What NOT To WEAR: 7 Tips for Choosing the Right Clothes for Your Marketing Video

Written by Bridgette Weller Brown
on 20 Nov 2020

1. Dress your Industry

To some extent, the clothing you wear on camera should be influenced by the business you work for or the industry you work in.

A suit is a great look but if you run a plumbing business, it may be better to dress how your customer is used to seeing you.

There are levels of professionalism that you can dress to, but the way you dress should match your occupation, the company you work for, and the industry you are in.

2. Dress comfortably, but to impress

It’s natural when being filmed to want to look your best, but you don’t want what you’re wearing to affect your performance. If you’re uncomfortable on camera, it will show, so it’s a good idea to choose an outfit that makes you feel relaxed and confident.

It’s also important to wear something that represents your brand. Here at Caffeinate, we wear our company shirts, just to get that little bit of extra branding out there!

A suit jacket might look great, but it can also be restricting for some people. Too many layers can get warm under the lights or when the temperature is just that little bit hotter. It sounds simple, but small details like these can make a big difference when it comes to performing best on camera.

(READ: Caffeinate Digital’s Winning Point of Difference)

3. Avoid stripes or patterns

Flannel was an excellent look for 90’s music videos. Still, stripes and patterns are rarely a good fit for video marketing content; they can read funny on the camera and turn a great work of art into an unwatchable video.

More often than not, you’ll distract your audience from the core message you’re trying to get across. Best practice? Stick to solid colours.

4. The perfect colour

In general, muted colours are best practice and tend to look the best on camera.

It’s also important to consider background colours when thinking about how to dress for video.

When it comes to doing a green screen video, wearing green is a big no-no.

Avoid pure white. Light reflects off of brighter surfaces, so the lights for the camera will reflect off of your shirt more than your skin, making it look like you’re glowing.

Think of it as that ‘blinding’ effect you get when you’re behind the wheel of a car on a cloudy day.

On the other hand, black will not show any details, so you may look ‘formless’ and have a “floating head” effect.

5. No to logos

This might not come up often, but when creating video marketing content, you probably don’t want another brand splashed all over the screen.

When you’re on-camera, make sure that you dress professionally for the day and leave the Nike sweatshirts at home.

(READ: Think Small This WA Small Business Day)

6. Mind the mic

For ‘talking head’ style videos (A person talking into the camera), you may find yourself with the need to use a lavaliere (clip-on microphone). Of course, that means you’ll need something to clip it to.

A button-down shirt, jacket lapel or cardigan-style sweater are all very microphone-friendly clothing options.

7. Leave the big jewellery at home

If you’re married, we’re not saying you need to discard your wedding ring for the sake of the camera. You still want to make sure any jewellery doesn’t distract your audience.

Dangly bracelets and earrings, elaborate necklaces or large broaches can be noisy (especially when using a lavaliere) or create a shine that distracts the eye. Again, you want to keep your audience focused on the valuable message YOU have to share.

(READ: 4 Simple Ways to INCREASE VALUE to Your Customers)

We want to hear from you! Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram to keep up with us, get our notifications and start a conversation!

Get the latest and greatest.