#the number of people in my (below bottom tier shitty) school who are still living off of family money

[fenris-ranger]

ah yes, the “there’s no way i can learn any of this in the next six hours but i feel like i need to at least pretend to try” all nighter before an exam, punctuated by such gems as 

who goddamned cares what shape the virus is, is that going to get little johnny’s mother out of my ER without the unnecessary antibiotic script she’s demanding?  no?  then let’s move on

oh cool there were three whole diseases in that high-yield review chapter i have literally never heard mentioned in lecture that bodes fantastically

"proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin 9" that's like a fuckin doctor who planet or some shit, get this the fuck out of my textbook

and everyone’s favorite

i know my test is in six hours but is it too early to start drinking?

[atthebeautycooler]

Just the Tip Tuesday:  Newsflash! There’s still Money in Makeup!  10 Tips to put you on the positive money path by Margina Dennis

photo:  S. Reganato

This is a long one, so grab a drink and a snack!  And I decided to make this blog post more about putting yourself on the money path than glamorizing the high end salaries at the very top. I recently did a social experiment in a group of professional makeup artists and enthusiasts and asked with they thought the top, top, makeup artists in the industry were making.  The response, on average, was much lower than what the reality is in the industry. Top artists can be making in excess of $10K on a job. And yes they deserve it with the hard work, sacrifices, and abilities they bring to the table. They are able to create trends, create color collections for cosmetics lines and be creative directors.  I am also talking about people who have been in the industry 20+ years, are with top artist agencies, and working on top advertising campaigns etc.  There are also different tiers within those working on the very high end of the industry and they’re aren’t making $40K to do a runway show!   So everyone isn’t making those kind of numbers for jobs’ but making $2500, $5K or $7500 for a job is nothing to sneeze at either. There are also alot less jobs at that level of the industry.   I would consider myself someone who is on the high end of the mid-market of the industry who dabbles in the low end of the high market and is trying to dabble more.  :-) Getting to where I am now, took many years and alot of hard work/sacrifice and I made mistakes along the way.

 It also made me realize that this lack of understanding also contributes to the low rate thinking that is happening far down the makeup totem pole.  $300 in one day might be more money that than many people are making in their full-time job in one day, but that is comparing apples to oranges.  Let me introduce you to a reality that exists when you are working for yourself as a freelance artist: There is no guarantee of work - When you work for yourself, you will encounter slow times and busy times.  I’ve personally had months where I have worked 20 to 28 days and others 4 to 7 days.  You might have a great year one year and a very shitty one the next.  This is why your rates should be based on when you are least busy, not the most.  There is no way that you will have money in savings, for taxes, for a vacation, for a rainy day, for your kid’s college, etc if you are not thinking worse case scenario and planning for it.  And your rates should not factor in your spouse's job, or that other job that you have.  They aren’t part of your makeup business.  Think like a boss to succeed like one!

Here are some tips to help steer you on a success path.

1.  Save up ALOT of money from your day job and start looking to work on your craft on days when you are not working your full time job.  What do I mean by alot?  Ideally at least 6 months, a year if you can.  And downsize if you can into a cheaper living situation; i.e. roommates, moving back home, etc..  Also put the steps in motion to create a flexible work situation for yourself, so that you have money coming in while you are building your makeup business.  Whether that is working as a virtual assistant, bartending, etc.  You will also be less tempted to work on a job where the rate is lower than what it should be.  Doing big work for little money will hurt you in the long run and impact your ability to make more. Don’t be so anxious to run before you can walk. 

2.  Take business classes or read books on business.  Also offer to pay to pick the brain of an artist agent or a successful working artist who is in a major market regarding the business side of the industry so you know what to expect BEFORE you start putting yourself out there.  There are resources in our industry that will give you guidelines, but are not the end all because they aren’t current. I actually wrote about them in a blog post that you can find here: http://atthebeautycooler.tumblr.com/post/132411901634/fourgreatbooks

3.  Study classic photography images like Richard Avedon, Man Ray, Helmut Newton  etc. and see how their work influenced current top fashion photographers, Steven Klein, Steven Meisel, and Patrick Demarchelier These guys were masters with lighting and the structure of a photo that still stand the test of time. Below is a mixture of work from the photographers’ I just mentioned. You need to learn what good photography looks like so that you do not waste your time.  And this does not mean taking a friend or a very commercial model and trying to pose her into fashion either. That will not result in a strong image for your book. Simple images that are lit well and cropped into a flattering image will make a stronger impact. Take some basic photography classes online from sites like Creative Live.

4.  Learn to work with what you have in your market so that you can use that and invest in working with those that will create even better for your and your book.  Sometimes you have to invest in traveling to get better images.  I did that so I was able to get better jobs in my smaller market because my work looked stronger.  But you have to have something to start with so that people will trust that you will deliver so that you can work up to getting better.

(this image is 18-20 years old and shot on film.  I BEGGED this photographer to give me a chance and his girlfriend was a real model.  This is bordering on fine art/fashion but is a great image and it helped me to get PAID model testing.)

5.  Start creating work that will help you succeed. This is a big mistake that newer artists (myself included) make the mistake of doing and they waste a lot of time and energy.  I’m going to show you some of my work that I did that was a huge time waste for many reasons.  Some of these images are PUBLISHED IMAGES, even COVER IMAGES.  They are now in the “what was I thinking”? hall of fame.  But the sooner you learn and recognize this, the sooner you will be on your way to better images, models, and jobs.  Here is a grid of “don’ts”:

Now I was very proud of these images and so were the team, but I so wish that someone had told me then what I know now!  Edgy only works when you have the right skill level and understanding in place and the right team to execute it.  Plus it was also a waste of time for getting real paid work. I know some of you are wondering what is wrong with that image on the top right and that was published in a national magazine for a beauty editorial that I actually produced.  I had a good girl who was completely wrong for what I wanted to do; Plus,  I was in way over my head with hair.  I needed a strong hairstylist and I needed to sit my ass down.  Such a wasted opportunity and that shoot could have been so much stronger  if done differently. The bottom middle one ended up on a cover of a magazine that is still in existence here in NYC. It  was straight up Michael’s Craft Store realness and not in a good way. And the prayer pose... not good.  And I plead temporary makeup insanity on the image in the left middle.  I knew it wasn’t working and I kept adding more, and more, and more.  That image got entered into a makeup contest :-(   

 Here’s a grid of ”dos”. I have intentionally put up images created  around the same time in my career but I started to get a clue that what I was doing wasn’t working.  Some of these images were created by photographers still in photo school and not by “seasoned”  shooters:

(I did all the of makeup and hair in the images except the Ducati one.  These images are 12 to 15 years old!  I also started investing in traveling to get stronger models too.)

6.  Get off of craigslist, model mayhem, bikini photo shootouts, glamour shoots, etc.  You gonna have to put in the hard work of actually finding the people who are working.  Now model mayhem can be a place to start initially to get the ball rolling but you have to put in place what I talked about earlier:  What to look for in good photography.  You’ll have better odds seeking out photography students.  The great jobs aren’t there either, they come from seeking out those who are doing these jobs and there are working photographers at every level.

7.  Stop taking career advice from people who are as junior as you are.  It’s like the blind leading the blind.  You are not going to get the best advice that way.  And when an artist who is doing work that you hope to be doing some day takes the time to help you, be thankful.  Don’t get upset if it is something you didn’t expect to hear. Many of us in the beginning think we are much better than what we really are. We get caught up in the excitement.  Instead, learn from what they are saying and use it to grow.  When I first started doing makeup and was taking classes, one teacher I had was really tough on me when she wasn’t being tough on others.  I finally asked her why she was being so mean to me.  So told me she wasn’t being mean, but that she saw potential in me. From that day on, I took to heart what she said and worked harder.  I am forever grateful for her honesty and tough love.

8.  Figure out what type of artist you want to be early on and then focus on getting REALLY REALLY GOOD on what that is first before you remotely try to put your own twist on it.  You don’t want to be a “jack of all trades and a master of none”.  Work on being a master of one.  It will help tremendously in branching out your skill level later.  And by the way, the first really good thing you should learn to master is CLEAN makeup.  It doesn’t matter what market you are in, you will be employable if you are good at clean makeup. You need to be good at clean makeup whether you are doing print, film, or runway. The fastest path to success is the straightest one.  Zip-zagging around will take you alot longer to get to the initial end goal of being a working makeup artist.

9.  Be willing to accept that the career does not happen overnight and that you have to put the right kind of work in order to increase your chances of succeeding. Also accept that it might not happen. I know someone who went through the pain and expense of going to law school.  It took him 4 attempts to pass the bar and then found he wasn’t a good lawyer.   Give yourself 5 years realistically for your career to start.  Arming yourself with the knowledge of how the industry works before you put yourself out there will save you so much grief down the road and will save you time in getting to your end goal.  That’s why you don’t want to jump in not understanding rates, negotiating, invoicing, contracts, etc.  I was speaking to a photographer last week who didn’t do the homework before he started charging and ended up charging a multi-billion dollar company $50 dollars for images (plural) and not $50 dollars per image which is also ridiculous and not a rate. He now does what I do and works with newer artists to help to educate them and consult with them so that they don’t get taken advantage of like he did.  He was only thinking of getting that name on his resume and didn’t think about what impact it could have on his career.  Lucky for him, he got schooled early before he become known as the very cheap guy who takes good pictures.  

10.  Know the worth of the job and learn to understand what the difference is between 1) truly “free”  work and 2) paid work that someone is trying to get you to work on for free or at a rate that is much lower than the value of the job.  Years ago, I was working on a lookbook being shot in a different state.  I was being paid my full rate in cash, plus I was reimbursed for travel for the photoshoot. One of the models on the shoot wasn’t being paid and was complaining to me about it.  She kept talking about how she kept doing things for free and but no one would pay her nor were any of the local modelling agencies interested in her.  I immediately knew what the issue was because hereshe was on a lookbook not getting paid where the images were going to financially benefit the designer. She lived in the smaller part of a mid sized market.   She had the height, size, and bone structure to be a model but had put absolutely no value on herself.  And I am willing to bet money that she was known as the free girl, which is also why no modelling agency was interested either.  It’s pretty hard to get a client to pay $1500, $2500, $5K or more for a model that has been peddled  around with zero value over and over again.  I told her her only chance to was to move to a different market and start all over if she was serious and learn not to give it away. She had completely sabotaged any hope of a career where she was.   The same goes for being a makeup artist.

Lastly, do your research and don’t rely on what is the fad is or what is trending on You Tube.  I can assure you that Val, Pat, Sam or other working artists aren’t applying foundation with a condom covered beauty blender, or with silicone breast enhancements.  There are many successful people in the industry who aren’t social media famous either.  Understand the difference between a working makeup artist and a social media influencer.  Sometimes they will overlap, but it is not common and they are completely different career paths. Understand that there are different types of makeup techniques out there and you need to be well versed as a professional.  Also realize the money isn’t where you think it is either unless you are at the higher end of the fashion industry and creating very high end work with high end teams and clients.  Commercial fashion and commercial lifestyle may not be exciting but it will help to keep a roof over your head. I know artists that do catalog work and that is all that they do and they make their living that way. 

(work keeping a roof over my head)  photo:  W. Hope.

I hope this sheds some insight and helps you to get focused so that maybe someday you will be one of the “chosen few”.  And if you need help, make sure, you are following this blog and also check out my BeautyBeauteBeauti website for information on a education both online and off, as well as career guidance.

Love and Lipstick,

xo Margina 

When Margina isn’t doing blog posts, makeup shopping or creating hands-on classes, she can found doing advertising and editorial work for clients such as MCM, Steve Madden, WWD, Scratch to name a few.  To see her personal work, visit  www.marginadennis.com. And follow her on periscope and instagram