Basic Make-up For Black and White Photography

One of my favourite challenges when I worked as a make-up artist was to create looks which would work well both in colour AND in black and white. When applying make-up for black and white, working in shades and textures is key. Basically, just ask yourself 'Is this a dark, medium or pale shade? Would it show more black or more white?' When it comes to textures keep light reflectivity in mind - frosts, shimmers and glitters will reflect light and appear brighter whereas mattes tend to absorb light and appear the same shade or slightly darker.

The easiest transferable looks are always the bolder ones! When the shoot requires ACTUAL colour (not neutrals) try to work within variations of the same shade - e.g from dark green to pale green. When working with multiple colours, it's easy to start confusing which is actually the darkest/ palest when the differences are subtle.

In colour, this look is quite heavy around the eyes yet wearable for an evening look. This was my 'go to' style for glamour girls, though I usually added falsies, smokey eyeliner and a stronger highlight shade as a little nod to Pamela Anderson's signature style! You could always make it softer for daytime looks and switch the blacks and greys for more flattering browns and creams.

In black and white, the shade variations are far subtler and appear softer. It actually appears...well, more elegant than it's slightly trashier (sorry glamour girls) cousin! You might also notice that the contour shade below my cheekbone appears more like a natural shadow than the coloured version - you can really push contouring for black and white. I've noticed lately that extremely exaggerated contouring in black and white fashion photography is making a bit of a wave...why not try it yourself?

I shoot straight from my camera in black and white, but if your camera doesn't have a 'monochrome' setting - it's easy to do in photo editors. There should be a 'black and white' option in the colours tab. Experiment and have fun!