The Art of Hair: Beauty Portraits Where Hair Makes the Statement
In this beauty shoot, I teamed up with my make-up and hairstylist to create a simple yet impactful portrait series where the hair truly stole the show. We kept the makeup clean and minimal to let each hairstyle shine through and tell its own story.
Our model wore two distinctive looks:
Look 1: Her hair was styled in soft, voluminous curls that framed her face and fell just to her shoulders—elegant and classic.
Look 2: A more editorial approach. The sides of her hair were slicked back and pinned tightly with exposed bobby pins, creating a sculpted sleek look. The ends remained curled, while the top was styled into straight wet bangs for contrast.
Each look brought out a different mood—and gave my hairstylist space to play and push the creative envelope.
Hair Retouching: The Struggle is Real
While the final images turned out beautifully, I’ll be honest—hair is one of my least favorite things to edit. It’s detailed, time-consuming, and if you don’t plan properly during the shoot, it can feel like you’re fighting a losing battle in post-production.
Here are a few lessons I’ve learned when it comes to managing hair in beauty portraits:
1. Get It Right In-Camera
Take the time to pause between shots and check the model’s hair from the camera’s perspective. Flyaways, frizz, uneven volume—those small issues become big problems in Photoshop. The more you fix in real life, the less you’ll have to fix in post.
2. Shoot Tethered & Keep Your Hairstylist Close
Shooting tethered lets you catch details that might not be visible on the back of your camera—and that can make or break the shot.
Having your hairstylist close and watching the screen is a game changer. A second set of eyes means you can adjust flyaways, bobby pin placements, or volume in real-time, rather than fixing it later one pixel at a time.
3. Use a Lint Roller (Yes, Really)
Stray hairs love to cling to clothing—especially darker fabrics. Running a lint roller over the wardrobe pieces before the shoot saves you the time it would take to clone out dozens of tiny hairs later.
4. Keep It Realistic
Don’t aim for fake perfection. Hair should still look like hair. A little texture, movement, and dimension gives it life—so resist the urge to over-smooth or over-blur.
5. Always Work in Layers
Whether you’re cloning or blurring, keep your edits on separate layers. That way you can:
Toggle visibility to track your progress
Mask any overdone areas
Keep your base image untouched in case you want to revert
