It’s not enough to just tell people about beauty products- you need to show them.
Although my job title is “Beauty Writer,” words only make up a portion of what I do. Beauty consumers are discerning shoppers now- they know what they want, they have a good understanding of what does and doesn’t work, so in order to really communicate with my readers and followers I need to physically show them how a product looks and what it can do in order to do my job as effectively as possible.
This is where photography comes in. By no means am I professional photographer, but I started shooting with a DSLR on my 16th birthday and, nearly 10 years on, I’ve taken every class, elective and lecture possible to ensure the content I’m putting out there is as good is at can possibly be. It’s a respect thing- I respect my readers and my followers, so I want to show them the most accurate possible representation of the products I’m reviewing. Accuracy comes down to the details, so for me to really do my job I need a serious camera.
My one qualm with the DSLRs I’ve used has always been their size. A handful of my clients are based interstate and whenever I’d take my big camera in my handbag I’d complain of a sore shoulder- a small problem in the grand scheme of things, but why do something the inconvenient way when there’s a more convenient option. This wasn’t limited to client and interstate work either. When I was younger, I would take a camera everywhere with me to capture social shots but in recent years I’ve replaced this with my iPhone. The photos were nowhere near as clear as I wanted, but I couldn’t find a small camera that didn’t skimp on quality.
I’d been searching for a portable camera with DSLR quality and functionality for over a year, and then Olympus Australia approached me. For transparency’s sake my partnership with Olympus is sponsored, however the timing was serendipitous and I have been using my Olympus PEN E-PL9 by choice, not by necessity.
I get asked a lot about how to shoot beauty content, particularly by the Instagram community, so now felt like the right time to whip up a quick guide as, if you’re new to photography, this will be a far easier camera to get started with without having to shoot low-res on your phone or spend hours on end studying DSLR functionality.
For me, good beauty content starts with the image set up. When I have the opportunity to shoot in studio I grab it (as you can see in the above video), however travel and client deadlines often require me to shoot on the go so natural light and a white board work for me- if you’re using a great camera, you can make almost any scenario work. My shooting style has become quite minimalist since launching Glow Journal as I want the focus to really just be on the product, rather than the styling, but a minimalist shot requires really sharp image quality in order for the image to capture anyone’s attention. Previously I’ve set the white balance on my cameras manually prior to shooting as it’s important for me to capture the colours of the products I’m shooting as accurately as possible (particularly with colour cosmetics like lipsticks and eyeshadows), but I’ve not needed to touch the white balance on my Olympus as the auto settings are really advanced (not having to fiddle around too much makes this a good camera for beginners, as well as good for shooting on the go with a tight deadline).
A massive part of my reviewing process is physically using the products prior to a write-up, so I like to use my camera document how a product wears throughout the day for my own records so I can write my reviews in as much detail as possible. I like to try my products in different scenarios, with different primers and powders and in different lighting, so unless I document this process it’s almost impossible for me to compare and contrast accurately. Again, I don’t find that my phone can quite capture the details I need it to and my DSLR is far too bulky to carry with me all day every day, so the selfie screen on my Olympus has been getting a thorough workout (if you follow me on Instagram, you’ll have seen that this is now the only camera I use for any selfie content).
The only setting I ever really set manually is the aperture, as this effects your depth of field (ie. you know when you see a photo with a blurry background? This is a narrow depth of field, so the photographer will have used a low aperture). I like a bit of blur in my photos so I can draw attention to the important elements of the photo- in product shots this might be the fine tip of an eyeliner, and in selfies this might mean being able to hone in on the eyelashes if it’s a post about mascara. The kit lens I’ve been using with my Olympus PEN E-PL9 (“kit lens” meaning the one that comes with the camera) gets down to 3.5, which is low enough to get a nice balance between details and blur, but still high enough for me to get an entire product in focus (if you’re shooting on, say, 1.4 and you move even half a centimetre after focusing the camera, the whole image will be out of focus). These are the same settings I also use on larger projects when I do need to use a DSLR, and I’ve found this to be a rare feature on a point-and-shoot sized camera.
The other feature that has changed the way I work is the Olympus app. It takes next to no time to connect the camera to my phone using Wifi, then I can save, favourite and import photos directly to my phone with the OI.Share app and use the OI.Palette app to edit on the go. The photos are already so crisp and the colours so accurate that I don’t need to do a tonne of editing, but I’m able to use the mobile app to adjust levels as I would on my desktop then upload straight to Instagram or send to the client, without having to connect my camera to my computer, edit the images then send them back to myself (this also affords me even more bag room/less shoulder pain).
As I said this is a sponsored partnership, however I can say in all sincerity that this camera has become an extension of my arm. My Instagram followers have been asking a LOT about where they can purchase this in Australia, and as the PEN E-PL9 is exclusive to Digi Direct I’ve teamed up with them to give you a special gift with purchase.
You can use this link to shop Olympus, then use the code EPL9GEMM at the checkout for a FREE Olympus PEN Generation camera strap. You can choose a strap here, add it to your cart then apply to code to get it for free.
Video by Darryl Ephraums and Andrej Morgan of The Visual Economy.
This post has been sponsored by Olympus Australia however all views are, as always, entirely my own.
