The internet is an amazing place.  You can find the answer to literally just about anything you can think up to ask. We are connected to each other like never before. 
When I first got involved in permanent makeup (circa. 2003) I was able to find some online forums and groups, websites and a few YouTube videos where other artists showcased their work-but nothing like what we have today.  Thousands of artists from all over the world share their photos and videos for us to swoon over.  I remember the first time I watched European artist’s videos doing lips and eyeliners- their work was so clean.  I don’t mean precise…I mean CLEAN.  Each pass and wipe left behind perfect skin.  I was shocked!  When I work, I typically make a mess with pigment all over the face and at the end I clean them all up.  I was so envious!  To this day I still get pigment ALL over their mouth, forehead or eyes…as long as the final result is the same, who cares, right?  Getting to see amazing work from artists all over the world has really inspired me to work harder, practice longer and improve my detail and precision, but sometimes some of those photos that we aspire to emulate aren’t really what they seem.

It can be really discouraging as an artist to try so hard to create beautiful work only to take a photo at the end and not have it look as perfect as something you have seen online.  It’s also increasingly harder to assure clients that they will have the same results as the photo they brought in- even thought they might look red and irritated.  Photo envy is a real thing, and it can really take the wind out of your sails as a new or even experienced artist.

Let’s take a moment to talk about the elements of a perfect “after” photo.
1. The lighting is bright and it’s the same as in the “before “ photo
2. The angle of the face, camera and how the client is sitting is the same as the “before” photo.
3. The skin is clean, smooth and not inflamed and the client is typically quite young with good skin.
4. The photo is clear enough to see fine detail, even when enlarged.
5. The client’s eyes are open and looking at the camera for eyebrows and eyeliner, or gently smiling for lips
6. The client’s other makeup is perfect.

This isn’t an article on taking the perfect photo or how to get great lighting,so ill skip over all of that, but making sure you use good lighting, a decent camera or phone camera and having the client at the same angle is super simple to do. So, check that off the list.   Next, having the client look at the camera, gently smile and even giving her a chance to touch up her regular makeup before you take “after” photos is also a simple fix, so check that off the list too and let’s move on.

Now, let’s talk about the elements we are all always wondering about.  The perfect skin.  Yes, some of our clients are young, gorgeous and blessed with flawless skin.  But if you are like me, much of my clientele is more mature and I see a great deal of sun damage, asymmetry, and otherwise flawed skin.  Large pores, acne scarring, active pimples, a few hairs and whiskers, wrinkles, moles-you get my point- and I also get a lot of sensitive, or fair skinned clients who get red before the needle has even touched their skin. Does this mean I can never have perfect photos? Of course not! 
Let me tell you a little secret.  Most “perfect” photos are altered. There are lots of ways both physically and virtually that you can alter your photos to get “perfect” looking pics and many of the impossibly perfect photos that you see are enhanced.  So, right off the bat, give yourself a break and don’t’ be so discouraged that your work doesn’t look like that.

Before we talk about virtually enhanced photos let’s talk about some things that you can do to “face tune” your client in real life.
1. Give them a good cleaning.  I use a diluted bactine and water mix that I dispense from a foam dispenser and I gently clean the face as well as I can. Like I mentioned before I might get pigment all over the area, so I want to make sure to clean their skin well.  If I have done eyeliner, I irrigate their eyes well to remove any excess pigment that might show up in the corners of their eyes.  If their skin is red or irritated, I sometimes take a cotton round with cold witch hazel on it or even a cold compress (I use the kind that you pop and shake to get cold) and wait a few minutes before taking their “after” photo. This gives the skin a little time to relax and let the redness subside.
2. Let them touch up their makeup.  Nothing looks worse than a photo of a brow where the eyes are perfect in the “before photo but you can see they were tearing and smudged their mascara/eyeliner in the “after” photo.  So, if they have makeup with them, let them touch it up.  If they don’t have makeup, give them a makeup wipe and let them clean up their eyes.
** Some artists will put makeup (like foundation, powder etc) on their clients to make their photos look better.  Unless you are using their own makeup or single use, disposable samples of makeup you are cross contaminating from client to client and this is a huge NO.  Only do this if the makeup AND applicators are all single use.
3. Make them look beautiful.  Even if you are only using a cropped photo of the area, do your best to make it look pretty.  If they feel beautiful in their photos, they will be happy to share them with all their friends Look for a flattering angle. Open eyes, gentle smile, looking at the camera, etc. And a bright, cool light does wonders for your photos.

The next dilemma is: should you edit and enhance your photos, what can be altered and what shouldn’t be altered (ethically) and at what point does it become false advertisement.  This is a topic of much contention. On one side you have the “realists”; those who believe no photo should ever be altered in any way.  On the other side you have the “illusionists”; those who heavily alter their photos to the point it is obvious.  In the middle you have the rest of us who aren’t really sure what is acceptable, ethical or appropriate. While you must do what is right for you, I will tell you that I personally, am smack right in the middle.  I believe that when providing a service such as ours (permanently marking the body) it’s super important to have a high ethical standard of honesty in our representation-HOWEVER, as long as the editing does not affect the actual work, I totally support tweaking a photo slightly to make it look more enticing. 
Let me give you a quick example.  When a photographer takes a photo of cereal for a commercial, they don’t use real milk because the cereal will sink into it and that doesn’t make for a good photo, so they use white glue.  Now, the glue isn’t part of the cereal, and using glue doesn’t change the product (the cereal) or falsely advertise it-so do it matter if it’s real milk or glue?  My point is that if you remove a pimple from a forehead, or slightly smooth the skin on a more mature woman, as long as it doesn’t affect the actual tattoo work, I personally don’t think there is anything wrong with it. Basically, what I am saying is, don’t over edit, provide realistic and honest representations of your work, explain that photos they have seen on the internet may be heavily altered and give them realistic healing expectations.

Let’s look at some examples.