Getting ready for a photo or videoshoot can be a little overwhelming. Here to help with a  few hairstyling tips is Vidal Sassoon colorist, Lori Jean Vadnais!

1. How should you style your hair for a headshot shoot? What about color? What is the correct timeframe?
It is a good idea to get your color done about a week before your shoot, so that it will look the most natural. Color tends to settle in and adjust slightly within the first few days after processing. So give yourself that time so you can be the most confident in your look. Styling your hair for a shoot is an important aspect of the process. You want to give yourself options. You want to allow for different looks, but keep them true to how you would wear your hair so that it’s repeatable. Try a straight look using a flat iron – giving shine and silkiness. Use rollers or a wide barrel curling iron to give yourself a little boost and body. Consider using pins to sweep up a section in the front as another possibility. Just make sure you don’t limit yourself and that you’re not trying things on the day of that you’ve never done before. You need to feel as calm and centered as possible so do a practice run a few days ahead of time so you can enjoy the process.

2. What tips do you have for getting more volume (for a video shoot/fashion shoot)?
An ideal way to get volume in your hair style is to use a texturizing or root-boosting product at the root area of your hair when blow drying. Flip your head over and direct the roots away from your scalp as your dry it. Then whether you’re using rollers, a curling iron or flat iron on the ends, make sure to lift the hair up and away – for the rollers or curling iron you can even pin the curls up at the root while they cool, ensuring they’ll have memorize the height you’re putting into them. Once you’re finished, use a light hairspray to add a bit of texture and hold to the overall look.

3. Any special products a man should use?
Try to avoid overly shiny products like a gloss gel or texturizer – often men prefer more matet products to add a bit of hold for their look. Hairspray doesn’t hurt if you’ve got finer hair. Sample a few products before the day of so that you’re comfortable with them and can enjoy the experience.

So, you have a photoshoot coming up and you are a little perplexed about the whole makeup thing. Should you or should you not get a professional makeup artist? What type of makeup should you use? We are excited to have one of the best makeup artists in the business, Alexandra Brock, answer your most pressing questions!

1. Do you recommend a professional makeup artist for the shoot and why?
I absolutely recommend a makeup artist for any type of professional photo or video shoot! Most people don’t realize the makeup they wear in everyday life will not translate on camera in the right way, even if they are going for a very clean, classic look. The lens in a camera really diffuses things- I always say to my clients, “it’s like throwing bleach onto a pair of blue jeans!” So, typically people don’t realize just how much makeup it takes to get that ever so desired “natural” yet “perfect” look on camera. In addition to this, your makeup artist will have an understanding of the type of lighting being used and will be able to adjust the makeup accordingly, which is also very important!

2. If the client wears little to no makeup in everyday life, what are the absolute basics they need to wear for a shoot?
I would say if someone is very adverse to wearing makeup on their face (even for a shoot) at the very least- conceal! Especially under your eyes. Also cover any spots or problem areas on the face to even out the skin tone a bit, otherwise the viewer could possibly become a bit distracted if your skin tone isn’t naturally pretty even on its own. Aside from that, a little powder on any shiny areas would be the second most important thing. In addition to this, for women I would recommend a coat of mascara, a bit of pink blush to bring some life to the face, and a lip product with a little tint of color in it (pink is always a safe choice and looks good on everyone). Also, while things can be fixed and tweaked in photoshop, I never rely on that to fix what could have been taken care of in-person at the time of the shoot. So, you should always put on at least these basics when in front of a camera.

3. What about makeup on men? Yes/No? What should they focus on?
For my male clients, I vary my routine depending on how comfortable they are wearing makeup. The main areas to focus on would be evening out skin tone and watching for shine. For those who are not so into wearing makeup, I just conceal under the eyes and fix any trouble spots. I will powder over everything I’ve concealed and also go over any shiny spots, then put a little chapstick on their lips. Dry, scaly, lips are VERY distracting on camera, so make sure they are moisturized!

4. For a videoshoot, do you recommend wearing different makeup than for a photoshoot? What are your feelings on “HD” makeup?
It really depends on the lighting, first and foremost. If you are shooting in natural light (be it for video or camera) the makeup should be different than it would be if you were shooting in a studio under very bright lighting. This is probably one of the best reasons why it’s so important to hire a professional! I would never expect the average person to have the knowledge of such things, and it’s not something they should be distracted by during a shoot. I guess the best way to explain the difference for makeup under studio lighting as opposed to natural light is that you would need to be much more heavy handed with the application. Not as extreme as “stage makeup” but the principals are still the same- bright lighting blows out features, so the shadows and hilights must be brought back in. The only way to do so is to contour your features with makeup. I like a lot of the “HD” products as they were formulated with the technology in mind. It takes the guesswork out of my job- if I use HD products, I know they will look good in HD format. Not to say that other products won’t look just fine, but I feel you would need to have a pretty vast understanding of product type in order to know what would and wouldn’t work.

5. What are the top 5 things that a woman should always wear for makeup- just everyday.
I am fanatical about skincare. I think the MOST important thing a woman should wear is sunscreen on her face- 12 months of the year! It’s the #1 way to prevent aging and wrinkles, and, let’s face it- the better your skin looks, the less makeup you have to wear! So, always put sunscreen on your face. I understand that some makeup products may contain SPF, but that’s not good enough. You need to get a good sunscreen with broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection and put it on before all your other products. Any extra SPF you may get from a tinted moisturizer can just be an added bonus! In addition to this, concealer under the eyes and on any trouble areas would also make a great difference. Also- ladies worldwide need to learn how to curl their eyelashes! I am still surprised at how many women sit in my chair and tell me they don’t know how to use an eyelash curler. It can make a world of difference and really open up your eyes, which will then brighten up your face. Once those lashes are curled, apply mascara. A lip balm with some SPF in it (tinted or not) is also a must! So, there you have it: SPF, concealer, eyelash curler, mascara, lip balm. Very simple, basic, no-fuss face I think any lady could find the time for in her everyday life.

A couple of month’s ago, Toni ran into a problem when shooting a 6’4″ client. She needed to use a chair to reach the appropriate shooting height, and it was a little bit uncomfortable and awkward to navigate a clunky chair while shooting. Luckily, we have an amazing designer and engineer in the family, so we delegated the task of creating a step-stool to Andy’s father, Doug.  Our homemade stool is the perfect size! Plus, he ingeniously incorporated our logo- the Purple Critter- into the design. We love it!

What cool ways have you incorporated your logo?

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, you need to start making the website! But what goes into making a website? Well, lucky for you, we can tell you.

1. Decide on your domain name. If you are an actor, performer, sole proprietor, or just using it for personal use, we recommend using www.firstnamelastname.com For example, www.tonidolce.com. Normal domain names are around $10 per year. Take a look atName Cheap or Go Daddy to get a feel for pricing and what a company like this offers. A domain name is something that you renew yearly. If your domain name is taken, try www.firstnamemiddlenamelastname.com. Not available? Try using a different extension such as .net, .biz, .info, or  .us!  Get creative! Andy has both a personal website, andrewbove.com, and an additional business website at www.boveaudio.com.  If www.tonidolce.com wasn’t available Toni was going to use something like www.tonidolcesings.com. There is always a chance that your domain name has been purchased by a domain shopper and is not being actively used. In that case, you can contact the domain shopper and inquire what their purchase price would be to obtain your name.  It might be worth it to get the name you want!

2. Make a list and begin gathering  your content. What do you want to include in your website? Resume, Photos, Video, Blog, Contact Info, Twitter Feed, Upcoming Projects, Newsletter Info, Menus, Marketplace,  Services, etc…  Sketch out a rough draft of what you want your website to look like. Begin brainstorming your logo, color scheme, and placement.

3. Take a look around the web and make notes on your favorite sites and what you like about them. Rank your top ten. These could be of your contemporaries or any site you come across that inspires you.  Do you like a simple structures or more complicated sites? Moving graphics a must? All of these details will help you and your designer get the best idea for the type of site you want to construct.

4. Decide whether you want to construct the website yourself or hire a company to make it for you. There are many free templates to assist you in getting your content uploaded. However, if you are a legitimate business or brand, seriously considering hiring a company to make the site for you. Shop around for pricing and assess the style of the design team. Make sure you establish the pricing up front. Also, make sure you know what type of back-end system they will be operating from.  If you are a little bit computer savvy, you can save money by doing all future updates yourself.

5. Decide on a host. We have had several hosts over the years that include Bluehost, Go Daddy, Fat Cow, and Just Host. Hosting will usually cost a little under $100 per year.

6. Get started! Organize all of your content and send it to your designer. Building a website takes time and is a malleable process. Expect at least 3-6 weeks for the website to be organized and constructed.  Good things take time!

So, whether you are an artist, musician, singer, actor, dancer, teacher, or small business owner, begin to build your brand! Where do you start?

1. State your objective. Write a mission statement, list adjectives that describe your company, state your values, establish your product offering, and hash out what makes you different from your competition.

2. Get a logo. Even if your business is solely, Actress Ann Smith, a graphic designer can artfully design an eye-catching logo with unique color and font choices. For as little as $150, you can have a designer make you an awesome logo. Check out 99designs or Logopond for some inspiration.

3. Target your audience. What are you selling? If you are the best early-music soprano in the city, make sure you are marketing yourself as such! Connect with every church, every early-music publication, every lover of early-music.  We have a client who is a restaurant consultant. He is tapped into every restaurant convention, every restaurant publication, and is on a first name basis with the top chefs and restaurant owners in the city. When restaurants need assistance turning around their event department, the industry knows to call Joseph Jacobino, Restaurant Consultant.

4. Get to work! Building a brand takes a lot of time, energy, patience, and pursuit! Continue to innovate, add new products, network, and keep yourself in the race!