Hello to all readers on Elena’s Blog.
I’m Sophie Downing a Make-up Artist based in the Derby but I also travel around the Midlands.
I have worked with Elena on various photo shoots that I will be telling you all about. She is a fantastic Photographer who creates outstanding images as well as a very creative mind when it comes to ideas for Weddings. It’s always a pleasure to work with her.I will be a regular Make-up Artist blogger on this Wedding blog, keeping you up to date with all Wedding photo shoots, beauty advice and any product reviews.
It would be perfect if I received any comments or emails off you all telling me what you would like to see on these blog posts (of course wedding related).
I will start with filling you all in on my experience in the Make-up industry and my business so you can relate to my work a little more and get a little background feel.
A lot of people are interested in how I started out and what a makeup artists everyday life is like, I myself love to read about how other make-up artists start out in the industry as I do find it interesting as well as seeing how much work you have to put into freelance businesses. (Trust me it takes a lot of work!)In school I found myself always watching the famous YouTube Tutorials from make-up artists and just average people doing their faces and playing around with expensive makeup that I always wanted to buy myself.
As soon as the decision came to what I wanted to do when I enter the huge world alone was Make-up! I searched colleges in my area and ended up finding a makeup course near where I lived.
Level 2 Hair and Media Make-up, this course was basically a variety and I guess a step towards the insight of make-up, from natural makeup to editorial makeup. Hair was dedicated to a full day on the course learning semi-permanent colours to hairstyling.
It also contained a little bit of beauty such as Fake Tanning, Brow and Lash Tinting and Individual Lashes. It was great that the course was so varied and gained a few qualifications into one.
I passed this course with a Distinction and continued onto Level 3 Make-up Artistry but this was taken at a college a little further away.Level 3 was a lot more make-up based which I did enjoy more as it was very hands on and everyone seemed to have more enthusiasm for the make-up industry.
I learnt a lot about different aspects of make-up such as Natural Make-up, High Fashion/Editorial make-up, Special Effects, Camouflage Make-up, HD Airbrushing and Wedding Make-up as well as lots more. This course was where I discovered which route I wanted to take in the make-up industry, as there are a lot more paths than you think.
Of course I chose the Fashion/Wedding route as I worked with a photographer on the course where I started planning my own looks, creating the makeup looks on the models then seeing everything come together on the photo shoot and receiving the final images seemed like a massive proud achievement which just made me want to do more and more, and that is still flowing to this day.
From then on I have built amazing relationships with other creatives in the industry. You want to make sure you build up a great reputation from your work as well as your personality as that counts too. No one wants to see a grumpy, bored make-up artist doing make-up just cause they have to. It’s all about the passion that I have for make-up that brings out a happy, enthusiastic make-up artist of myself.
After discovering that passion, one of my shoots was bridal theme; this gave me an insight of bridal make-up and the whole aura that comes with it.
Working with real brides is a massive pleasure as there is nothing better than hearing words like ‘I feel like a new woman’ ‘My skin looks flawless’ and them thanking me multiple times. It just makes my job 10 times better and knowing that the bride is satisfied and happy with my work as your wedding day is one of the most special days of your life and I want to make you look and feel at your absolute best.Being a Make-up Artist is a very sociable job as you are constantly working with new people from strangers who you meet once or regular clients and other creative. It is a dream job in my opinion and I hope that you all see my passion through my work including brides and photo-shoots.
I will finish off saying that this blog will be very readable to all you new brides and even regular readers that have an interest in my work and even just make-up.
My next post will be on the Vintage 1950’s Bridal photo shoot that I worked on with Elena. Talking about what makeup I used, behind the scene actions from the day and much more.I hope you have enjoyed listening to my ‘Big’ introduction on my start in the industry and my passion for make-up.
There is so much more to talk about but you will have lots more blog posts to keep up with me on.Don’t forget to leave comments on what you would like to see on my blog, as I want to be pleasing my audience and keeping my blog interesting for you all.
Love Sophie x
makeupbysophiedowning@yahoo.co.uk
Website – www.makeupbysophiedowning.co.uk
Facebook – www.facebook.com/MakeUpBySophieDowning
Twitter – @makeupbysophied
Instagram – makeupbysophiedowning
