Lights, Camera… wait. Make up!
· Blog, Presenting on camera, Tips & Tricks · authenticity (1), business video (2), corporate video production melbourne (1), corporate video production melbourne (1) (1), corporate video production melbourne (1) (1) (1), corporate video sydney, DIY corporate video (1), effective communication (1), video training (1)At Hunting With Pixels we often get asked about what to wear to shoots. Clothing isn’t as ‘make or break’ as it used to be because cameras have become much more forgiving, and so has our audience. There are a few things to keep an eye on that are easy to miss.
Clothing – the golden rule
Wear something that is congruent with your message, that is comfortable and won’t make you hot. Do that and you’re 90% there.
Congruent with your message
Consider what first impression your clothing gives if people see you ‘out of context’.
The video will be watched by total strangers, so they don’t necessarily understand the connection between your personality and your wardrobe.
Having said that, your personal style is your own. If you’ve got the killer content, what you looks like is secondary. Authenticity is key, so don’t ‘dress up’ to the point where you’re not ‘you’ .
Jewelry
Wear anything you like, as long as it’s not noisy when you move.
Big earrings look great, but will create weird clicking noises in they very sensitive microphones we use to capture dialogue.
Colours and patterns – ‘don’ts’
With today’s super sensitive cameras, most clothing is unproblematic. Here are few exceptions:
Very thin stripes or fine patterns. This can create weird light effects on video because of pixellation. –
Very strong contrasts. If you’re pale skinned, avoid very dark clothing and vice versa. This has to do with the light sensitivity of cameras; our eyes have a much wider dynamic range in terms of what it can see in shaded of light and dark. A camera would struggle with that level of contrast.
Tones that blend into the background. Pastel colours can look a bit bland if the background has a similar colour. Even if you prefer colours are not too strong, pick on that contrasts with the background.
Light orange can appear to glow in some cases. It’s more pertinent in broadcast situations.
Shape and Fit
Video can be a bit unforgiving when you wear baggy and shapeless clothing. Go from something that has a nice shape that will give you a taller and more fitted look.
The reason for this is that close up shots don’t give us a context of your surroundings, which can make you look bigger than you are. This is why we’re often surprise about how short TV personalities are when we meet them in person.
A few fashion tips
Here are a few things that will make you look your best.
Feel free to totally ignore this though; authenticity is more important than being polished. 
Men’s clothing
Collared shirts tend to look better than T shirts in close up.
There’s more texture and visual interest. Jackets also look good, especially if they’re nicely tailored around the waist. Never, ever wear a too big suit on a video shoot.
Unless you’re David Byrne. He kinda got away with it.
Light coloured shirts generally looks better than pure white.
Pure white tends to blow out and look a bit flat once you add video lighting. Ties work if you’d normally wear them too.
Try to go easy on novelty ties or large patterns, unless it’s very ‘you’ of course!
Women’s clothing
Power suits. We love the 80’s just like the next girl, but they look huge on video.
Avoid earth tones if you’re interviewed inside; you’ll blend in to the background too much.
Consider the surroundings and find a colour that both suits your skin tone and has a nice contrast with the background. Wear clothing that emphasises shape without being tight. Wear shoes that give you good posture, but make sure they’re comfortable: they’re unlikely to be in the shot.
Being comfortable will make you look and feel more relaxed and confident.
Make up
Video lights can make your face look shiny, which is not always a good look. We’ll bring blotting paper and translucent powder to fix that, but overall avoid clothing that’ll is too hot, make up that makes your skin shiny or exercise before you shoot.
Men: Use a bit of powder a shade darker than normal skin color, to even out skin tone and reduce the shine on cheeks, forehead and nose. We’ll have some on set.
Women: any make up is fine, maybe avoid dark reds/maroon for lip gloss and cheeks because the extra contrast of video may emphasise the make up too much.
Also avoid a lot under the eyes (none is best). We provide translucent powder in case of shine, but you may want to bring your own just in case.
Facial hair
Get a good shave before the shoot to avoid the five o’clock shadow.
Neatly trim facial hair if it matters to you, and if you bother wearing facial hair it probably should. 
…and Action!
All of these suggestions are just that: if a snowman tie combined with an unkempt beard and too much make up is your style, go for it. Rules are there to be broken.
At Hunting With Pixels we work hard to make doing a video an enjoyable and relaxed experience, so contact us any time if you have any questions. We’re here to make you look and feel great!
