Makeup Photography

Hello,

I'm looking for a little guidance on a camera for makeup photography. My girlfriend is a makeup artist and I'm trying to build her a website for her business, however all the shots she gets from her lil point and shoot 6mp olympus is not cutting it. I'm trying to find a camera that will capture the detail of her makeup looks. The only requirements i'm really looking for is something that is easy to use. My girlfriend is a makeup artis and knows nothing about photography, and although I'm an IT guy and pretend to know everything about anything in regards to technology I don't have the slightest clue on what to look for. So i'm looking for something with ease of use, that can capture the true color of makeup and pickup on details like the way it's blended, of course a decent flash for variable lighting (ie peoples houses, under lamps, backyards, ect..), and something that will auto-adjust pretty easily without too much manual configuration.

I know these are EXTREMELY broad descriptions on what I'm looking for, but to narrow it down there are things that I am NOT looking for.

A camera that requires alot of manual adjustments, High optical zoom (this camera will be used primarily for close shots), a camera that is ruggedized for outdoor use, a camera that has an extremely fast lense for action shots.

This camera will only be used for amateur photography of close still shots. Seeing as how i want some pretty basic features i was hoping not to spend over a grand. I know thats a low budget, but once again it's just to take some quick picks of before and after shots of my girls makeup looks to post on the website I'm building. Any guidance would help tremendously.

Oh and I failed to mention that her shots are not for magazines (her ultimate goal is costume makeup) they are strictly to build a website and a portfolio and I will not be using this camera for any professional type shots, nor do i plan on using adobe photoshop to alter the pix (too much anyways).

I know these newb questions about what camera is right for what can be extremely annoying, and I truly do apologize. There is just SOO many different aspects of digital camera photography it can be pretty overwhelming for an amateur with some pretty basic goals.

Since you posted this in the digital slr forum, I guess you are thinking dslr though I'm sure some here will know of point and shoots that will do the job.
I think mostly you will want to seek lens advice. All the dslr camera makes are good but the lens chosen will make a huge difference.
I also think you should re-think your not wanting to use photoshop.
Maybe you won't need a full adobe program but I'm pretty sure you'll at least want something that can sharpen your shots.

Cross post this in the Studio & Lighting forum because that's what you are going to have to learn - Portrait Photography. - TF

Hello,

Thanks for the replies and your patience.

I do have adobe photoshop CS2 so i guess ur right i probably will try to enhance the shots slightly but any adjustements will be very minor.

The reason I didn't post in this in the studio and lighting forum is because I'm not trying to learn studio photography techniques. And i know the people in their would approach this from a studio photography prospective, as in tell me that it's all about the right lighting and angles and so forth. Which i know is all very much true but I really am not a photographer, nor am I really interested in pursuing a future in photography. Which is why I want something pretty basic. I just really need a camera that can capture detail very well. If a point and shoot is the way to go then thats fine, but I know my digital elph and her olympus are just not cutting it. And i was hoping for a little guidance on exactly what to look for. Afterall I don't wanna spend 800 dollars for a feature rich camera that I wont utilize. Are there any pretty basic cameras out there that are user friendly and have a good lens and a good flash to capture the detail of fading color in other then perfect lighting???