As a beauty professional you know that your portfolio and social media depend on the mediocre “before” photos and the stunning, awe-inspiring “after” photos. Many cosmetologists spend most of their time and effort on attaining such photos. Does any of this sound like you?
Scrub the face and take a fresh, rough photo in the worst lighting possible when your client is not smiling. Then, you perform whatever procedures you are going to, and then fully make them up, blow out their hair, find the best lighting, and then snap 100 photos of your client smiling and then use the best photo filter and put it side-by-side next to your before photo and poof full makeover!
And, how many times have you seen the competition’s before and after photo and scoffed because, despite the perfectly executed brow sculpting, the picture quality is terrible, and you know that people are going to enlist your services over theirs, based solely on the images?
So, it stands to reason that there is great power in a perfect photo and worth a thousand words.
We are, by no means, suggesting that you set up a photo studio in your salon or invest in professional-grade cameras, lighting, and lenses — although, if you do, it’ll go better for you! But, in today’s post, we are going to give you a few pointers on how to take better before and after photos.
How to Nail the Before/After Photo
To build your portfolio and your social media, here are some tips to create before and after photos that will make your calendar fill up!
Invest in a Quality Camera
Ensuring that you use a high-quality camera can make a huge difference in the quality of your photos. As we mentioned before, we are not suggesting that you buy a top-of-the-line Nikon, but you should care for the camera that you use. If it is your phone — it is 2019 — ensure that it is one that uses the latest technology. You want to ensure that your photos will not become blurry or distorted when they are zoomed in on, or blown up. Additionally, having high-resolution camera technology will help you better edit your photos for something that is share-worthy.
Focus on Lighting
Okay, listen closely here, stop making your before photo lighting terrible while optimizing your after photo lighting! We recommend using good lighting for both. In fact, the best before/after photos are those that can be sliced down the middle and merged so that your before is on the left and the after is on the right. When the lighting, makeup, and background is intentionally poor on the before photo and great on the after side, your customers can see right through it and it actually distracts from the actual quality of your work and just emphasizes the fact that you know how to take a bad picture and a great picture. Make the lighting great in both and add more emphasis to the work you perform.
In most salons, the lighting is already ideal to make the skin and hair of your clients look their best. At My Absolute Beauty, we also offer a selfie ring light that can be used with any smartphone. The selfie ring light highlights and brightens photos to make them appear studio-quality, without the studio.
Use Your Model
Yes, your work is what you are trying to portray, but your clients are what help sell it! Try to refrain from taking super close-ups of just the eyebrows or lashes. Hair — no matter how well-groomed it is — is rarely attractive when singled out. The reason we are taking before/after photos is the same reason your (potential) client is looking at them — they want to visualize how it would look on them. Use your model, and let their natural features highlight your work. You meticulously measure and match the hair to accent your client’s natural features, so showcase them!
You Cannot Take Too Many Photos
How many times have you gone through 10 of your own photos to find the best one for your new status update and decide you hate them all? Never, ever take a single photo and call it good. You can delete the excess photos later, but you can’t get your client back and take more. Take lots of photos the first-go-round and give yourself plenty to work with.
Add-On Services!
This is a great selling point to encourage your clients to add on services! Obviously, don’t sell it as for your own before/after photos, but to encourage them to add on to enhance their own photos. Some add-on services that will improve your photos and you can offer at no cost to your clients include a face mask or at least an under-eye mask. While you are performing a lash lift, you can offer to add on a lash and brow tint or microblading services. We also carry the Absolute Glow skin revival lamp that allows your clients to reduce their facial irritation following a beauty procedure and enhances their satisfaction and your images!
Investing a little more time and energy into high-quality before and after photos will pay off immensely. They will help you showcase your talents and offer “free” advertising for your services. Your portfolio, whether online or in a photo album, show your client and prospective clients what you are capable of and prove that they should choose you. In a highly competitive field and over-saturated market that is the beauty industry, people rely on reviews and photos — pics or it didn’t happen!
At My Absolute Beauty, we help you, the beauty professional, with every stage of the process. From lash lift training from the industry’s experts, high-quality lash lift supplies, and all of the materials and training necessary for add-on services and landing the perfect before/after shot. For everything you need to grow your client base and fill your appointment calendar, browse our online beauty shop today!
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