Choosing Makeup for Bridal Photography

The wedding makeup you see in the mirror is not necessarily what your pictures will show. The time of day and lighting used has a huge impact on your appearance in photographs. Here's some advice you can try if you're doing your own makeup on your big day or are working with a novice makeup artist who has yet to build a bridal portfolio.

•1
Start always with a clean face ready and prepped for makeup application. Moisturizer is a must for skin hydration, as are a lip balm over exfoliated lips and a makeup primer so your makeup lasts longer.

•2
Use softer colors for a morning wedding. A lightweight foundation is ideal, as anything too heavy is bound to be very evident in the soft light. Define your features, such as your eyebrows and eyes, so they show up beautifully in photographs, but blend well everywhere so that there are no lines of demarcation. For this time of day, natural is best.

•3
Pick makeup with a mostly matte texture for a wedding held at noon. A tiny bit of shimmer is permissible, but use it as a highlight, such as on your browbones. At this time of day, you will appear too sparkly with a lot of shimmer. Your choice for makeup shades should ideally still be in the natural range, but feel free to define a little bit more as the sun's rays are getting harsher and you want to avoid looking washed out in pictures.

•4
Add more of a vibrant selection of colors to your palette for a ceremony taking place in the late afternoon. As the sun sets, you want to make sure your face registers in photographs and a tested way to do that is by indeed looking the part of the blushing bride. Blend your makeup so the colors don't appear harsh and unnatural, but you are more than entitled to deeper tones at this time of day. A safe and pretty choice would be colors that look like the ones naturally found on your face, particularly for blush and lip color, but considerably richer.

•5
Go more glam for a nighttime wedding. Smoky eyes, shimmery blush or lips-select a feature you'd like to play up and enhance it dramatically while keeping the rest of your face more toned down. Just keep in mind you still want to pick classic colors for your makeup as opposed to trendy ones. When you happen upon your photos a decade or two from now, would you rather look dated or as beautiful as though your photographs were snapped just yesterday?