Waterproof

About this beauty shoot

Beauty editorial concept. Planning board at swainuk.com/plan/waterproof

Waterproof is a beauty shoot by SwainUK, a commercial and beauty cinematographer and photographer working between London and Dubai. The work here sits under beauty, and the frames on this page are the delivered selection rather than a highlight reel.

Skin is the whole job on a beauty shoot. Lighting is built soft and close so texture survives, and grading is done with a light hand so the result still looks like the person in the room.

Where we shoot

We work between London and Dubai and travel for both, so where a shoot happens is usually a question of where the product and the people already are.

We take beauty shoots across London, Dubai and wherever the brief needs, for beauty and skincare brands. If you are looking at this page because you need something similar, the fastest route is to send the brief: it takes about two minutes and comes back with what we would build and what it takes, usually the same day.

Questions we get asked about beauty shoots

How do you choose the model for a beauty shoot?

Casting starts from the product, not from a favourite face. For a beauty shoot that means looking at what the campaign has to prove, because skin is the subject and a face that suits the range matters more than a big following. We shortlist from agencies we already work with in London and Dubai, send options with the mood board attached so you can see them in context, and hold the final choice until the direction is agreed. If you have someone in mind already, that is easier and usually cheaper.

How is the mood board put together before the shoot?

Every project starts on a shared board before a camera comes out. References go up for lighting, colour, wardrobe and framing, we pull the palette straight out of the images so the grade has a target rather than a mood, and you comment on it in place instead of sending notes back in an email. It is built on our own tool, so you get a link, not an attachment, and it stays live while the project runs. By the time we shoot, nobody is guessing what the pictures are supposed to look like.

What does a beauty shoot like this actually need?

Skin is the whole job on a beauty shoot. Lighting is built soft and close so texture survives, and grading is done with a light hand so the result still looks like the person in the room. In practice: a direction agreed on the board, a location or studio, the cast, and a shot list built from what the campaign has to deliver rather than from what looks good on the day. We bring the kit. A job this size is usually a single day, with the selection back to you inside the week and the finished delivery after that.

How long until I get the images and the film?

A first selection goes up on a private gallery, like this one, within a few days of the shoot. You mark your favourites in it, and those are the frames that get finished. Full delivery is usually one to two weeks depending on how much motion there is. If something is needed sooner for a launch date, say so at brief stage and it gets scheduled around that date rather than squeezed at the end.

Do you shoot stills and motion on the same day?

Yes, and it is nearly always the right call. The lighting is already built, the cast is already there and the direction is already agreed, so the second medium costs a fraction of what it costs as a separate booking. A campaign leaves with the stills, the long film and the vertical cuts made from the same grade, so nothing in the set looks like it came from a different shoot.

Where do you work?

We work between London and Dubai and travel for both. We work between London and Dubai and travel for both, so where a shoot happens is usually a question of where the product and the people already are. Work outside those two is quoted with travel shown separately on the line item, so you can see exactly what the shoot costs and what getting there costs.

How much retouching do you do on skin?

As little as the brief allows. Blemishes and stray hairs go, texture stays. Beauty work that has been smoothed to plastic does not sell skincare, because nobody believes it, and a growing number of markets restrict it in advertising anyway. If a campaign needs a heavier finish it is agreed in advance and shown against the untouched frame so you can see exactly what changed.

How do I get a quote?

Send the brief through the site. It is a short set of questions about what you are making, what it has to do and roughly what the budget is, and it comes back with a reference number so you can chase it by name. You can pick a slot for a call back at the end of it, which puts a 15 minute call straight in both diaries. Everything is read by a person, usually the same day.