How I Prep for a Blog Photoshoot

The Night Before: Getting Ready for a Photoshoot

Use Self-Tanner to Look Bronzed

You already know I am a huge advocate for sunless tanning from my honest review of 13 self-tanners! Although I don’t have to use self-tanners as much in the summer, the winters in Utah make me feel translucent! The night before a shoot, I will shave and apply one of my favorite sunless tanning products. Sleeping with the product on and showering it off in the morning provides the perfect amount of color. Sephora at Station Park has tons of sunless tanning options. One of my favorite products from there is the Coola Sunless Tan Sculpting Mousse.

This post is sponsored by Sephora at Station Park. All opinions are my own.

Face Masking for Glowing Skin

Multi-masking (doing a face mask while multi-tasking) is one of my favorite things to do to keep my skin glowing! Skincare is more important to me than makeup; you can’t have good makeup without good skin! Getting sheet faced (a.k.a. doing a sheet mask) the night before a shoot helps me feel confident in my skin the next day. Sephora at Station Park has an entire wall of face masks to choose from! I am a huge fan of the FRESH masking line (try the Black Tea and Rose masks). They also have a Skincare iQ kiosk where you can take a quiz about your specific skin needs and it will match you with products that they have in-store! Once you take the quiz, it’ll save your preferences to your Sephora VIB account. 

Styling Thick Hair

Honestly, my hair is a lot to handle! I have slightly curly, coarse, thick, and long hair which means styling it takes a lot of planning. Sephora at Station Park has styling tools for everything! For 80% of my shoots, I curl my hair for the complete look. In a rush, I use my T3 to blow dry my hair (or let it air-dry if I have time), and then use the T3 Whirl Trio with interchangeable wand sizes to get the perfect curl.

The Day Of the Shoot

Picking & Styling Outfits

Typically, we shoot 3-6 outfits on photoshoot days. That means that all of the outfits, including shoes and accessories, need to be picked out before we leave. I usually start styling the outfits about 2 hours before a photoshoot. The truth: all my shoes and accessories end up in a laundry basket for easy transport. The clothes are carried on a hangers grouped in the outfit they were styled for and hung up in the back of my car, which doubles as my changing room on the go!

Applying Makeup

On a day-to-day basis, I try to wear minimal makeup and let my skin breathe. On photoshoot days or when I have events, I wear a lot more makeup! When a camera is involved, makeup needs to look a bit heavier to avoid getting blown-out with the camera lighting. Sephora at Station Park has some of my go-to makeup products! I’ve been using Bobbi Brown Skin Long-Wear Weightless Foundation SPF 15 for over a year now and LOVE the coverage it offers, yet it doesn’t feel cake-y. Bare Minerals All-Over Face Color in Warmth has been bronzing my face for YEARS! I would highly recommend both, which are available at Sephora. Even better, the Station Park location has a Color iQ machine that scans your skin to give a Color iQ Number that is used to match foundation colors to your skin tone!

Final Touch: False Lashes

For the photos taken in the Sephora Station park, one thing was missing: my false lashes! When taking photos with a professional camera, it quickly becomes apparent when falsies aren’t applied. For my typical makeup routine, I simply apply mascara, but for photoshoots, I usually apply false lashes to give an extra pop to my eyes in photos. Sephora at Station Park has a myriad of false lash options– including their own brand with varying styles!

Stay tuned for my blogpost on How to Plan a Creative Photoshoot!