Proud Photography Blog

Choosing a hair stylist for a photo shoot is similar to choosing a make up artist.  The most important thing is to look for something you can work with, usually for long hours and someone who has a strong portfolio.

Many hairdressers have aspirations to become stylist for shoots – these people are called Session Stylists.  You can always find a talented hairdresser with a creative streak to help out, but if you need a professional you should always look for a Session stylist as they are used to dealing with pressurized conditions.

Session stylists are also fantastic at creating new and exciting looks. Sometimes this may not be what you or the client needs – you may just need a very simple clean look but even this can be hard to achieve when you don’t have the skill!

Session stylists tend to take their own assistants too.  This is because dealing with hair can be fiddly especially if there is more than one model so expect an apprentice to be there too. Stylists tend to take their own apprentices or they may request on in which case, it’s not too difficult finding a hairdressing trainee who is willing to help.

Hair can be a tricky one to do – it should always complement the rest of the photograph and it should always work well with make up.  This means that you may want to pick your favorite hairdresser first or even your make up artist then pick someone to compliment them.  Otherwise pick them together and get them to work together on a test shot

Sometimes if you have a head strong make up artist and hair stylist they may clash and want to do their own things, especially where you have arranged for a group of people to work together free of charge (sop everyone gets a shot for their portfolio out of it).

If this is the case, then you really must control the situation – as the photographer people will look to you to be in charge as you will know what it being taken. You are not here to make friends you are there to take some great photographs so if you need to tell one person they aren’t quite right, and then you must do so without being offensive or taking sides.

If you are working for a client then it’s imperative that you take charge of your team.  It’s better to direct from the beginning to make stricter guidelines so that people know what is expected of their services.

Even if you end up working with two people that clash, remember that you should still keep their contact details, if they are talented.  You may meet another person who has a compatible personality and you can bring those people together on another shoot.

Finally – there are lots of hair magazine out made for the consumer.  Buy some of these to get an idea of what shots look good and what you want to achieve with the hair – it’s also a good place to find out if there are any talented people near you.