That's awesome! I studied esthetics on my own because I wanted a better understanding of skin so that I could create a better look with foundation and prepping and I think it is the key to truly good makeup. I didn't go to school for it because in my state you don't have to have a license to do makeup or even work for a brand.

I started with theatre in middle school and helping with a local large scale haunted house where one of the fantastic men who worked there taught me theatrical makeup. I learned how to make flesh wounds and zombie makeup and worked backward from there. Doing that all through high school I began getting terrible acne. I saw my cousin go through a million different treatments and ultimately just have to grow out of it, so I decided I would learn to cover it while I tried to prevent it. I had a mom who was very supportive of that and also an artist, and she helped me try out different products and techniques. I began doing makeup for friends for prom, pageants, anything I could get and I always always took photos.

For my MAC interview I did makeup on several girlfriends and a few guys, made it a party and did a good range of before/after looks from glam to theatrical to natural headshot makeup for one of the guys who had acne. I took Polaroids so they could tell they weren't Photoshopped and they really liked that (I had better photos too since Polaroids don't show color well). MAC was my first and with them the most impressive thing was brand knowledge, when I knew about their entire brand but not blushes they were visibly disappointed.

It was a year before I had a woman darker than the foundation range I owned book me. I just went out and bought her range in a palette at that point. Cinema Secrets palettes have 5 shades in them for $20 and although small, a little goes a long way. They're creamy and pigmented and work as concealers as well. Graftobian has a similar 5 pan palette that's priced evenly, and also a 18 pan palette. I bought one 18 palette in the range I use most often (I do mostly tan caucasian, asian, and latina women in my area, a few pale and a few darker, it is a beach town so this makes sense) I have a 5 pan in the range I use most (MAC equivalent NW/NC25-35) and I always choose neutral instead of warm or cool. I also have a 5 pan for very dark ladies and I occasionally use it for contouring on very tan gals or drag.

Those foundations work very well with a Beauty Blender, add luminosity to aging or dry skin, cover acne, can be applied sheerly only where needed on near perfect skin, and are ultimately bad ass. You'll find it in a lot of pro kits. Also, way easier/faster than airbrushing.

The above works great for photography, powdering can certainly be an issue. The biggest cause of the ghosting and bounce back is titanium dioxide, so steer clear of anything with SPF and you'll be fine. HD setting powder (silica powder) sits atop the skin and has a white cast that sometimes flash reflects on as well. I don't use HD powder because my thought process has always been that if I'm adding that layer of powder anyway, I might as well use something with color in it, especially if there's an acne issue it can provide extra coverage without more bulk or cakiness. I like a light dusting of NYX Stay Matte but Not Flat or MAC Studio Fix Powder. With any powder you use, I like to take my Beauty Blender (just used for their foundation is fine but either way, dampened and then squeezed out in a towel so that no water transfers on you hand when you squeeze it with no towel) and pounce it over the face lightly. Any powder foundation without SPF will do. The powder you need is stuck to the "wet" foundation liquid or cream, the excess will be blotted off and lightly dampened so that it melts into the skin better and gets rid of any dreaded cast.

My biggest tips for starting out are: bring a towel to lay your products on so they won't roll everywhere, plus it looks professional, and have a neat and clean makeup case. Before a client I Clorox wipe the packaging of all of my makeup so that it looks new, gives a sanitary appearance (damn smudgey black packaging can look so gross!). Setting it out gives me a moment to calm my nerves, get accustomed to the environment without looking panicked (Oh shit the lighting in here is terrible! I'll slyly look around the room for a lamp or better window as I set stuff out) and ensures that I know I have everything that I need, and if I don't, I can think on my backup plan while I organize. I only take out what I think I'll need. I bring a cup for my brushes because I hate brush belts personally and can't ever seem to find what I need quickly. In between clients I have a bottle of alcohol that I mist down my towel area with, my brushes if I don't have extras that are clean (and I wipe them on an alcohol dampened paper towel) and then I go wash the beauty blender if I don't have a backup available. Again this all sets a tone of cleanliness. I have had nearly every client I've had mention to me that they've never seen a makeup artist clean their brushes before doing the next bridesmaid, etc. and it grosses me out so much.

Also you can buy dented defect Z palettes on eBay, if you're using off brand or drugstore eyeshadow, depot them into palettes, they look much nicer. Same goes for blushes and even lipstick. For lipstick try the art supplies store for little palettes. As soon as you can get a tear sheet, a business card, a letter of recommendation from a photoshoot or a contract (make one with your friend) apply for a pro account at Nigel's or Naimie's, shipping is high but you get 40% off brands like Too Faced, Lorac, Stila, NARS, etc. Urban Decay is 40% through their site pro program and so is MAC, which is the most tedious to get (long wait) and requires like $25/year.