What to wear on a video podcast (from a cinematographer)

Wear something plain, in a mid-tone colour, that you're comfortable sitting in for an hour. That's most of it. The rest of this piece is the why, and the handful of things that catch people out.

I've been lighting and framing people for most of my career, from feature films to company podcasts, and clothes cause more avoidable problems on camera than almost anything else. The good news is that every one of them is solved before you leave the house.

Colours: stay in the middle

Cameras handle the middle of the tonal range best. Very bright white and deep black both cause trouble.

White is the brightest thing in the frame, so the eye goes to it first, and it can lose all its detail and become a flat glowing shape. It also makes skin look darker by comparison. Off-white, cream or a pale blue does the same job without the glare.

Black goes the other way. Folds and texture vanish, and you can end up as a head floating above a dark shape. Charcoal or navy reads as smart without disappearing.

Colours that almost always work: navy, mid blue, forest or bottle green, burgundy, rust, warm grey, camel. Pick something that contrasts with your skin tone and with the set behind you. You can see our setups, by day and by evening, in the gallery.

Patterns: the one rule worth remembering

Avoid fine stripes, small checks, houndstooth and tight herringbone. On camera they shimmer and crawl, an effect called moiré. It happens when the pattern's grid clashes with the grid of the camera's sensor, and it gets worse once a video is compressed for LinkedIn or YouTube.

Broad stripes and large, soft patterns are usually fine. If you're not sure, take a photo of the shirt on your phone and zoom in. If it starts to ripple on the screen, it'll ripple on ours.

Fabric: think about the lights and the chair

• Shiny fabrics like satin and some silks pick up hot spots from studio lights. Matte fabrics look richer.

• Linen looks great for the first five minutes and like you've slept in it by the end of the hour.

• Very thick knits add bulk when you're seated and the camera is slightly above you.

• Anything that rustles gets picked up. Waterproof jackets and stiff taffeta are the usual culprits.

Try your outfit on sitting down, in a chair as low as an armchair. Shirts gape between buttons, jackets ride up at the collar, and skirts behave differently on a sofa. An old television trick for jackets: sit on the back hem. It pulls the collar down and stops it bunching behind your neck.

Jewellery, glasses and the small stuff

Bracelets and watches knock on the table every time you gesture, and a microphone hears all of it. Take them off or push them up your arm.

Long necklaces can tap against a mic or a clip-on lavalier. Studs and small hoops are fine. Long earrings that swing are fine visually but can brush a collar mic.

Glasses can reflect lights and screens. If you wear them, tell us when you book so we can place the lights to keep the reflections out of your lenses before you arrive. Anti-reflective lenses help a lot.

Logos and slogans pull the eye away from your face. Your own company's branding is the exception.

If there's more than one of you

Two people in navy look like a uniform. Two people in loud colours fight each other. Agree on roughly the same level of formality, then pick different colours that sit well together: navy and rust, green and grey. It looks considered without looking planned.

Make-up, including for men

Studio lights plus a bit of nerves equals shine, mostly on the forehead and nose. A light dusting of translucent powder fixes it, and it won't look like make-up on camera. If it's an important recording, a make-up artist is money well spent. We can book one for you as an extra; the price is on our pricing page.

The quick checklist

• Solid, mid-tone colours

• No fine stripes, small checks or herringbone

• Matte fabrics that don't crease or rustle

• Tried on sitting down

• Noisy jewellery off

• Glasses mentioned when you book

• A spare top in your bag

And for company recordings: dress the way you would for a client meeting that matters, not a keynote. You want to look like yourself on a good day. For everything else about the day itself, here's how to prepare for your first video podcast recording.