then you need to get one. When I was a model I booked many well paying jobs because of my photos that showed my legs. I also felt like Gretchen had a lot of dark moody shots and I wanted to add some colorful lively shots to her portfolio as well as shots that did not hide her in the shadows. I chose the Tulsa Rose Garden for Gretchen's beauty shot location because the rose background complimented the floral print bustier. I also wanted more action in her portfolio and my own portfolio as well so Jade showed her how to do a running shot. Gretchen followed instruction well and she was wonderful to work with! The shot with Gretchen sitting on the chair featuring the artwork of Tamara De Lempicka, the famous polish art deco artist, was not something we had planned for the shoot but as Bob Ross would say, a "happy accident". We were walking around downtown and I saw the chairs and asked the bar manager if we could shoot some shots with the chairs. The bar manager was kind enough to indulge our desires and let us do a few shots of Gretchen sitting in the exuberant chairs. When it came time to edit the photos I experimented with split toning editing which can only be accessed in raw editing mode in Photoshop. I also utilized color balance to put some blue in the shadows and gold in the  highlights and mid tones. I wanted these photos to have some extra punch with the tones and am very pleased with the effects. 

Tulsa People of Style Jade Gotcher by Tulsa Fashion Photographer Jamil Gotcher

Stylist and Model Jade Gotcher was feeling very inspired to style a new look after seeing Saint Laurent Paris collection by Hedi Slimane. She had been telling me that she loved the collection and showed me the runway images from the collection. So I was elated when I went to an estate sale in Tulsa and stumbled across the wide brimmed fedora hat that Jade needed to finalize the Saint Laurent look she was going for. The weather was overcast which is great for photography because you can literally shoot any location because you are not limited by harsh sun light which can make everything looked washed out and harsh unflattering shadows on the face. Since we weren't limited by the harsh sun we shot these photos in the little greenhouse area at Tulsa Woodward Park. The small yet formal garden has the Vogue magazine location feel you see in high fashion photography and I always love working with my daughter Jade because she is so good at styling and modeling, it makes my job as photographer easy!

And don't forget to visit Jade Gotcher's blog for more stylish updates so you can stay In The Loop or visit our official website Jamil Gotcher Photography