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Tania D. Russell...

Tania D. Russell is a career media makeup artist of 25 years and counting with a career that has run the gamut from early hip hop videos to print advertising. Her work has appeared in magazines such as Elle Sweden and Runners’ World, on TV shows for clients such as BET, MTV, and HGTV, and for more commercial fashion and beauty clients than she can remember.
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Even if a client is interested in you, there is al Even if a client is interested in you, there is always another makeup artist else available waiting in the wings. Fam, in a slow economy where everyone is hustling now is not the time to take your sweet time in responding to inquiries. Do yourself a favor and get in the habit of replying to your inquiries as close to immediately as humanly possible. NOW - replying to inquiries does not always mean answering the questions specifically right off the bat. It just means that you're acknowledging that this person contacted you and you are interested in keeping the conversation going. because not answering looks like a blow off and they'll just move on. For example often times when if get an inquiry while on set I'll email (or text or whatever appropriate) back – "Hey thanks so much for contacting me, I'm at XYZ right now, do you mind if I get back to you in about an hour or so?" The answer is invariably yes because people know that you're doing things, that's why they're contacting you is because you're doing things. However just leaving people hanging is like "OK I don't know what's going on let me see who else is available." You never know what someone else's urgency is at the time they contact you, we've all been contacted for jobs that take place the next day. Don't lose a job just because you didn't take three seconds to respond to someone. 👍🏾 What is your turnaround time for responding to job inquiries?
One of my good friends is a "talk to anybody" kind One of my good friends is a "talk to anybody" kind of person. They can enter any room and strike up conversation with anyone, they can work the phone and sound engaged in any situation... That's not me lol. Emailing, calling, going out and talking to people etc. is very much a learned behavior in my life. It's gotten easier as I've gotten older and I'm a bit more secure, but it's still not my default setting. Ironically it was realizing this about myself that made it easier to start doing it. I could not do it the way other people did it or that some folks suggested to me how to do it. I had to find a way that worked for me and my quirks in my temperament. So here are a few suggestions for the more shy folks like myself; 1. Be Genuine: Don't try to put on a façade and be someone else just be you so you can attract the right folks for you. 2. Listen More: Worried about striking up conversation? Don't, be the one who listens more. Folks love having someone actually listen to them and then the conversation becomes more genuine. 3. Stay in Service: rather than a hard sell. We aren't used cars sales persons, we are looking to align with fellow creatives. Frankly it would be nice if many used car salespeople would calm down. 🤨 4. Mitigate Overwhelm: by realizing you don't have to be everything to everybody nor do you really need to meet everybody. One on one connections often go deeper and last longer. 5. Do What You Can: and leave the rest. You don't have to be "on" all the time if that's not who you are. Faking that funk is the expressway to burn out. With pretty much anything we would wanna do in career-life we have to create connections and get to know other people and have them get to know us. It's not always the easiest but it is always highly rewarding when it works out. What are some of your techniques for reaching out and making new connections?
OK this is my first talk to camera video so be gen OK this is my first talk to camera video so be gentle 🥹 But seriously though I still see too many wild rate quotes happening from makeup artists. And not always from new or emerging artist either. 🤨 Listen we are all feeling it one way or another. Either working less frequently, werkin on a pivot, or just the craze cost of living nowadays or what-have-you. But a race to the bottom is never the right answer. It hurts you individually in terms of your reputation as an artist and it can also hurt all of us cumulatively by lowering rates overall in a given market or even in the industry as a whole. (Pepperidge Farm remembers when you could easily get $1500-1800 a day for a Lookbook) Research and mathematics will do a lot in terms of figuring out a dollar amount. But if you're too scared to ask for it nothing happens. Check out the blog post where I give practical exercises for overcoming objections and changing your own mindset towards asking for your rate. Comment RATE below and I'll send it to ya. 😊👍🏾
I'm not gonna lie – the last few years have been s I'm not gonna lie – the last few years have been some of the wildest years of my career in terms of being a Black artist in the creative industries. On the one hand – like many of us – I was afforded opportunities because of being a Black artist. However these kinds of things are both good and bad. It's good in terms of giving people an opportunity. And working in great spaces with great people on great projects is what anyone wants. What is bad is of course the flipside; if you are only given an opportunity because of a certain special circumstances, those opportunities can be taken away from you when the circumstance changes. The best case scenario is - of course - what any creative wants; we're good at what we do, so we should just be given an opportunity. I've been at this for over 25 - probably 30 if I'm telling the truth - years. The bulk of my career, the case has been the latter where I got jobs because I was good at what I did and that was that. In uncertain times what you can be certain of is yourself. Your talent, your drive, what makes you you as an artist, and what value you bring to the projects you work on. As makeup artists, each of us bring with us our unique perspectives and aesthetics as curated by our experiences, histories, and cultures. This richness is what brings diversity to life, not just satisfying a number for a moment of time. So as a Black creative I look forward to continuing being a part of teams where my unique thread weaves naturally into a project's creative tapestry. Happy 100th Anniversary Black History Month Y'all (now in terms of Makeup to Go content I promised Y'all I would make videos breaking down the "Understanding Black Skin Tones post I did a while back. That will start happening towards the end of this month, promise. Lol. I will need more models so if anyone is willing to Model for one of my videos please hit me in DM) Fab image @far_from_coy fab model @shizenwong #mediamakeup #makeupwerksbytaniadrussell #hireblackcreatives
I recently saw a post where a makeup artist listed I recently saw a post where a makeup artist listed upcoming award shows and events as potential job opportunities for makeup artists. Immediately people started responding to her post, "where do I apply?" Fam, you don't. As freelance makeup artists we are all trying to get our next booking, I totally get it. But more often than not you need to put in a little bit more elbow grease then just replying to a social media post or a listing. These are the types of opportunities that are created by your marketing, networking, and outreach efforts. And not just throwing pasta at the wall and seeing what sticks but thoughtful and intentional marketing and outreach so you can attract your intended client. How do we do this? It takes a lot of research. Your skills can be great but posting a photo of a bride or private client on social is not going to necessarily get you in the front of the right people to work on an awards show. *Back in my day* (old people voice) this meant endless hours in the library scouring directories, business listings, etc. While I still recommend going to the Library just in general, nowadays you have access to most of that information online PLUS the myriad social network tools we have. All the tools you need to be able to cultivate your own clients and not be dependent on job listings or what have you are all there waiting for you 🤗 So leave the Facebook groups and log off social for a couple of hours, pull out your laptop, and spend some time doing deep research on who is actually hiring for what. 👍🏾 I cover this pretty extensively in the five small things membership and in fact I have an action guide called "who how hired(tm)" which is available for individual purchase. The resource library for the membership also has a very complete listing of award shows and events for the coming year. So if any of that tickles your fancy, DM (or visit the website - link in Bio) and I will send you the info. 👍🏾
All images copyright of respective photographers | Many thanks to Sonya Bowman Photography, Saryn Christina Photography, and Together in Wellness RN for BTS and Portrait Images
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