Working as a Freelance MUA - Editorial/ Fashion and E-Commerce

Working in the studio, whilst not having the early starts and late finishes of screen or theatre, doesn’t make it any less hard work! You’ll work mainly with models but you may encounter some shoots with celebrities, actors or even politicians.

Landing big editorial jobs will be quite difficult at first, you will collaborate with local photographers and models. Traditionally, getting published in a magazine can be the first big step in getting noticed but nowadays, there’s more focus on social media. A share from a brand can really boost your following so it is important that you understand how to utilise social media platforms like instagram to your advantage. Start posting your best work every day so that more people notice you and you can start to build a following.

Keep up to date with trends and know what the target audience is. Knowing and understanding how to tailor your work to different audiences is important. You’ll want to update your portfolio with your latest work whilst keeping in the timeless designs. The focus has shifted from physical copies of portfolios, most of the time now you’ll use a digital format and that could be a website or even a dedicated instagram feed!

As always, time management is key in the studio. Studio time can be expensive so delays have to be kept to a minimum. You may have several models to make up, so sometimes an extra pair of hands may be needed - someone who can handle the skin preparation while you apply the main look for example. If that’s the case, you may need to adjust a budget to accommodate an assistant.

Keeping an eye out for touch ups and being flexible is vital. For example, you’ve applied a stunning plum gloss but the photographer has decided to add in use of a fan at the last second so now the models hair has caught in it and left marks on the cheek - you’ll need to take care of that quickly and you may wish to change the look or product used to avoid it happening again. Maybe the shoot director doesn’t like your colour choices or perhaps it clashes with the clothes - be prepared to change it up last minute.

Most of all, be hardworking, efficient and approachable. If you make a good impression, you’ll find that more work will flow your way.

• Getting Ecommerce Work As A Make-Up Artist. (2020). [Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.salon-services.com/blogs/article?cid=The-Career-Files%3A-how-to-get-ecommerce-work-as-a-makeup-artist&fdid=blog