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This week: getting personal with Carla Dyson, commercial and bridal international hair and makeup artist.

If you follow Carla, you can see she’s always been a creative person. Her social media profile presents her career highlights, industry secrets, behind the scenes footage and how-to’s. Her top tip: work on speed. It’s important for clients and will generate higher ROI for you in the long run.

Carla is a woman of many talents. In lockdown she launched her own business, The Creative Directory - a community of creatives to help other artists take their careers to the next level. She also kept a little bit of herself [C.D] within the brand, passionate that the business is built as an extension of her values.
 

Whether you’re just starting out or have been in the industry for a long time, tune in now, check out the key takeaways and subscribe for future podcasts below.
 
 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

 THE [NOT SO] GLAMOROUS LIFE

 Are you a workaholic? Reading this, are you also thinking about the 101 things you need to do to prepare for tomorrow’s shoot… your kit, the brushes, the client brief? Don’t worry. You’re not alone.
 
 Carla admits she’s always been a workaholic, always hustling and working as much as she could every opportunity she got.
 
 Our industry, though, is not always as glamorous as it’s made out to be. It’s actually quite a taxing job on your body. For one shoot, there might be 12 - 15 different shots, at different locations in one day. And that means changes for hair, makeup, decor, etc. which means you’re likely standing in heels for 8 - 10 hours a day!
 
 Carla understands the impact on your body, but boasts, “I love it. That’s why we do it. It might be taxing, but damn it feels good when you sit back and see what you’ve created. What you’ve been a part of.”

THE INSTAGRAM BUSINESS
 
 Are you really reaching your key target market if you’re not using reels?
 
 Instagram, like many other social media platforms, constantly evolves. The algorithms change and there are new ‘best practice’ guidelines more often than we would like. But did you know that reels for instagram not only have incredible reach, they’re also more time-effective for YOU as an artist.
 
 We’re all time-poor these days, so we got Carla to explain how she creates while she works… You no longer have that 5-minute window at the end of the shoot to take perfect still shots, she said, instead, just hold your phone up and film as you do it. This filming can be used for reels, with the footage being much more authentic and real - exactly what your audience is craving.

“Reels are raw. Using apps like Facetune set the wrong beauty standards, it’s not right. We need to make sure we’re posting stuff that is real.”

Carla Dyson
 
 

THE ASSISTANT CHECKLIST
 

If you’ve got the time, do it. If you don’t have the time, make the time - or consider if this really is the right career for you.
 
A common theme weaved through each podcast is assisting. It’s one of the only sure-fire ways in our industry to get the experience, get known and get jobs.
 
When assisting, think of yourself as an extension of that artist for the day. You’re not your own brand (yet) and you will absolutely be put through the ringer. But tough love breeds tough artists and that’s exactly what we need.
 
 

The Hair Edit Waitlist 

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