Hiring a makeup artist

If you do modeling headshots, etc, how did you go about obtaining a MUA to work with? Do you just add that as part of your service in a package and pay the MUA on the day of the shoot and give MUA copies of your photos later?

Aki78 wrote in post #17883134
If you do modeling headshots, etc, how did you go about obtaining a MUA to work with? Do you just add that as part of your service in a package and pay the MUA on the day of the shoot and give MUA copies of your photos later?

Find out the MUA's requirements. They may have a minimum to show up. If that's the case, you'll likely need to cover the MUA's minimum fee as part of your deposit requirement. Beyond that, I would simply pass along the MUA's fee. You should probably find a handful of MUA's in case your primary option is booked that day.

The MUA is paid for their services. If they want to use your images to help promote their work, they should pay to license your photos just like you pay them their fee to show up. If you want to work out a trade arrangement where they come for a reduced fee (or even take a shoot or two pro-bono) to produce images that the MUA can use on their promotion, that should be a separate conversation. Your headshot client should still assume paying the normal fee of the MUA.

JacobPhoto wrote in post #17884610
Find out the MUA's requirements. They may have a minimum to show up. If that's the case, you'll likely need to cover the MUA's minimum fee as part of your deposit requirement. Beyond that, I would simply pass along the MUA's fee. You should probably find a handful of MUA's in case your primary option is booked that day.

The MUA is paid for their services. If they want to use your images to help promote their work, they should pay to license your photos just like you pay them their fee to show up. If you want to work out a trade arrangement where they come for a reduced fee (or even take a shoot or two pro-bono) to produce images that the MUA can use on their promotion, that should be a separate conversation. Your headshot client should still assume paying the normal fee of the MUA.

Thank you very much. I appreciate it. I'm completely new to this area so wasn't sure how to approach any MUA's out there.

Talk to local Modeling and Talent Agencies and get recommendations on MUA. Most will have websites, so you can gauge their skill level and may actually do a test. Once you've narrowed it down to three or four that you'd book for a shoot you should pay their normal fee. It is a professional courtesy to give them images from the shoot with the number agreed upon when you book them. An email containing the job description, rate and number of images would be advised so there's no problems afterwards.

tcphoto1 wrote in post #17885539
Talk to local Modeling and Talent Agencies and get recommendations on MUA. Most will have websites, so you can gauge their skill level and may actually do a test. Once you've narrowed it down to three or four that you'd book for a shoot you should pay their normal fee. It is a professional courtesy to give them images from the shoot with the number agreed upon when you book them. An email containing the job description, rate and number of images would be advised so there's no problems afterwards.

Thank you!

Yes I hire the MUA+Hair Stylist for model photo shoots and include their fee in the package price. Salons and ModelMayhem.com are good sources of makeup and hair stylists. In my market, I pay between $100-200 for makeup and hair styling services for a 4 look model photo shoot.

Scott Spellman wrote in post #17885883
Yes I hire the MUA+Hair Stylist for model photo shoots and include their fee in the package price. Salons and ModelMayhem.com are good sources of makeup and hair stylists. In my market, I pay between $100-200 for makeup and hair styling services for a 4 look model photo shoot.

Thank you! MM is one of the place I'm trying to join but I don't have many adults headshots they won't accept me yet lol.

I always attempt to get my headshot clients to hire a pro for hair and makeup. I do this for selfish reasons.

Scenario 1 - the client arrives for the photo shoot and doesn't have hair and makeup done. We shoot, show the client a few shots in camera, she loves them and I post the batch online for her to choose her favorite two. Once the two files are chosen, the hellish nightmare begins - fix this stray hair, fix that stray stand of hair on my shoulder, take the red out of my nose, make my cheeks more rosy, my skin looks blotchy on my forehead, please retouch that. After 3 or 4 back and forths, the files are finally ready and sent to the client. Happy client, frustrated photographer.

Sceanior 2 - the client arrives for the photo shoot and hair and makeup is done professionally. We shoot, show the client a few shots in camera, she loves them and I post the batch online for her to choose her favorite two. Once chosen, I brighten eyes a bit, possibly a bit of skin smoothing and send the final files to client. Happy client, happy photographer.

Find someone you can work with that will give you a bit of a discount and either include it in your fee for the photo shoot or have the makeup artist directly bill the client - I've done it both ways and they both have their advantages. Depending upon your workflow, having a makeup artist for portrait shoots (for mostly female clients) would very likely become a huge timesaver for you.

Very good point. Honestly that sounds like a much better idea to have the client be prepped before coming to the studio.

Find someone you can work with, I'm luck my girlfriend and business partner, is a model and MUA. We factor both the time and cost for make up and the photography into each sitting and come up with a price that way.
You will have to factor the cost of the MUA into your sittings otherwise it'll be eating into your profits.