[00:00:00] Hi everyone and welcome back to the artist to artist podcast if you're new here, my name is angie I'm a full time freelance makeup artist.
I'm also a makeup artist educator You probably are listening to this podcast because you found me on instagram I have my own personal account and I also run the artist to artist instagram every Monday at 9 a. m. Eastern Standard Time I do a makeup artist Q& A on my stories where I answer any questions you have about working as a makeup artist makeup application Last week I had an artist ask a question that I think a lot of us can relate to
I'm going to read it out to you. It's actually more of a statement. It reads, I'm having such a hard time with pricing. I know my worth, but it doesn't seem like others do. If that sounds familiar to you today, I'm going to talk about the realities of makeup artist rates, how pricing works in bridal versus freelance jobs, the role your market is going to play in your rates, and the importance of reflection on your skill set on how you're marketing yourself.
I'm also going to share some tips on how you can feel more confident when it [00:01:00] comes to setting your rates. So let's get started. I wanted to start with bridal makeup pricing because it's typically more straightforward. Bridal rates are easier to research. You can look around in your market and see kind of where you fit in with other bridal makeup artists by assessing your skill level, your number of years of experience, how you market yourself, and the quality of the product.
photos and content that you're putting out to market yourself. You can also assist bridal artists in your area. It's easier to do than finding assisting jobs as a freelancer. So it's relatively simple to figure out what brides in your area are willing to pay, and you can adjust your rates accordingly, but
With bridal makeup artistry, you're usually charging per person, per service, and it's a one time event with very clear deliverables. When you're a freelance makeup artist like myself, your rates are a whole different ballgame. It's much more variable, and often depends on the client. On the market Some clients may ask you to quote your rates [00:02:00] and then you can kind of set I guess the first bid on the job So to speak other times clients will approach you and they'll already have a very strict budget That they need to stick to or that maybe can be negotiated
If you're working in a unionized environment Things are simpler because pay scales are standardized. But outside of that there's really no Guidebook or map for freelance rates And here's something that may be a tough pill to swallow for some of you, while we all want to charge our worth, the market doesn't always align with that.
As freelance makeup artists, I think we often hear advice about rates on podcasts, on social media.
You hear people say, well, charge your worth, don't settle for less if a client doesn't want to pay your rate, they're not the right client for you. And while I agree that you should know your value, the reality is that the market that you're in, a lot of the times is going to dictate what clients are willing to pay.
And there's often a gap between what we think we're worth and what the market actually supports. [00:03:00] Sometimes this discrepancy is informed by what we see on social media. So you see highlight reels, which is what social media is. Always remember that. You'll see other artists. charging premium rates. A lot of artists are teaching other artists how they get the rates that they're getting. But remember that what you see online doesn't always reflect your specific market, your current skill set, or what your portfolio communicates about your abilities and who you are as an artist. This is where more objective reflection comes in, and you have to ask yourself, Does my work truly look like what other artists earning higher rates are producing?
If the answer is no, it's not a reason to feel discouraged, it's a reason to focus. focus on your growth as an artist and there's work to be done and that's okay and that's a big part of our careers. We're always working to be better. We're always working towards producing better content and work for our books to elevate our brand as makeup artists.
One thing I found in my own career is that over [00:04:00] time you will build. I think you'll find this as well. You'll naturally build a roster of paying clients at all different rates. Some will be higher paying premium clients. Others might be more budget conscious or have limited budgets for specific projects.
Sometimes you'll take a lower rate just for the opportunity to work with a certain client. And that kind of diversity is normal in freelancing and it can actually be beneficial for you. Higher paying clients might not be. consistent or frequent. So having a mix of rates actually ensures that you're not relying on just one type of client because it's all about balance and over time you'll get a better sense of how to structure your work around your goals and you'll get a feel for how many clients are willing to pay you your top end rates.
You will find a sweet spot between your lowest paying clients and your highest paying clients. And I think you'll find a majority of your clients will be in that sort of middle range of the rates that you are charging.
And then the low end, sometimes these are favors for friends. Yes, we do this. Sometimes it's just opportunities that we're taking lower rates for and that's fine [00:05:00] too. Figuring out your rates does take time, and I think this is something that I really want you to remember once you're done listening to this podcast.
You learn this by trial and error. Just like so many things in this industry, you are going to make mistakes, and that is normal. You'll know you have charged too much if clients don't rebook or they end up working with another artist who maybe is charging slightly less than you but is doing a better job.
And you'll also know when you've charged too little because you'll be overworked and underpaid and it's going to be very obvious that you do not want to make that mistake again. And the great thing about being a freelancer is that you can correct those mistakes and it's not going to be detrimental to I
think it is very helpful to speak openly with
Transparency is really key here. We do have to help each other out. Building these relationships does take time, but once you have people that you can trust, those conversations are going to be really helpful to you. So it is important that that networking piece of building your career really works. is [00:06:00] something that you continue to work on because we really do need each other to make sure that the industry is paying people properly.
Clients can also inform your rates. Sometimes you will get a surprise where a client offers more than what you expect. It's really nice when that happens. And these clients are great because they show you what's possible and they can help you sort of adjust what your benchmarks are. A great starting point if you're someone that has never maybe quoted for a job or is very new to the industry is to look at union rates.
Even if you're not unionized, union rates are made public on local union websites. These Rate scales can give you a sense of sort of what's reasonable based on your experience and level of responsibility With union rates, you'll see what a key makeup artist makes what an assistant makes So this is going to be helpful for you to take a look at
I could not do this podcast without addressing this myth that You can map out a six figure [00:07:00] income which by the way is actually not enough to live in most You Major cities by just simple math I see a lot of content and I see other makeup artists selling courses claiming you just need to work You know x number of days at a specific rate to hit six figures, but that is not how freelancing works If it was that easy, trust me, I would be doing it and I would be telling you how to do it.
But rates just depend on so many factors. It depends on your skill level, the quality of your portfolio, your relationships in the industry, and your ability to adapt to different types of jobs and different markets. Because within your market, there's going to be Different, I guess subcultures I'll say, of clients, you will have certain clients maybe e-commerce, for example, and the rates will all be very similar.
Kind of middle of the road. You'll have clients where maybe they are shooting campaigns and those will be your higher paying clients. Then you may have some personal clients, which are not paying the same rates as some of your corporate [00:08:00] clients, but it's enough to. Take a job and it will keep you afloat.
It takes time to reach a point where you can confidently charge premium rates Believe me, And when I say time i'm not talking weeks months I'm talking years here because there's a lot that has to go on in the background for you to become informed about How much you can charge how much you can leverage on certain jobs
and the other element that adds to the amount of time that it takes to really understand what you're doing with your rates is the fact that we do a lot of unpaid work, especially in the beginning, whether that means building your portfolio or doing unpaid things like assisting other makeup artists or doing something for networking The unpaid work is part of developing your skill set, your network, and all of that stuff.
These things really do take time, and there is no simple formula that you're going to be able to follow to reach a specific monetary goal that you might have for yourself.
I'm sure you're sitting there listening to this thinking to yourself. So how do you figure [00:09:00] out your rates? So there is no simple answer, right? What I hope is clear from this episode is that there is no simple answer.
You can start by understanding what your financial needs are. what you need to earn to live comfortably and this will give you a baseline. Then you have to be prepared to adjust as you go. So some things to keep in mind. Going back to look at union rates which are on there as a reference. You also want to make sure you're familiar with what minimum wage is where you live because you want to make sure you're making more than minimum wage when you quote for a job.
You are going to have to do some experimentation with your rates to see how your market responds, and you have to be adaptable. Some clients will pay more and some won't, and how it works is that you're going to have a roster of clients. Think of it like making a quilt.
All different things come together to make a salary that is hopefully going to be enough so that you can live comfortably doing what you love to do. The other thing I did want to remind you, the only time you should be charging per [00:10:00] person is for bridal work or event work. In freelance jobs like commercials or beauty campaigns, you're usually charging by the day, half day, or sometimes the night.
the project itself. It really depends. And I do have to mention in some markets, this may be different. It may be standard that certain things are charged hourly. So this is where your network is going to come in and you're going to have to do your homework and research.
And most importantly before we wrap up this podcast. I think you really have to reflect on Yourself your abilities as an artist how you are showing up for work How you are marketing your services if you're not earning what you'd like You You have to ask yourself, what is holding you back?
Is it your portfolio? Is it your network? Is it your marketing? Is it something you're doing on set or how you're networking or how you're carrying yourself on the job? Growth in this industry is very much a continuous process. It's a trial and error process and it is essential that you [00:11:00] are honest with yourself about where you can improve.
Figuring out your rates as a makeup artist whether it's in bridal or as a freelancer It requires you to be patient adaptable and it does require some self reflection, a little bit of research. It's not about just waking up one day and deciding what you're worth. It's really about learning what the market that you're working in supports while continuing to I guess refine your craft, improve your skills, and just become better as a business person and also as an artist. And remember, building a roster of clients at different rates is part of the process.
It helps you Earn consistent income while also learning what's possible for your career I hope today's episode has given you a better understanding of how to approach your rates. If you, If you have any follow up questions or anything that you'd like me to talk about in more detail on another episode Please let me know you can reach out to me on the artist to artist instagram.
You can leave your questions [00:12:00] about this episode On youtube if you like all of my podcast episodes are available on youtube and you can add questions in the comments there And I hope this was helpful for you. So thank you so much for listening today, and I will see you next week Have a good one
