If you haven’t heard the statistics, suffice it to say that video is here and it’s here to stay. If you’re an entrepreneur, embrace it for your business. Video drives better customer engagement than other social media. Almost 80% of internet traffic will be in video format by the end of this year.
Over the past year, I have experienced an increased demand for assistance with video preparation. Here are eleven easy tips to elevate your appearance when creating video.
1. Prepare in Advance
When you look good, you feel good. Get a second opinion on how the clothes that you are planning to wear for your video look. Skype or FaceTime a friend. Make necessary adjustments with sufficient lead time. Pressure rarely leads to success.
2. Wear Solid Colors
Avoid patterns. Patterns can distort visual focus; especially busy patterns. While they’re great for hiding problem areas, they are challenging on film. If a garment is not centered, patterns magnify it. Unlike photographs, videos can’t really be edited to fix colors and prints that look out of place. Wear solid colors instead.
3. Wear Bright Colors and Saturated Jewel Tones
Avoid black and white. Wear bright colors or saturated jewel tones instead. White often looks gray rather than sharp and crisp. Black often loses definition and looks flat. Wear blue, gray, or other neutral colored suits and pants. Red, royal blue, emerald green, coral, and bright pinks really pop in videos. Consider wearing bright, saturated colors with neutral suits, pants, and skirts.
4. Confirm if Video Will be Filmed with a Green Screen
Confirm if you’re filming with a green screen. If your video background is green, wear a different color. I recommend wearing a color on the opposite side of the color wheel, especially if you have dark hair. Green screens are dark and with dark hair, you need to bring lighter hues into your video persona. Red, orange, and dark purple are great options for a green screen. This dress is the same shade as a green screen. In front of a such a screen, wearing this hue would be like camouflage in the jungle.
5. Avoid Bulky, Shiny Fabrics
Avoid tweed, velvet, sequins, neoprene, and leather. Wear cotton, silk, satin, suede, or lace instead. These latter materials are less likely to show folds and add bulk like heavier materials do. Linen wrinkles quickly and can look incredibly sloppy so do not wear it either.
6. Avoid Block Prints
While they can slenderize a silhouette in person, they often look odd on video. Similar to patterns, block prints are distracting.
7. Minimize Contrast
Minimize the contrast in your outfit. For example, a dark pair of pants is best matched with a dark shirt. A jewel colored shirt is preferable to a pastel shirt when worn with dark bottoms. Similarly, a light skirt or pants will look best with a hue such as light blue versus a dark color like red. In short, wear lights with lights and dark with darks. Monochrome palettes elongate and slenderize the body. Who doesn’t want that?
8. Wear the Right Accessories
If you wear a microphone, it will most likely be secured to the top of your outfit. Noisy jewelry, especially necklaces, will be captured in the audio. Select accessories that are silent. Very large and asymmetrical pieces can cause problems. Specifically, if a necklace, earrings, or bracelets move around while being worn, strange video footage can result. Select pieces that are symmetrical and made of materials that don’t look like costume props.
9. Confirm Your Shoes Look Good
Your shoes must fit properly and be in great condition. If they have a pattern, be sure that it photographs well. The leopard shoes look great. The snake skin pumps and the sandals do not look good in video or photographs.
10. Balance Your Makeup
Disclaimer: I’m not a makeup artist. I’ve done my makeup a significant number of times for commercials and professionally produced videos. Typically, the makeup artists who are onset only touch up my makeup when necessary. This makes me feel like I have a minor amount of makeup value to share.
My simple suggestions:
1) Do not wear Illuminator. It can make skin look greasy. A professional makeup artist, familiar with the onset lighting, can certainly apply it if desired. The pros do it properly and prevent skin from looking too wet and too shiny. When in doubt, forego reflective, glittery makeup.
2) Consider False Lashes. Synthetic hair photographs differently, and better, than real hair. Faux lashes define the eye and look great in pictures and videos. Lashes should be a reasonable length and shape. No tarantula lashes!
Lashes in a Box E1 are my choice. They’re affordable and last for multiple uses.
If you reuse lashes, thoroughly clean them with soap and water. In my opinion, visible white eyelash glue showing through eyeshadow and liner is atrocious.
1) Balance Lips & Eyes. If you have a dark eye, keep your lip light or neutral. If you have a neutral, understated eye, you can wear a darker lip shade. Take a selfie to assess your lips and eye makeup. You can always add more color. Removing it is tough, let alone frustrating.
11. Use Lighting to Your Advantage
Good light can make a video. Bad lighting can break a video. If you record video on your own, or attend video meetings, purchase a light. You will love it and you can thank me later. I bought the B-Land Cell Phone Holder with Selfie Ring Light on Amazon for $14.99 and highly recommend it.
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