What to Wear on Camera

What to wear on Camera 

Video production can at first seem like a huge step for your business, but there are so many benefits to producing high quality video content. Not only can it convey you as a more professional enterprise, it can enhance your brand, increase awareness and even generate new business. The benefits of a well produced video for your company cannot be emphasised enough.

Once you have decided to take the step to create some video content for your business, a lot of planning will need to go into your videos to ensure that they deliver the required result. First and foremost, it is important to consider the goal of your video and whether it will be a one off production or something more regular. Perhaps you would like to use the production to promote your business, explain something or provide training.

While a video production company will take care of the technical and creative aspects such as the staging and lighting, it is important that you and your staff who will be appearing on the video come across as professional as possible.

What you wear can make or break a video. The clothes that you wear should accurately reflect your brand and your business, so it is important to choose clothes that will convey the right image. If your business has uniforms, make sure that staff appearing in the production are wearing the correct uniform and are well presented. For businesses without a uniform, wear suitable clothes that you feel comfortable and confident in. Even though you are on film, it doesn’t always follow that a pressed suit would be an appropriate choice. Your production team should be able to advise you on what will work well for the type of video that you are creating. Remember they have lots of experience in creating corporate videos, so they are the best people to advise.

The Right Clothes

Bright, solid and warm colours work the best on camera. If you wonder what colours will look the best, consider colours such as purple, coral, teal or even orange. These colours can be really striking on screen and allow you to look your best. Black clothing can sometimes be difficult to define while white clothing can look too washed out, particularly if the majority of your filming is carried out against a white background.

Patterns such as herringbone or checks should be avoided as much as possible. A busy pattern can look distracting on screen and you don’t want busy clothing to detract from the key messages that you are talking about.

One of the best ways to approach a video production is to think of it as if you were attending a key meeting with an important client. What would you wear? Would your clothing choice be suitable for the video too? If you are a tradesperson for example, a polo shirt with your company logo or if you work in finance or consulting, then a suit would be advisable. Try to put yourself in the shoes of your audience. How would they expect you to be presented?

Where possible, it’s best to avoid jewellery. Long earrings, fussy necklaces and bracelets are not only distracting but they can create additional noise which will be picked up by the sensitive audio recording equipment that is used during the production process. When you hear the video back these background noises can be very off putting.

If you are unsure what you will need to wear for the video, it is always advisable to bring a change of clothes and the production team can help you choose the right clothing to reflect you at your best. Also, if you are creating multiple videos on the same day, you may want to wear a few different outfits, but if you are aiming for consistency across all of your content, then it is perfectly acceptable to wear the same clothing throughout.

Video is a little different to real life and there are some rules that you should keep in mind when you are choosing what to wear.

Top Tips

Remember, when a video is being produced the team will use lots of lighting equipment, so it can get quite warm. Clothing that is light and breathable is best. Winter jumpers or thick clothing are best avoided. The last thing you want is to come across as being uncomfortable on film because you are too warm.

Bold patterns, tiny checks, thin stripes or tweeds from herringbone will result in a strobing effect on camera. During video productions, the camera doesn’t see these patterns the same way as the human eye does which means that they can move or distort when filmed.

Opt for light, subtle colours such as pastels, calming blue or neutral tones all of which work well on video

Don’t over accessorise with scarves or excessive jewellery

If you need to wear glasses, let your production crew know so that they can adjust the lighting to avoid reflections

Choose clothing that reflects the video message that you are trying to communicate. This is something that many businesses get so wrong. If you are producing a corporate training video, your clothing needs to reflect the formality of the training. If on the other hand you are creating a fun, casual explainer video then your clothing style can be a little more relaxed.

Above all, trust your production team. They have the expertise, and many have been working in the industry for a number of years so they know what works and what doesn’t. A good production team are your expert advisers and their experience should be relied upon to help you create and deliver a polished and professional video, whether it’s for training, a promotional video or an explainer video for potential clients. Whether you have worked with a production team before or this is your first attempt at creating a professional video for your business, you can achieve so much with professionally produced video content.