Diary of an MUA: Test Shoot with O Ray Photography *pic heavy*

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of working with Ray Marshall of O Ray Photography again.  We have done a few projects together (here and another time for a shoot with Afro Blue). 

This time she needed someone to help her with a model test. 

For those that are not familiar a test in general is to do a shoot capturing mostly clean beauty images to determine compatibility. 

That can be photographer to model, photographer to makeup artist, model to agency; whatever the case may be; its to find out if the parties involved would make a good match.

set up for the day-mints and overall good hygiene is key when working in such close proximity of others

Model (Jacinta Jaye Jayson) before

Ray putting finishing touches on Jacinta's hair

The look was peachy and bronze by request

Jacinta and I after doing her makeup

Ready for her closeup!  Look 1

Here are some of the products I used to achieve the look that day

My look for the day - basic beauty

Ray and I after the shoot

some behind the scenes images shot by Ray

Here I am putting the finishing touches on Jacinta's look

One of the final images

Look 2

I had a great time on this shoot.  It is always nice to work with Ray.  She has been on a steady climb towards success since I first met her and she has some amazing things coming up in the near future. 

I took the time to ask her a few questions about her brand that I wanted to share.  See below:

SJ: How would you describe your brand in 3 words?

ORay: Original would be the first word since thats what the O stands for.

SJ: OH!  I never knew that!  years later...LOL

ORay: Little known fact!  Um...I would say feminine and on trend.

SJ: What do you look for when selecting MUAs to work with you?

 

When asked this question Ray immediately said the first thing she looks for is how the eyebrows look on the work from the makeup artist!  She likes it to be a natural yet defined looking brow and definitely no halo around it (read: obvious light toned foundation).

She also said she likes an OCD makeup artist.  She remarked that she likes how I step in, I step back, clean up as needed and proceed.  Be deliberate in your makeup application, she stated, do not just put makeup on the face.  Even if you make a mistake go in and correct it because she does not want to spend hours trying to create a look in photoshop.

She once had to have an artist take makeup off and then Ray redid it, while the artist watched. 

SJ: What's your favorite makeup product of the moment?

 

ORay: Oh!  Ok wait you said makeup product, cause you know I am into lashes...

 

SJ: Well, yeah that can be a makeup product!  Tell me about lashes and then do another one.

 

ORay: Ok so the two things I cant live without would be my Spiked MAC eyebrow pencil and some individual demi lashes.  If you have that, thats all you really need.  

 

SJ: What upcoming projects are you working on?

 

ORay: So next month I am flying to St. Kitts and I am shooting several models from the St. Kitts modeling agency.  They hired me to basically be a fashion consultant; give them all makeovers - makeup, hair and styling, so thats going to be fun.  *sings* I get to be on an island...you know that life!

SJ: Mmm Hmm, you will love it!  You may not want to come back...but bring yourself back! LOL

Check out more work from Ray on her site - http://www.orayphotography.com/

Check out more work from Jacinta on her model mayhem page - http://www.modelmayhem.com/872785#

Tyra...Mail!!!

Im gonna grant myself a late pass on this one.  I had taken a break from watching Americas Next Top Model.

When it initially came on it was a constant source of fashion, hair and makeup inspiration.  The challenges seemed pertinent to the industry and a good source of information for those aspiring to become a model.  Well as we all know the formula for successful reality tv must include a bit of foolery and to me over the years, while still a bit tame compared to other shows, it got a bit more corny.

What drew me back in was the inspiration.  The hair and makeup team was still super talented so I felt I could give the show another try.  I also knew that with the addition of Andre Leon Talley, so highly respected in the industry, that he should not allow his reputation to be tarnished with too many antics.  Another draw was that this season was geared towards the All Stars.

Of course I didnt know all of the contestants but I grew more familiar with each episode on my dvr. 

Yesterday I FINALLY took the time to watch the final episode and suffice it to say I was pissed.  I already knew that Lisa won but I thought it was because she killed it on the final runway or something, not with all this mystery surrounding Angelea!  IMO Angelea did pretty well and so did Allison.  In all fairness I cant be too certain that Angelea was the clear winner but I felt as though her mysterious disqualification made her out to be a sort of spectacle and tool to boost buzz about the show.  Totally uncalled for if that is indeed the case.

Rumors have been swirling on the net with reasons for her departure (just google Angelea Preston) that I wont list; I just hope the truth comes out at some point and wish her all the best.

Another source of irritation was the Cover Girl shoot.  At one point they were showing Lisa's part and used the Cover Girl Intense Shadow Blast in Extreme Green.  Described as a rich, waterproof shadow with built in primer I would think the color payoff would be "intense", right?  Apparently not because right before ol' girl hopped in front of the camera for her close up the MUA was shown applying what appeared to be a MAC shadow in a similar shade.  I stared at the screen like wait...did I just see that in real life???  Now we know that there is almost always smoke and mirrors on shoots, especially with mascara but to see it in plain sight for a promo of a product was a bit much.  If thats the case then just put it out there as a colored primer/ shadow base. 

I admire the hustle of Tyra all day long but I was a little let down with that particular episode.  Everything after that seemed to lack integrity and didnt seem genuine.

What do you think?  Did you tune in?