In the world of live streaming, first impressions count. What you wear can captivate or distract/annoy your audience. Grab the attention with this blueprint on What to Wear for Successful Live Streaming to stand out in the virtual crowd. It includes what to wear and not, depending on your software and technique. Whether you’re a seasoned content creator or new to live streaming, this comprehensive guide covers dressing for the camera, from selecting the right colors for the technique to looking your best and color psychology. With my expert tips and tricks from teaching online, you can ensure your outfit conveys confidence, professionalism, credibility, and competence from the first moment. In the digital age, using your attire as a strategic tool elevates your live-streaming game for a lasting impact and emphasizes your message.
Disclosure: Sponsored post.
What You Never Should Wear When Live Streaming
In traditional communication, people are in the same physical room. They are 3-D and in color. However, when live streaming, people are in a virtual room. They see each other 2-D (flat) and pixelized. As a result, any garments with small patterns or prints will look like noise, and can make the viewer dizzy.
Today, employers expect their employees to be able to use webinar services professionally.
Therefore, avoid glen check, houndstooth, gingham, needle stripes, thin stripes, herringbone pattern, and similar patterns. Furthermore, avoid small prints like pinpoint, polka dot, small floral, snake, stingray, leopard, and busy prints. Embellishments like embroidery, sequins, and Rhinestones may also look noisy.
Expert tip: Don’t wear sun protective clothing that uses minerals for protection from harmful UV radiation. The minerals reflect the beams of lights. As a result, the garment looks noisy.
Take home message: Solid colors are less distractive. But …
… stay away from black, white, green, blue, and neon colors.
What Colors Are Best for Livestreaming?
Both black and white tend to wash you out and cast unnecessary shadows during a live session. You would look sick and blah.
To obtain a balanced screen image, search for a room with a solid, deeply saturated wall. Pick clothing in a color that contrasts with the color of your background. If possible, wear clothes in the complementary color of the background to achieve the most pleasant image.
Tip: You will look your best when these colors are from your personal color palette.
However, as soon as you do not want to show your real background, software is involved. Typical scenarios are that you want to use a background photo or film thru glass. In these cases, …
… What to Wear when Live Streaming Depends on the Technology You Use
When using a photo or PowerPoint as a background, you can’t wear green (blue).
Tip: A busy background photo can look noisy and/or distract your audience. A vacation photo looks unprofessional.
Why Avoid Green and Blue When Speaker Presence Is Important
When you prepare a PowerPoint presentation, you can film yourself against a green background. The software replaces the green background with your PowerPoint. Consequently, the audience sees you standing in front of the slides like at a conference or in a seminar room. The advantage of this technology is that you appear to be present. Many people can better follow when they also see your gestures.
Note: Some software uses blue instead of green.
Obviously, because everything green/blue is replaced by what is on your computer screen, you can’t wear this color.
Why Avoid Black in front of the Camera
Educators often use a Learning Board. It’s a glass on which you write with a neon marker. The camera is on the other side of the glass, and films you thru the glass against a black background. The software mirrors the neon-color writing so students can read it. Black, chocolate brown and similar dark deep colors, and even my ash brown hair don’t show.
Expert tip: The result of wearing black could be very spooky with just your hands and head floating over the screen.
Which Clothes Styles Are Best to Convey Professionalism?
It depends on the purpose of the live stream. Whenever the reason is related to your job/career, stay within the HR-approved dress code. Dress up a notch. Here’s more on why it is better to be slightly overdressed than underdressed.
When you are live streaming for fun and the audience is friends, family, or followers, stay true to your personal style. However, be aware that wide clothing yields folds that create unwanted shadows.
Students giving a class/homework presentation look most confident in their usual attire, dressed up a notch. Wear what the school dress code requires at a thesis defense, if there is one. Otherwise, wear a variation of what the dress code of your future profession demands for dressing for job interviews.
In all these cases, keep in mind what not to wear color- and print/pattern-wise.
Why Wear a Garment with a Collar in a Live Video
When you use a microphone, wear a collar. Skip wearing long earrings or necklaces to avoid audio noise.
Growth tip: Reach more people by saving your live streaming as a video, and publish it later with a voice over in a different language.
What to Wear When Live Streaming in a Nutshell
To create the best experience for your audience
- Dress in deeply saturated colors.
- Go for pleasant color combinations.
- Wear clothing that permits the placement of a microphone.
- Avoid blue, green, black, white, anything neon, busy prints and patterns, sun protective clothes with minerals, and bling.
- When broadcasting as an influencer, business, employee, family member, or friend, dress according to your brand, the company’s dress code, or your personal style.
- Save the live stream and publish it on YouTube, maybe even using a voice-over to translate it into a different language.
- When recording from home, avoid distractions from family members by setting business-family life boundaries.
Screenshots from my online classes
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