The Business

Most people do not know how to network properly. If you are handing out cards and telling people about yourself and what you do, you are not networking as effectively as you could be.

If you walk away from a networking encounter and the other person knows more about you than you know about them, you have probably failed to make a good impression. People like to talk about themselves, what they do, their families, and their hobbies. They would normally rather talk than listen. So ask questions and listen, find out what the other person needs, and take mental notes. Whatever you do, don't name drop, or go on and on about your resume. Nobody cares who you know or who you have worked with in the past.

The real key to networking is that you have to really be interested in the other person and you have to like people in general. If you don't, you might as well stay home because people are intuitive. People know if you really are interested in them and what they do or are just playing the game.

How do you like and find an interest in people that you are meeting briefly at a party or event? You have to listen to them, and find common ground. They have problems just like you do. They are trying to make a living just like you are. Whoever you are talking to is someone's child, someone's parent perhaps, someone's best friend, someone's spouse. They have suffered losses, disappointments, tragedies and triumphs just as you have. Keep this in mind when you talk to someone.

When you know a lot about someone and you are interested in them, they feel like they know you. This will result in a memory of you when an occasion comes up where they may need your services. Given two talented choices, who are you going to refer when you have a job to refer someone to? The artist that spent 15 minutes telling you she worked with Lady Gaga, Matt Damon, and the Queen of England — or the artist who knows your children's names and your favorite movie?

You would need to be in NY, Chicago or Atlanta, perhaps Miami — as far as I know that's where the major stations are located. Local stations don't usually hire artists on a regular basis. Your best bet would probably be CNN in Atlanta; they employ a lot of artists.

So I guess your first step would be to move to one of these cities if you are not already in one. After that I would start contacting video people and small satellite stations for experience. You can Google the major stations and find out where their satellite stations are located; most major cities have satellite stations, just keep in mind they have independent names so you have to do a little research.

Check out your local film commission guide or call your local film commission office — they may know. Good luck!

You really can't solicit celebrities; they usually land on an artist through word of mouth. Sometimes they work a job and really like the artist and then ask for the same artist on other jobs.

Offering a freebie to a celebrity won't work — money isn't an object with them and they do not normally pay the makeup bill themselves. What they want is someone very good and fast, and someone that they personally get along with well.

Contrary to popular belief, most celebrities do not have their own artist. Remember celebrities travel a lot and the artist could not have another life if they were just the artist to this one celebrity.

Your chances of getting to work with celebrities would be better if you had a major makeup artist agent in LA; that's where most artists get the good jobs with celebrities.

See my article on TFP, which explains how to get prints. If you are talking about getting prints from a photographer who actually paid you for a job — forget it, it's not part of the package.

If you are concerned about getting paid by a client or photographer I would first ask you why. Is the client/photographer shady? From out of town? If you do not trust a client or photographer to pay you, I suggest you do some research before working the job. Find out who they have worked with in the past, what production people, and then ask the production people how the client pays. Most people who have not paid artists are people that make this a practice, and so by doing a bit of research you can find out.

If it's a shoot for Nike or Gap, chances are you will be paid. If it's a shoot for a wannabe model you better get your money way before you crawl out of bed the day of the shoot.

If the shoot is for a big client like Nike, don't start fretting about your payment until 60 days has passed, then make a call. These large clients go through agencies; your invoice has to go through a lot of people before you finally get paid. 90 days is not unheard of.

If you are ever asked to cut your rate, you can negotiate with payment — I would insist on payment day of the shoot if you have discounted your rate at all. Hope this helps.

Rain days are not days anyone will pay you for and they are not days you should give up other paying work for.

What I do is let the client/photographer know that I have been offered another job on the scheduled rain days, but do have a back up artist for them standing by should they need one on those days. You then should find a back up artist that is available those days — someone you trust to do the same kind of job you would do.

Most people in business understand that when you are booked for work that pays, that will always take priority over rain days.

Another note: if you are offered a job on the date of the shoot you should let the photographer know before you take the other job that you are preparing to turn down a job on such and such a date, and that you now need confirmation that the job is a definite go because now you will have to charge his client a 50% cancellation fee if the shoot does not happen on that date. Good luck.

First let's talk about editorial work — this is the lowest paid work in the industry. You are talking about $100.00 to $400.00 for a full day's work in most cases. Local magazines pay about $100.00 and national about $400.00. Let's suppose you know that and are willing to take the low pay for the editorial recognition — that's fine, I do that at times, but this will not pay the bills and it is work that is very sparse. Nobody makes a living at editorial work.

Now that we have that cleared up, here is how you get that work.

Go look at the magazines you want to do and right there in the credits you will see who is shooting for the magazine. You need to contact that photographer and beg him to let you do the next editorial with him — remember you will be in a long line of begging artists. Then, contact the magazine; you will see addresses and phone numbers in the magazine near the front. You need to contact the powers that be and let them know you are looking to do their next editorial layout.

This will take a lot of negotiating; you need to really get to know these people! This is not easy work to get. Most of the national magazines go through agents — ONLY agency artists usually get those jobs. You will have an easier time getting a local magazine gig. Good luck, let me know how it goes.

MAC knows you can learn to do makeup no matter who you are. My guess is they want to see you interact with the client.

Be friendly, and explain every product you are applying as if it were just invented and the greatest thing to hit the planet. Appear comfortable as you apply the makeup and put your client at ease with chit chat about her! Ask her questions like, what are your favorite eye shadow colors? Compliment every nice feature — "you have beautiful cheek bones, this color will be perfect to play them up." You get the picture.

They are not looking for a great artist, they are looking for a great sales person.

Practice with one of your friends in the chair as you apply makeup. The colors you have chosen I am sure will be fine — just blend well, and be a perfectionist. Don't let nerves prevent you from doing a job you are satisfied with. You might even explain if you are nervous that "I am very nervous because this job means a lot to me, so please excuse the shaky hand."

Keep in mind MAC artists do not make a lot of money; it's a pretty lowly job as an artist. You're in fact not an artist, you're a sales person. Good Luck!

My editorial rates depend on who the client is. National magazines pay anywhere from $200.00 to $350.00 for a photo shoot that lasts anywhere from 2 to 8 hours. Local magazines pay about $50.00 to $250.00 for a shoot. The compensation comes in the fact that they put your name in print in the magazine.

An editorial job is a magazine shoot. Just about anything you see in a magazine that is not a specific ad for something is probably an editorial job. The shoot is put together by the magazine and paid by the magazine, usually to accompany an article.

A commercial job is a job where the client hires you — for example you are hired by Sony for a magazine ad, or hired by Jack In The Box for a newspaper ad. These jobs pay the highest day rate usually. In San Diego about $600.00 per day, in LA about $800.00 per day (up to 10 hours).

So if you're working for the ego gratification, editorial is what you want. If you want cold, hard cash you want the commercial work. Not as fun but pays the rent.

Your work is awesome. I do not suggest that you send letters out or resumes.

Call and ask for an appointment to show your book. Call only top people and forget the small-timers. Bug the top people until they will see you, then show them your book and make a good impression. Keep calling them if you have to.

When they hire you — be awesome, early, and always reliable, and make everyone comfortable while you're working. Keep in touch with your good clients.

Make friendships with other artists so they will refer you when they are busy; this is very important! Make sure all the other artists like you and view you as a team player. These are the things that matter even more than how good you are. GET OUT THERE! And good luck.

I've written an article on this subject that is worth reading. See the Resources section for the TFP article and the Standard Testing Form.

This is a subject I have honestly been trying to avoid on my Q&A page but I have so many letters like yours that I think it is time I give my opinion on the subject for all to see. I have been trying to avoid it because I know a lot of good artists that sell makeup of one kind or another. I do not know of any professional artists that sell makeup they do not use on TV, Film, or Print work.

This last sentence is the key. If you are a professional artist doing TV, Film and print work you know that you cannot use just any makeup. BeautiControl, Mary Kay, Avon and other makeup lines such as these just won't work. The pigment isn't right, the colors are not right and they don't work in a professional environment. How can you sell makeup that as an artist you know is not the best for your medium (print, TV, video, film, etc.)?

NEVER try to sell products to clients you will meet as a professional artist (when you are on a paid job) — this will get you fired.

I do not get much of that type of work here in San Diego. I suggest you check the 411 directories or one of your local production books.

Usually photographers use their regular makeup artists for CD covers. Get in with a few good photographers, do small projects with them and when they get the good work they should call you.

There is a lot to be said for loyalty; you need to grow with the people you work with. If you see potential in a photographer stick by him or her like glue and he or she should do the same when the good work starts coming their way. This is how I have done the video covers in my portfolio.

In a small market you are better off if you do both. I have yet to meet any artist that does both real well; everyone is stronger in one art than the other (in my circle of acquaintances anyway).

I consider LA and NY the only markets in the USA where you can get away with doing just makeup and still make a living.

To be honest, I don't like hair much either but over the years I have gotten pretty good at it. You have to work at it and have some freedom to play, so do it when you are testing or just play with hair whenever you have a willing subject. Don't be afraid to make mistakes!

I have also found that classes do a little good but not much — you really have to just get in there and have fun with it. Look at photos and see if you can copy the hair you see. You would be surprised at how easy some of the stuff you see is. Good luck to you.

I get a lot of calls and email from people wanting to break into the business and wanting to assist. Most of the time I use them a few times and never again. This is what most artists I know, as well as myself, look for in an assistant.

1) An assistant should make the key (or the artist who is using them) look good. Whatever it takes, help with whatever he or she needs, and always watch to see what it is he or she needs.

2) Never be late to a job. I am always about 20 minutes early; I sit in the car and read or make calls. This way if there is trouble on the way I will still be on time. This is the least you can do.

3) Never hand out your card, or make buddies with the art director or production staff. This will ensure that you will not work with the artist who hired you again. I know you are looking for future work, but do it on your own time, and best not to try and take it from someone who was nice enough to get work for you.

4) If you are sitting relaxing while the key is working there is a problem. Unless the key asked you to please sit down and take a break, you should be working at least as hard as he or she is.

5) Invest in a kit (all the supplies you need to work on your own). If you are lacking supplies you will always be just an assistant; no one will want to refer you for a job if you do not have the supplies. I have had so many "artists" call me and tell me that they are artists looking for work but do not yet have a full makeup kit. That is like a photographer without a camera — no one will take you seriously if you have not invested in your career at least this much.

I started as an assistant and this worked for me. I was a popular assistant and finally the artists started giving my name out when they were busy. Established artists are where your best work can come from, so treat them well.

Never talk poorly about another artist; it will come back to haunt you. The last thing you need is any artist (even a bad one) to harbor resentment toward you. The more friends you have in this business the better you will do. Try not to look at other artists as your competition — look at them as your colleagues and you will do a lot better, and be happier. You may find your best friends in this business. I know I have.

There is no license in California for freelance makeup artistry. If you cut and color hair you need a cosmetology license. If you do makeup in a salon you need a cosmetology license.

Most professional makeup artists (TV, film, photography) do not have cosmetology licenses. I see no need for one unless you want to do hair in a salon, or if you want to work in a salon.

Hi,

Years ago, a static portfolio and a few referrals were enough to keep your calendar full. Today, everyone has a polished Instagram, beautiful photos, and a clean website. The market is saturated with promises.

Clients are no longer buying what you say you can do. They are buying undeniable evidence that you can do it consistently — and, more importantly, that other people are hiring you to do it every day.

They want proof of consistency: unedited, real-time work that shows you deliver under pressure. We're already seeing this shift transform other industries. Look at how Augernaut's website design for contractors turns daily fieldwork into live, automated proof right on the website.

When potential clients can see exactly what you accomplished yesterday, the friction to book almost disappears. Make your real-world proof impossible to ignore.

Mary