Hello, dear readers! Still don't know how to make your manicure unique? Do you want to look intriguing and stand out from the crowd? Then try getting your nails pierced.
This procedure, unlike any other piercing on the body, is performed without pain and blood. And yet, before you dare to undertake this micro-operation, you need to learn about some nuances. About the technique of nail piercing, all kinds of design options and much more in today’s article.
Nail piercing: what is it?
Piercing in general is by no means a newfangled phenomenon. A variety of peoples have traditions of piercing various parts of the body that go back to the deep past. But nail piercing, as a design option in manicure technique, appeared quite recently.
Technically, this manipulation is simple, but requires careful and clear actions. A small hole is pierced or drilled on the free edge of the nail, into which you can then insert any jewelry of suitable size - an earring, pendant, stud, chain, etc.
It is preferable to do piercing on extended nails, but you can also do it on your own. Only in this case is it better to pre-strengthen them with a special acrylic-based compound.
Preparation for promotion
So, diploma in hand. But before looking for the first clients, three important issues had to be resolved.
1. Where to receive clients?
Initially, I thought of working purely from my home. But, after talking with more experienced manicurists, I reconsidered this decision. It can take months to build a client base in your area of town, and I wanted to find clients and fill my schedule as quickly as possible.
An option is to go to clients’ homes in other areas. On the one hand, you will have to waste time on roads and traffic jams, but on the other hand, this way a novice manicurist has a better chance of finding clients. Another plus is that there is no need to allocate a special place at home to receive clients.
2. What equipment should I use?
Typically, masters begin their experience with such simple services as a classic or hardware manicure/pedicure. I decided to immediately look for clients for nail extensions. Therefore, my list of required equipment looked like this:
- UV lamp;
- gel, tips, forms;
- primer, degreaser, finishing gel;
- nail scissors;
- blades for pushing back cuticles;
- wire cutters;
- several types of files;
- consumables (sponges, bamboo sticks, pedicure spacers);
- sterilizer;
- dry-heat cabinet for sterilizing instruments (yes, I take sterility very seriously!).
My first expenses for equipment amounted to about 3 thousand UAH. Fortunately, I didn’t have to buy a cabinet - it was lent to me for temporary use by a friend who switched from manicure to eyelash extensions.
3. What price should I set for my services?
I roughly calculated how much money I would regularly spend on materials and transport, what monthly income I would like to earn at the start and in the future, and how many clients I can serve per month. I compiled a basic price list - each service was approximately 30% lower than that of experienced professionals. The most difficult thing remains - to increase the client base.
We make a puncture on the nail
Professional piercers usually do piercings using a special miniature hand drill, at the other end of which there is usually a key for fixing stud-type jewelry.
It is not at all necessary to buy such a drill separately - it often comes complete with piercing jewelry, for example, on Aliexpress.
The drill is pressed against the surface of the nail, which is fixed on a not too hard, elastic surface. Which side to drill from - whichever is more convenient for you. Masters often do this from the front side, placing their nail under the drilling site so as not to accidentally damage the client’s skin.
But some people perform this operation from the underside of the nail - in this case it is not important. You need to drill without excessive pressure, but tightly enough.
You can do without a drill, and pierce a neat hole yourself with a hot needle. It needs to be heated by holding it a little over the flame of a candle or lighter, and then press lightly with the tip on the underside of the nail. When piercing yourself, it is usually more convenient to hold the nail itself suspended and rest your hand on the table.
Attention!
- The diameter of the needle must be sufficient for subsequent fastening of the decoration.
- It is still better to pierce with a needle from the inside of the nail - this way there is less chance of damaging the skin on the finger.
- It is necessary to select in advance the place for the puncture on the nail and mark it with a dot.
- The hole should not be made too close to the edge of the nail plate.
- The needle (or drill) should be positioned at right angles to the surface of the nail.
Step by step
So, let's say we do a regular classic manicure with piercings:
- Prepare the nail plate. Remove the old coating (if present).
- Do a classic manicure: file your nails, give them the desired shape, polish the surface with buff, trim the cuticle.
- Cover your nails with varnish or gel composition. Dry the surface thoroughly.
- Make a hole with a hot needle or manicure drill, following all the recommendations outlined above.
- Treat the puncture with any antiseptic - chlorhexidine or regular alcohol will do. It is advisable to do this to avoid unpleasant consequences (for example, fungus).
- Carefully install the decoration.
That's all! The “pierced” manicure is ready!
pros
Among the advantages of nail piercing we can safely highlight the following:
- Simplicity. You can pierce your nails in any accessible place and at any time; no special skills are required. You just need to have nails of the required length - your own or artificial ones.
- Unusuality. Do you agree that this design looks impressive, original and attracts the attention of others?
- Festiveness. It will be appropriate for any celebration, you just need to choose a themed earring.
- Harmlessness. With the correct technique, piercing does not harm the nail plate and does not cause allergic reactions.
- Quick replacement. Don't like the pendant? Not scary! You can quickly change it to another copy.
Some girls consider the fragility of nail piercing to be a special advantage. Others, on the contrary, recognize this as a disadvantage. The taste and color, as they say...
Minuses
I looked through a lot of reviews on forums and found out that, according to many ladies, nail piercing has three main disadvantages:
- Discomfort when wearing. Jewelry constantly gets caught on something and prevents you from fully doing household chores. Although in most design options it is not at all difficult to take them off for a while and then put them on again.
- Damage to nails. This only happens if you did not follow the procedure correctly.
- Unaesthetic. Controversial opinion. However, the popularity of this nail design is growing every year.
How to properly photograph a manicure on your nails beautifully - tips from photographers
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How to photograph a manicure beautifully and aesthetically? This question concerns not only nail artists who maintain profiles on social networks, but also their clients. Every beauty wants to capture a beautiful, fresh design and post the photo online, receiving compliments from her admiring girlfriends.
The content of the article:
For a nail service technician, it is simply necessary to have beautiful and attractive pictures in your profile for a number of reasons:
- Interesting and original photos, designed in a single color scheme, will attract the attention of subscribers to your account, force them to leave comments and follow updates. As a result, the active actions of the nail artist will lead to productive promotion of the profile, which will significantly increase the number of clients and affect the price list;
- Beautiful photos will help the master create his own unique style. This is a very important aspect, because when a client sees a photo on the Internet, he will immediately distinguish it from others;
- Masters who already have a large number of clients and subscribers need to retain and increase their audience. This can only be achieved by maintaining the interest of subscribers in the profile.
These reasons are quite enough to understand how highly a good photograph is valued these days. Now that we know why it is so important to create beautiful and unique photos, it's time to learn how to do it!
Useful tips
- When photographing your beautiful nails, remember the rules of composition and try to maintain the emphasis on your hand. This can be achieved through location (the main subject is in the center or somewhere nearby), as well as through contrast with the background or surrounding objects. As an auxiliary tool, use the centering function on your camera or phone.
- Whenever possible, shoot in daylight. Of course, the rays of the scorching sun, which throw off all exposure settings, are not suitable for us. The ideal option would be diffused daylight. Open the curtains wider and place your arms towards the light. Pictures with perfect lighting are guaranteed!
- Are you new to manicure photography and don’t yet know how to handle additional decor in the frame? Then it is better to free the space from foreign objects. Let the first photos turn out to be simple, but they will look natural, and the props will not distract all the attention.
- Do not use a telephone flash while sketching, especially if you are going to photograph a glossy manicure. Such a bright light will leave unsightly reflections on the nails or completely whiten the image.
- Do you want to place your hands near your face? Do not use the front camera, but work with the main one by setting the auto-start mode. This will help you maintain the quality of the picture, because as you know, the front camera on any gadget takes worse pictures than the main one.
- Don't be afraid to experiment. Learn new angles and hand placements, add accessories to your frame, and practice editing your photos. This is the only way you can develop your own unique style.
- Perhaps the most important tip is this: be sure to wipe the lens before shooting. Otherwise, even the most powerful camera will give you dull and blurry pictures.
Hand placement
Arranging your hands in the frame so that all the fingers look beautiful and aesthetically pleasing is a difficult task. By using some tricks, you can create truly unique and interesting photographs that will definitely not go unnoticed. Well, if you don’t have any time for experiments, we suggest you use standard “postures” of hands that have long been loved by nail artists and their clients.
Feminine curve Ask the model to raise her arms and make a curve in her hands, placing the camera parallel. Use additional elements (massive and bright rings that harmonize with the color of the manicure) to create an additional accent on your hands.
Crossing Beautiful and unusual pictures will be obtained if you cross your wrists on your chest, straightening all your fingers. This option requires a more careful choice of clothing. The ideal option would be models of discreet colors with a minimum of ruffles, buttons and zippers.
Interlacing Unusually placed fingers are exactly what will become the “highlight” of your photo. Create a beautiful position of your hands and remove extraneous details from the frame: this “pose” will attract attention even without additional paraphernalia. To create maximum emphasis on your nails, you can edit the photo by blurring the background.
Dynamics Against the background of monotonous staged photographs, dynamic photos look much more lively and attractive. It will be more difficult to create such ones, but subscribers will definitely be delighted with such a publication. Hand dancing is the best option for creating such photos. Capture moments by setting your camera to action mode, then select your favorite moments.
Love story What could be better than a woman's hand on the shoulder of a beloved man? Shooting in the “Love story” style will help you create a whole story in your photos and unobtrusively highlight a beautiful and neat manicure. Frames of lovers holding hands, or a girl’s fingers lying beautifully in a man’s palm will help add romance to a series of such photographs. Try to capture a special moment during a hug and your photos will definitely not go unnoticed.
Nothing extra If you have a professional camera with good focus, it will be enough to just stretch your arms forward and focus. The camera will automatically blur out all unnecessary details, leaving only beautiful nails with an interesting coating in the spotlight.
Using Accessories
So, we sorted out the placement of hands in the frame. It's time to find out what interesting attributes you can add to the photo to make it sparkle with new colors.
Interesting mug By clasping it with both hands, you can unobtrusively show off your beautiful and neat nails in the frame. Consider your shooting angle: if you plan to shoot from above, then you should think about what you will fill the mug with. Hot coffee or cocoa is a timeless classic, ideal for manicures in beige and brownish tones. If the shade of the coating is more delicate, soften the brown color of the drink with beautiful marshmallows. Does the client prefer bolder, brighter colors? Fill your mug with green tea; its color will perfectly match with eye-catching finishes. Add a slice of lemon or currant leaf to your tea. If you plan to work only from the lower angle, you don’t have to worry about filling the mug. It won't be visible at all in the photo.
Elements of clothing Involving any elements of clothing in the process of photographing is a favorite technique of fashion bloggers. Hands casually adjusting the collar of a coat or jacket will look interesting and natural in the frame, showing the viewer all the beauty of the manicure.
Bottle of varnish Create a harmonious composition with a bottle of varnish covering the client’s nails. This way you will create an unusual photograph and show the general public the materials you use in your work.
Jewelry A light touch on a voluminous earring, the color of which harmonizes well with the shade of the lacquer coating, will become an excellent subject for a photo. An elegant bracelet on the wrist will also add a “zest” to the look. Hold a massive but beautiful necklace in your hand or play with it.
Cosmetics/perfumery Is a bottle of perfume or lip balm the perfect color to match your new nails? Hurry up, pick it up and take a concise and interesting photo! Place your hand over an eyeshadow palette with pigments that match the pattern on your nails, focus lightly, and take a photo.
Bag or Clutch Carry your chosen style so that your nails remain visible without making your wrists look strained. Set the focus on your nails or the entire picture and get original photo cards for your collection.
Flowers Have you decided to show off your fresh manicure? What about a bouquet of flowers from your loved one or your favorite peonies grown yourself? Place your hand on the bouquet and take a couple of photos in good lighting. If we are talking about natural photography, then you just need to lightly wrap your fingers around a beautiful bud, giving the photo a gentle and airy mood.
Background for the photo
You already know how to position your hands and what to add to the frame as additional elements, all that remains is to figure out the background.
- The simplest and most win-win option would be a thick sheet of paper or whatman paper. A white background will give you a million opportunities to realize your ideas. In addition, a regular white sheet is ideal for shooting a portfolio, which welcomes minimalism and conciseness.
- Is a plain background not for you? In this case, add brightness to it with paints and brushes. Create an interesting pattern on whatman paper or randomly scatter bright blots. Now your sheet is painted in all the colors of the rainbow, which means that any manicure will look advantageous against its background.
- Marble covering. Marble, like wood, will make a photo special and make it stand out from others. Of course, you can conduct a photo shoot outdoors, leaning your hand against a wall or column, or, say, in a bathroom against a backdrop of marble tiles. However, there is an easier way. Visit a building materials store and purchase a small piece of self-adhesive film simulating the desired material. Now you can shoot a manicure on a marble background without leaving your office.
- A blanket or bedspread with a large pile. A fluffy blanket or even a carpet will be an unobtrusive addition to a fresh manicure. You can elegantly hold it with your hand or just gently place your fingers on it. Beautiful lace, by the way, will look no less attractive, so don’t be afraid to experiment and feel free to experiment with materials.
- Nature. An inexhaustible supply of natural beauty is a great source of inspiration! Is it autumn? Collect an armful of beautiful yellow and red maple leaves, take a colorful photo with a bouquet in your hands. Winter will give you a unique opportunity to capture a freshly made “snowball” in your palm, and spring will help you get delicate photos against the backdrop of cherry blossoms. Summer will give you many opportunities to get juicy and interesting photos. Take a triangular slice of watermelon in your hand and take a photo of it against the backdrop of the beach, showing off your brand new manicure. You can also photograph your nails against the backdrop of sand or pebbles, a beautiful palm leaf or exotic plant, as well as ordinary garden roses.
As you can see, taking an original and interesting manicure photo is quite simple. You just need to completely immerse yourself in the creative process, free your thinking from standards and frameworks, and turn on your imagination!
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Variety of decorations
The modern market for manicure products offers a huge variety of pendants, studs, stickers and other accessories for nail piercing. They come in metal, plastic and even gold. It’s probably not very advisable to buy the latter, because the decoration can easily be lost.
Conventionally, this group of jewelry can be divided into three main categories:
Pendants
Usually made in the form of rings, earrings and studs.
They have a modest size. The most convenient (more precisely, the least inconvenient) and practical. Can be decorated with beads or rhinestones. Rings come standard or with pendants of various lengths.
Chains
They are usually connected to rings or to the fingers themselves. They look very interesting and unusual, drawing attention to your person.
However, this decor option is very impractical - not every woman will be comfortable wearing it. Although girls will go to great lengths to attract attention!
Stylized
They can be made in the form of letters, symbols, numbers, etc. The size can be different. You can find unusual volumetric elements.
Like other manicure products, piercing jewelry is sold both in online stores and in regular stores that specialize in nail services.
On a note. Before you buy a product, you need to pay attention to the clasp. It would be good if it was in the form of a lock. This way you can quickly change one decorative element to another or simply remove it.
But you can not buy accessories at all, but use small pendants, rings from chains, etc. as pendants on your nails. They can be pinched with tweezers or special mini-pliers.
Filming background
You should focus users on the manicure. This means it should stand out in contrast against the general background. It is most convenient to shoot on a table or a specially prepared stand. But in this case, you lose flexibility and all your shots will be approximately the same. This is especially annoying when there are several similar works in a row, and it looks like you are posting the same work multiple times, which in turn indicates that you do not have enough content and you are making the most of what you have.
A bad background will make the photo look very bad, and, accordingly, the manicure on it will cause the corresponding impression.
But a good background will make you look like a professional!
Advice from professionals
In order for your piercing manicure to turn out perfect, it would be a good idea to listen to the following recommendations of nail artists:
- Get piercings on long nails - this way it is not only easier to do, but also looks much more impressive.
- For earrings in the nail plate, the ideal solution would be extended nails - they are much stronger than real ones and are also easier to correct.
- If you dare to pierce natural nails, it is important to make sure that they are strong enough - otherwise the nails may peel and cracks will appear.
- Do not make a hole close to the edge of the nail - there is a high probability of ruining the manicure (the earring will fall off).
- Don't forget that the more punctures there are in your nails, the easier it is to break them.
- For piercing, give preference to the middle or ring finger on your non-working hand - this way you will maintain your manicure longer, and the discomfort when wearing it will noticeably decrease.
- If you decide to get rid of the decoration in your nails, then simply cut off this part. With artificial nails, everything is much simpler in this regard. But with natural ones it’s different: if you want to get a piercing again, you need to wait until they grow back.
Advice. If your work or hobby involves vigorous activity (for example, sports), then you need to take off your jewelry for a while. This way you will protect yourself from injury.
How to photograph a manicure beautifully: 5 rules for a good photo and rules for a bad one
Are you tired of pictures with the red-blue fingers of a worker and a collective farmer, frantically squeezing a rose (a cup, a napkin) that is tired of posing? How a manicurist likes to be photographed: these tricks and obvious things will help you take perfect photos of your new nail art.
How to take photographs, how to reduce the size of your fingers, about the background and position of your hands, how to remove redness and blueness, how to choose a good angle.
Manicurists love light and... white balance. Find and pick!
You don't need to skip this part: it's 50% of the success. And for some reason, 50% of girls don’t think about it.
Hence the redness, blueness of the fingers, unnatural color reproduction: this is lighting. And white balance (this is a setting in the device): no matter what you take photographs with, you need to find and select them. By any fate.
And then there is no need for filters to mask redness, blue wreaths and the picture as a whole. Or take photos in maximum light.
But: the light source should not be directly behind your back - the shadow will fall on your hands. And the light should not fall directly on the hand (frontally) - the hand shades itself.
In general, turn on a critical eye and experiment. By the way, the best shots are taken outside on a sunny day: the background is natural and the position of the hands is not forced. And most importantly - a lot of light!
But you just don’t need the built-in flash of your smartphone: it will either whiten out the frame, “knock out” half the colors, or do nothing. Although there are exceptions.
The manicurist doesn't like close-ups and loves his neighbors
Don't want massive fingers and wrinkles that don't exist? Take photographs at a distance no closer than 50 cm. A complex pattern or shine is already visible. And there is no need for macro photography: the lenses fix wrinkles invisible to the eye and enlarge them.
If the angle is unsuccessful, the macro distorts both the shape of the fingers and the complex geometry and decor. And if the lighting is placed poorly, what we get is what we see: a blurred or discolored photo, fingers like sausages, and snow-white hands - like after hand washing.
And regarding the neighbors - against the background of larger objects, the brush has natural proportions and does not look large or powerful.
If there are only fingers in the frame with a close-up of a small flower, they are automatically perceived as large, and details are visible that are not visible to the naked eye. But the lens sees everything!
Manicurists love freedom and movement. And the right angle
Yes, these fingers squeezing a flower, clasping a cup, fabric to match the manicure, lying against the background of a piece of fur for an expensive, rich look - this is sad. And it looks the part.
What to do? Let your brushes move. Make a graceful gesture - but not deliberately, bring your hand to your face, straighten a strand, reach for that very cup - but do not grab it.
Remember this movement - and you can take a photo. And it’s better if someone helps - it will be more natural.
And not at close range, please!
What about the bottle of nail polish? This is a flattering shot with the fingers positioned naturally. But the varnish is small - and the hand looks bulky against its background. And this happened 1000 times! Just like the cup.
And do not remove plump fingers from below or in a frontal position. The brush is larger and visually expands.
And if you take pictures in front of a person, and even yourself, it’s even more difficult.
Each face has its own features, and you need to experiment: for some, a half-turned shot is suitable, for others, a slightly above or below shot.
About the correct location in the frame, about focus: read about the Rule of the Golden Ratio.
This is important and interesting. There won’t be any questions about how to photograph a manicure.
About the background
The background depends on the color of the manicure and the light. If this is not a photo on the street, the ideal background is white (the same color as your manicure. Ideally, a tree or its imitation (photo background).
It is better not to take photographs in blue or green, unless in very good lighting.
Why? Cold color turns your hands blue and distorts the color of the coating.
Red can also distort color - but it hides blue and is good in low light. Although the pictures are not ideal against a bright, contrasting background. But on black they are extremely successful.
But not these pictures under the lamp! No, there are incredibly many successful ones. Therefore, there is no need: there are incredibly many of them!
And the best thing is a “natural” environment - a light table with beauty accessories (not scattered “artistically”, but in fact looking like a bunch of everything), beautiful magazines.
And you don’t need to tell everyone, everyone, everyone that you are the owner of expensive cosmetics (perfume) or some other jar or bottle with a beautiful inscription, turning this inscription directly into the frame.
But against the backdrop of a cute handbag, holding the same cosmetic bag in your hand, or just naturally placing your hand on your shoulder, crossing your arms – the pictures are very good.
And the fingers are straightened as needed, and naturally.
But if these are not your favorite magazines, don’t look for publications for a photo shoot in English: it’s almost the same piece of fur, grandma’s napkin and Dior in your hand combined!
Law of Gravity
Everyone has wreaths, everyone has vessels and other things. When the arms are lowered down, the blood rushes - the veins are larger.
And this is normal, but in the photo the same small wreaths look larger.
Raise your hand up - this is the most advantageous position. You do not want? Then lift it with a few massaging movements so that the wreaths hide - and take pictures.
About shine
No need to lubricate your fingers. Nothing. The idea of smearing it with cream or any glitter is not bad. But sometimes it fails.
Poor lighting reveals the boundaries of the applied coating, and your fingers look like they tasted fried pies and went to the manicurist to arrange a photo shoot. And this is not original, it has happened 1000 times.
But the idea is not so bad: apply the cream before taking a photo and let it absorb if you are not sure about your skin (dry, for example). But just check the coating to see if there are any traces of “matte” spots on the manicure.
In fact, there are much more subtleties, and the topic is vast. But these are the main mistakes we make, and the main rules of good photography that will come in handy. Be beautiful!
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From: Photos of nail design Search for manicure: beautiful nails photo, beautiful manicure, manicure photo, Fashionable nails, Nails photo
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Design options
When creating a manicure with piercings, do not forget to take into account one important point - the pendant on the nail should fit organically into the design, and not look alien, artificially inserted. Below is a selection of photos with a variety of nail piercing options.
What to remember
Let's summarize:
- Nail piercing is an interesting and original trend in modern nail art. This design looks very impressive and invariably attracts the attention of others.
- This manicure has only one significant drawback - inconvenience when wearing. For some this moment is important, but for others not so much.
- Nowadays, the market offers a very large assortment of jewelry for nail piercing. You can find elements from a wide variety of materials, any shape and color.
- Making a hole in a nail is easy. It is only important to follow the sequence of actions and adhere to the recommendations of professionals.
Girls, have you ever decided to get a nail piercing? Tell us about your experience (good or bad)? In conclusion, I suggest watching a video about nail piercing and see you in the next article!