David Gandy Cover Shoot Behind the Scenes

Style Men January 2010 David GandyDavid Gandy for Plaza by Kate Davis 

So working with David was an experience. I jumped at the chance when photographer Kate Davis approached me to collaborate with her to work with David . After seeing him on Dolce & Gabbana advert he was different to what I had expected. Charming down to earth and non diva at all he apologised for not washing his hair on the day of the shoot as he had a long journey. This actually worked in my favour as usually mens hair can be quite tricky to work with.  We wanted to get away from his advertising look of being all groomed and slick hair to a more real and natural kooky look which is what he has. I had so much fun especially when he wore the all in one jump suit, looked like a babygrow and somehow can't imagine it taking off in menswear in their everyday wardrobe!

Test shots before taking pictures on film

Make up products just for him!

To create the look I used a MAC mattifying silicone primer all over which keeps his skin matt and it also showed off his freckles. And concealer to cover under eye and even out the tiredness. He's eyebrows has a natural scar where the hair doesn't grow so the best things was to add a bit of dark eyeshadow to even it out without looking too heavy. With men it can be difficult to decide to keep stubble and facial hair or shave it off as it gives them completely different looks. Clean shaven can look very pretty and young on a guy so on this occasion we wanted him to look manly as possible. 

MAKE UP IS ART Second edition

The Second edition published by Carlton Books

Finally the second edition of the book has been completed and will be out very soon. It has taking a lot of work and effort from all the team involved and was my biggest challenge to date. I am very proud to know that someone out there on the other side of the world could be learning from our experience as working artists in the industry here in London. It is full of extra tips and images with more details and in-dept information about products, techniques and how to achieve various looks. I am very proud to have seen my baby project come to life and it has been amazing journey thanks to the support of AOFM and my friends and colleagues in the industry.

There is a special feature with Britians Got Talent ESCALA whom I've worked with on tour and had an amazing time changing the girls looks for their performances each night on their uk tour supporting Catherine Jenkins. I loved their image and how they made choices together working as a brand.

One of my most enjoyable shoots was for the adornment section and working with crystals and eyelashes and the amazing stylist Rebekah Roy brought lots of luxury accessories to the shoot. It was all about embellishment but influenced with an editorial feel. Shot by Catherine Harbour here is a sneak preview of the image to appear in the book.

Launching in September during LFW watch this space to see how it went.

MAKE UP IS ART

Gain a true insight into the creative world of makeup artistry with sound advice on all the tools, knowledge and techniques you need

Makeup is art. Every face is a blank canvas and every brush stroke creates something magical. Makeup enhances natural beauty but also builds confidence for everyday life. Jana Ririnui, makeup artist and founder of AOFM, and Lan Nguyen, makeup artist and creative director, have come together with a team of other top industry professionals to create a book dedicated to inspire other makeup artists, those wishing to enter this exciting career and anyone who wants to experiment with, and develop, their makeup looks.

It is a glossy, gorgeous makeup manual written by London’s Academy of Freelance Makeup, one of the world’s best training institutes. AOFM tutors work with prestigious clients such as Versace, Armani, Dior and Vogue. It includes basic makeup advice along with step-by-step instructions for a range of truly inventive looks using specialist techniques – from Lady Gaga-inspired creations and retro looks to underwater makeup and body painting. 

We created this book to fill the gap of providing a visual book to inspire. Its more practical with less text and more images to show what you can achieve and being creative but beautiful too. All the images were shot from scratch especially for this project and thanks to our friends and sponsors who helped make it possible. The first edition launched back in 2009 during London Fashion Week with a great party and copies were sold in RD Franks, Soho Book Stores, Charles Fox and a number of other boutique shops. The second edition is out towards the end of the year and will be available worldwide.

Other reviews here from my the fabulous stylist Rebekah Roy whom I have the pleasure to work with quite often during London Fashion Week and various editorials.

Book launch by Rebekah Roy

It is also available to buy AOFM

Beauty Make up Before and After

So here you can see a before and after shot of my make up before retouching. Looking at any image people can forget about the work that goes into creating that perfect image. Especially with beauty. The one fundamental thing now is retouching. I remember when I first started makeup I had always tried to create the perfect make up look in every way down to the last hair as I didn't understand the retouching side. Only from working with magazines and editorials have I learnt this skill and understanding how a finished image should look before going to print. Looking at my make up portfolio a friend of mine once said ' why can I see hairs on her face? Do you not get your work retouched?' And me being proud of what I created and my work I said firmly 'what good would that be as a make up artist that you have to get it retouched?' So I checked out retouching websites and had very mixed feelings as I realised how much people used these tools to hide the imperfections. I was shocked that a make up artist could get away with creating not so perfect looks especially bad skin, wonky lip line and bad eyeliner and blending. I'm not saying it is intentional but if you can't do that properly how can you call yourself a make up artist, is this not the whole point of doing this job? Not to mention retouching hours spent for the photographer. Big spots and lumps are still visible even if you try to cover up with concealer but luckily retouching solves it in a second. I suppose if I was to rely on retouching then I would not push myself to perfection, so in a good way it has kept my skills in shape and always a healthy challenge. With this knowledge I can now manipulate my images to the best they can be.

You can spot instantly the differences between the two images here. The skin being flatter and polished like it's been airbrushed. Lips and eyes are brighter. No matter how perfect I would do it by having that bit more of retouching it actually does looks a lot better. However if you had never seen it retouched then you would accept the first image at face value and with nothing to compare it to, it would be acceptable as a nice image. Which brings me to the point of perfection in beauty. The magazines we see on the shelves are packed with beautiful images that we forget have been airbrushed and it is amazing how many women and men still believe that the model or celebrity looks like that everyday. When really the secret is the team of professionals behind the scenes creating it.

BEING CREATIVE

Being creative with make up is not just adding lashings of make up but being clever with colours and techniques and the trick is to get them all blending as the one look. It can be tempting to keep adding and adding and end up with a scary looking model. Nowadays we are lucky to have photoshop to clean up looks and change colours if you have to. However I love the art of make up that minimum retouched has to be done. Generally I love working with colours and experimenting with different materials and texture. Its a step by step layering process where you add just enough. It is easier to have less on the skin and then build up so you don't waste time in correcting your make up. A lot of my creative looks have happened by accident with a general idea of what I want to achieve but depending on the day of the model skin type and look this can sway me to change my mind. This comes through experience of following my gut feeling if something doesn't look right. it is important to customise the look to fit the model. Not the model to fit your look unless you are in charge of the casting. It is important to discuss the way it should be photographed with the photographer first as certain lights may not be flattering for the look especially on a photo shoot. Here are examples of some of creative looks that have challenged me shot by Nuno Veleso, Fabrice Lachant and Camille Sanson.

Who is edge?

This was an experiment of working with a

graffiti artist edge and combining all the elements of a fashion team to creating an

artistic fashion

shoot. Amazing fashion and beauty photographer Camille Sanson, Stylist Shyla Hassan fashion and celebrity booker at Recognise Magazine who all constructed the garment from various materials and then Edge worked his magic with his graffiti sprays and worked on the backdrop and blue dress. I was impressed with the final look of the sprayed material as it looked like leather and plastic. The make up was avant garde with a modern twist taking inspiration from Dior shows during their couture fashion week. Blocked out eyebrows with fine scar wax and set with a sealer. Thin 1920 eyebrows drawn in to keep it delicate. Soft MAC eyelashes were used on top and bottom with just a delicate eyeliner to blend in. Skin paled out with white face and body mixed in with white full coverage and W10 full coverage. Soft Pink Shock cream blush by MAC and Russian Red MAC lipstick to finish the look. As we shot we had all assistants on hand to move and throw the dress while I directed the fan to give extra movement onto the garment. Different moments were shot separately and then as the last shot I threw loose pink pigment paints over the model. It was so beautiful to watch....

To see a video by Edge of the shoot visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_v9MYdJ2oQ

My Jobs

Now that you know about me I can go through my most interesting jobs and test shoots where you can understand how I have grown in the industry. I still remember my very first test shoot with a photographer called Jason Lloyd Evans and model Jamie Gunns. Whom both are now very established and successful in their careers. We ended up doing a few looks which were very soft and I had used only natural tones and stayed safe by adding a soft smokey eye.

From this test shoot the model agency was really pleased with the result and so encouraged us to carry on testing with their models and hence then I built my portfolio. I remember shooting with the contestants of next top model on the very first series and that was probably my first encounter of working hands on with someone who had been on TV and was a personality. After a while with those images shown to other photographers I started to collaborate with different photographers which lead to meeting more teams and developing my portfolio further. It was a great journey and as i grew confident I started to develop my own unique style of make up.