What to Wear on Camera

Technical Information

CORE staff and faculty frequently wonder what to wear when they are going to be part of a video session or interviewed for television.

General

1. Avoid clothes with large areas of black or white, such as white shirt without a jacket, white lab coat, black suit jacket, etc. Instead, charcoal, gray, brown, or similar colored jacket with a pastel (blue) shirt.
2. Also avoid clothes with large areas of red or similar highly saturated colors.
3. Wear pastels, earth tones, blues, greens, taupe, and ivory.
4. No hounds tooth, small checks, fine stripes, or other fine patterns. These patterns can cause moiré patterns (seem to "crawl" or "move" because of interaction with the video scan lines).
5. Avoid clothing with large patterns or geometric shapes that will draw attention to the clothes rather than the person.
6. Typically a lavaliere microphone will be used, so clothing should afford a place to clip a lavaliere microphone. Ideally, clothing will have a lapel, button-up shirt, or collar to clip the microphone. Due to the placement and sensitivity of the lavaliere microphone, avoid wearing a noisy necklace or one that may come in contact with the microphone.
7. It’s hard to place the mic well on a turtleneck. Some type of scarf might help here.
8. For physicians, if you will be wearing a lab coat, avoid wearing a black or white shirt underneath and no hound’s-tooth or other fine patterns. Opt for pastels and earth tones in your shirt selection.

Men

1. Shave as close as possible unless the "unshaved" look is desirable.
2. Make-up is generally not necessary. However, powder may be used by television production personnel to remove shine from the forehead and other reflective areas.

Women

1. Normal make-up is appropriate. Don’t overdo it and avoid putting it on under fluorescent lighting. Powder may be used by television production personnel to remove shine from the forehead and other reflective areas.
2. Jewelry at a minimum. Avoid sparkly items, large earrings, and necklaces that will draw the audience attention or might reflect lights into the camera.
3. Large necklaces can rub against a lavaliere microphone.
4. For clothing, pastels and earth tones always work well.