What (Not) to Wear on Camera
I’ve been in television since it was black and white (well, the reruns were), and have been producing commercials and videos for over twenty-five years. One question I always hear from on-camera, nonprofessional and some professional talent is “What should I wear?” In the interest of creating a video that’s visually appealing and looks professional, I have put together some tips on what to wear on camera. I hope this helps:
For Men:
- When you wear a black suit, too much light is absorbed, and will look drab. A medium colored suit is always your best bet (blue/dark blue, gray, and brown).
- Sport coats in herringbone, tweed, and loud plaid fabrics (madras) and complicated patterns such as checks or tight/close stripes will also tend to strobe on a camera.
- Try to avoid wearing white or bright yellow shirts that tend to reflect light. The viewer’s eye tends to look at the brightest object in the picture (your shirt not your face).
- Dress shirts with stripes close together, especially vertical, will vibrate. The camera has trouble distinguishing the spaces between the lines. Wear a solid colored dress shirt – light blue, gray, ecru, or pink.
- As with shirts, avoid neckties with bold, tight patterns, like plaids, and shiny fabrics. Just as in shirts, they will flutter on camera. Bring two or three ties to match the suits or sport coats you plan on wearing.
- Don’t wear shirts with logos
For Women:
- Most of what works for men will work for women.
- White, bright yellow and red suits tend to reflect light on camera. Black suits tend to diminish your appearance because they absorb too much light.
- White, shiny or glossy fabrics will reflect light back into the camera. Unless you are selling laundry detergent, most of the viewers’ attention needs to be to your face.
- Avoid fabrics with complicated patterns such as checks, tight/close stripes, herringbone and tweed. Fabrics of this design tend to strobe on camera.
- Avoid wearing sleeveless dresses or tops (even in the summer). If you do wear a sleeveless blouse, make sure you bring along a matching jacket or sweater. Short sleeves give an informal look, and bare arms may draw the viewer’s eye away from your face.
- When it comes to jewelry, try to avoid large shinny dangling earrings, and large shiny light reflecting necklaces, or one with a lot of chains (the sound guy will really appreciate it).
- Bring solid colored clothes. Navy blues, grays, purples, dark creams, browns, and neutral colored suits seem to work the best. Avoid large shiny jewelry, necklaces and pins that will reflect light back into the camera.
- Don’t wear shirts with logos
- And finally, style your hair off your face to avoid a shadow
Coming soon to a PentaVision blog near you: a side-by-side comparison of clothing, hair and make-up looks in standard definition compared to high-definition (HD) video. We’ll let you be the judge of what to wear, or what not to wear. Make sure you sign up to receive our blog updates so that you don’t miss out!
