We got to know Eric, our go-to cinematographer when it comes to beauty and testimonial video production, in a previous post, but in this post, we share his secrets to creating beautiful images!
How to Get that Perfect Beauty Look on Camera
When crafting an aesthetically pleasing shot, Eric’s first thought is lighting. He describes himself as a dynamic shooter, pushing high contrast lighting to create something exciting. Eric likes to use upstage lighting and he also backlights his subjects in a natural way (like how the sun would be if it were behind the subject in real life: wrapped around giving off highlights and shadows). This creates a third dimension to the image, and people automatically view something as pleasing to the eye when things appear three-dimensional on a two-dimensional platform.
In terms of capturing the perfect close-up skin, makeup, or any other type of beauty shot, Eric strives for it to look hyper-real by directing a soft source of light in front of and above the subject to bring out the bone structure, and a strong backlight hard edge to get a catch-light in the eye.
Eric also stresses how technique is one thing, but to have it all come together well, you need what’s going on behind the lens to be in sync with what’s in front of it. His experience with directing, photography, and acting have all make him a better DP. Those experiences taught him how to engage with his subjects and match the energy he’s delivering back to them. Eric describes it as, “Like being on camera behind the camera.”
Check out some of Eric’s beauty, interview, & music video production work here:
Favorite Equipment for Beauty Video Production
Recently, Eric has been having a lot of fun playing with and collecting old 50’s vintage photography lenses for video. He explains that old lenses didn’t have anti-glare technology and coating, so the effect is a pretty lens flare that hazes over a whole shot. If you want that vintage look, new lenses can often be too crisp and the high resolution can appear like soap opera footage. Using an older lens softens the image in a visually pleasing way.
Check out this image from a recent shoot we did with Eric for a luxury skincare company!
Whose Beauty Video Production Work Inspires You?
Eric listed a few fellow DPs, from big household names to some noteworthy up and comers, whose video production and cinematography work he admires:
-Emmanuel Lubezki (aka: Chivo): The Revenant, Tree of Life, Gravity
-Ryan Booth (@RyanBooth): The Revenant Documentary “The World Unseen”
-Christian Sprenger (@CASprenger): Baskets, Atlanta, Last Man on Earth. He especially loves this piece: