Behind the Scenes of a Beauty Magazine Photoshoot

Have you ever wondered how a beauty photoshoot comes to be? What goes into producing beautiful photos of stunning models and intricate flat lays? Well, if you answered in the affirmative, today’s your lucky day! We’re taking you behind the scenes of one of our L’Oréal Paris Beauty Magazine photoshoots. Click through for the full scoop on beauty photoshoots, from planning out our pictures to requesting the right makeup and skin care products to prop styling.

PLANNING and PREP WORK

Before shoot day even starts, a lot of work has already been done. The Beauty Magazine team gets things rolling by first planning out what they want to shoot. We look to Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration, we talk about new product launches (always exciting!), and we think about which topics we want to cover over the next few months and which articles are in the pipeline. Once we have all of our ideas, it’s time to consider what each of them requires. Which products will we need on set? Will we need a pretty background, too—to really make the shot? We make lists and check them twice, making sure everything is as organized as possible since we know we’ll only have so much time in the photo studio.

On the day of the photoshoot, we spend the morning prepping—this is when all our planning starts to pay off. We put our inspiration up on computer screens, lay out all of the products by type (so satisfying to see), and plan out which order we’ll shoot the beauty looks and flat lays in.

PROPS

Besides necessitating nearly every lipstick, eye shadow, and foundation shade you can think of, we use props to take our pictures to the next level. What may seem like a pretty basic product shot can really be elevated with the help of a few coordinating props. For our winter photoshoot (which actually took place a few months before the season started, to get ahead of the game), props included everything from (faux) furry rugs to ornaments to and hot chocolate.

MODELS

After everything is prepped, we shoot makeup looks and hairstyles on models before moving on to the flat lays. Here, you can see our model wearing a stunning braided ‘do and having finishing touches put on her makeup before stepping foot in front of the camera. One of our writers actually created the waterfall braid she’s sporting—and then wrote the article about it, so you know it’s totally doable.

Want to see the final shot? Check out our article, How to Create a Waterfall Braid.

TRIAL AND ERROR

Not every single shot turns out exactly as you’d hoped—that’s life. Sometimes, it takes a little trial and error to get it right. We might start with a product in one place only to move it all around, and certain props may be added and taken away numerous times, all in the name of getting the perfect pic. We’ll move things around, snap a picture, check it out on the monitor (as what looks good in person doesn’t always translate), then go back to the drawing board if we’re not quite pleased. Here, we’re perfecting the balance of ornaments and L’Oréal Paris True Match Blushes to decorate our ribbon tree. 

Want to see the final shot? Check out our article, How to Get Rosy Cheeks or Winter.

TEAM EFFORT

A photoshoot is certainly not a single person task. It takes a whole team to make it happen, from someone to do makeup and hair, to someone to style the props, to someone to take charge of the camera. Everyone on our team plays an important part in making our vision come to life! As you can see, the flat lays in particular tend to get quite hands-on, with everyone working to find the perfect placement for every last thing that will be in frame.

Want to see the final shot? Check out our article, Spread Cheer This Holiday Season with L’Oréal’s Holiday Makeup Offerings.

GETTING CRAFTY

One of the reasons we love photoshoots is that they give us the opportunity to get crafty. Trust us, it’s fun! From creating pop art to shattering beauty products, it lets us embrace our artsy sides. This year, for a New Year’s Eve article, we had a blast using eye shadows to create fireworks. Not only did it produce an amazing image, but it was the ultimate cross-section of work and play.

Want to see the final shot? Check out our article, 10 New Year’s Eve Makeup Looks for Your Eyes.

Next, get an inside look at a beauty event! Head over to our article, Insider’s Look: The Havana Camila Cabello Collection.