I decided to write a blog and make a video for my 2021 NAHA Makeup Artist of the Year submission. As a bonus I submitted a separate group of images (same theme) to UK Official PlayStation Magazine set to drop on January 12, 2021.

This photoshoot was a very significant to me. After dealing with my sickness 2019 and having to postpone so much last year, I couldn’t wait to final get this project done. This was inspired by one of my favorite visual aesthetics out there, Cyberpunk. Being a huge fan of vivid colors, post apocalyptic, and body modifications, the game Cyberpunk combines all those elements to it’s fullest.

For this I was the photographer, makeup artist, wardrobe stylist and (in one shot) the model. It was pretty involved and was truly challenging which is what makes people learn and grow.

I’ll post BTS, video, moodboard, call sheet, and tips from the shoot below.

The call sheet contained the structure of the shoot from inspirational images through to illustrating the models “mood” for each image. Using google documents and inviting all the talent to view it as I added/altered made the shoot go smoothly. Here’s the call sheet along with all the inspo I put together:

I used a software program that is the first photography studio simulator. It allows me to construct lighting setups on my computer so I can experiment and find new ways to light my subjects as well as keeping things COVID friendly so people aren’t in and out of the home studio from test shooting. This is also great for my clients because they get a chance to see lighting setups prior to the shoot so they have less to worry about on their big day. Here is an example of what I put together for this shoot using that software.

Below is what I put together for three looks

A little BTS

Behind the scenes Cyberpunk photoshoot. Model Morguen Marie.Photographer, makeup artist, wardrobe stylist, retoucher Nohemi Capetillo (noAmy the Photographer

Aside from the three models it was just my husband and I the day of the shoot. I’m eternally grateful for having someone that loves and supports me so much. He made sure I ate, took BTS, and was on top of backing up the files when I was done with each look.

As I mentioned before, I used accessories and wardrobe I own. One of the models was generous and brought an outfit she owned that fit perfectly with the theme! One wardrobe piece that was used three times in different colors was the jacket. The spikes were added to give it an “edgier” look with materials I’ve gathered over the years. When the first model finished shooting Eddie then went outside to spray it silver. The third time we used it, fluorescent green was splattered all over to give it a “grungier” feel.

Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.

I couldn’t agree more with the above statement. I spent so much time preparing - going over outfits, practicing makeup styles, studying the aesthetic, etc. Below are two final outfits I prepared for two of the models:

I used procreate to doodle some makeup ideas. As you can tell from the final images the makeup did change as I applied the makeup. Some things didn’t go very well for example Romany had bangs so the yellow dots needed to be relocated. Always be open to adapting to the challenges, nothing will ever be 100% as you envision it which is ok because most if the time it’s so much better!

Cyberpunk NAHA 2021 Makeup Artist of the Year Nohemi Capetillo noAmy the Photographer

I’m beyond over the moon to receive news that my Cyberpunk collection along with 4 others I photographed were nominated for the Professional Beauty Association’s NAHA 2021! To top it off a separate image along with an interview (same shoot) was published on Official Playstation UK.

February Official Playstation UK Cyberpunk NAHA 2021 Makeup Artist of the Year Nohemi Capetillo noAmy the Photographer

Here’s some more little BTS taken from the phone. It’s 100% genuine, no filter or skin retouching only resizing so the file sizes aren’t load heavy on the website.

February Official Playstation UK Cyberpunk NAHA 2021 Makeup Artist of the Year Nohemi Capetillo noAmy the Photographer.jpg

I want to thank everyone for being so patient, trusting and just being the bad asses they are. If you want to check out the models their instagrams are:

Romany: www.instagram.com/romanysuicidexox
Amithyste: www.instagram.com/offleshandbones
Morguenmarie: www.instagram.com/morgue.n.marie2

Below are the images I collaborated with Irina Istratova. You can find her amazing retouching work here www.instagram.com/big_bad_red

Second image of the @cyberpunkgame themed photo shoot! I posted a behind the scenes video that includes the entire shoot from start to finish. Link in my BIO!! Want to see the #naha2021submission? Check out it on my beauty page @noamyhateshair M…

So happy to announce that we got published on @opm_uk for my @cyberpunkgamethemed photo shoot. I reached out to @big_bad_red because she has an excellent eye for retouching and creating amazing pieces so I was thrilled when she was on board with thi…

Final image of the @cyberpunkgame inspired shoot with the amazing @morgue.n.marie2 Check out my beauty page @noamyhateshair for the #naha2021submission.

Thank you so much for making this far! For those of you wanting a video version, here it is!

I had the wonderful pleasure of working with the talented Diana Ortiz. If you don’t know who this person is….well you should! You can follow her and her husband, Manny Ortiz, on Instagram or YouTube. He offers very informative tech knowledge, behind the scenes photoshoots, and lots more. Check them out here

Manny YouTube

Manny Instagram

Diana Instagram

So back tracking a little bit. I’ve been out of the game for about 8 months due to medical malpractice. You can read all about it in my previous post if you’re curious. Ok moving on! So after being absent I was itching to create so naturally I went with gels because I live for color!! Below you can see the setup I had.

As you can tell from the images the panels are very close to her but far enough that she could put her hands to her face and have her elbows out. To create that shine we used baby oil and some makeup to create the shimmer and lastly some water to get the dewy look.

For the lighting setup I used the Dracast 500 S Series LED panels. I do not own flash heads that have modeling lights and I really wanted to see the lights in real time so I used these bad boys. My settings along with the camera and lens were:

Canon 5DS R
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens
100mm · f/2.8 · 1/250s · ISO 1600

The images do have a high ISO and I usually keep my shutter speed at 1/160 but because I was very shaky and the lights with gels were already dim I have to compensate for that in other areas.

I’m extremely happy with the results to say the least! I did bump up the vibrance in Photoshop to make it a bit more rich for the first two images and for the last one I did alter the colors to something a little more subtle. Other than the basic editing such as skin smoothing, fly aways, dodge and burn (not that she needs it, this woman’s face is flawless) not much was done to it.

The third image was a little bit more involved and that’s because I wanted to make it slightly more tame compared to the first two. Some people might ask “well why didn't you just do it during the shoot and not do it in post?” “that’s cheating, that’s not real photography!” so on and so forth. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. The reason why I decided to do it differently is to 1) make a collection of three to frame them in the studio and 2) I’m always looking for ways to push my retouching skills. Check down below for a before and after

The GIF quality isn’t the best but you get the idea.

So whether you do beauty portraits and rely minimally on retouching or go all out and create composites, you do YOU, just don’t be a dick ;) some of y’all know what I’m talking about.