Television is one of the most influential and widely used means of communication. During your career you may have the opportunity to appear on television many times.

Appearing on camera is an opportunity to showcase your abilities, so it is important that you are well prepared. Carefully select your clothing and accessories and take the time to apply your makeup properly. Unless you have gone through the experience before, you may be surprised how you look on camera. Although it no longer adds ten pounds as the older technologies did, video does exaggerate other things. For example, extremely bright, dark and contrasting colors bleed outside borders creating a halo effect; bold prints, stripes, checks, and polka dots, look as though they are vibrating; and yellow and green give a sallow tinge to some skin tones. Your best bet is to stay with garments in the middle value and jewel tones, which tend to be the most flattering to most skin colors on camera. If you are fond of a certain color family, such as red, and find that a brighter shade doesn't work, try a subtle variation like wine or rose. Also, stay away from stark white, which tends to vibrate on camera, and instead choose a light shade of gray or pastel blue, which reads as white but doesn't vibrate.

Clothing

If possible, wear an appropriate jacket and skirt at the waist or belt. This will enable you to attach and conceal the microphone cord and battery pack. Shape and fit of clothing are also important. Baggy, loose clothes will look sloppy. You want to look neat and trim with jackets well-fitted around the collar (avoid ripples, or gapping, which occurs when collars pull away from the jacket). Take notice of how the whole outfit looks when you stand, sit and move about, even if you may not be moving around on tape. If sitting, pull down the back of your blouse or jacket to prevent the fabric from bunching at the neck. You need to be sure that any body movement, such as raising your hand or shifting your body weight on a chair, will not disturb your look. If your legs will be seen, be aware of skirt slits when sitting, so that they don't end up showing more than you intended.

Make sure your outfit works with the set backdrop (you want to avoid blending in or creating an unflattering contrast). If you are on a television show, watch it several times to identify the colors and styles of the set. You want some contrast so you will be seen clearly, so selecting the appropriate color for your outfit will depend on the colors of the set. For instance, if the background is beige or cream, wear royal, green, or navy blue; if it is a deep blue, wear cream or a lighter blue, apricot, or salmon. What you want to avoid is blending in with the background and losing your effectiveness.

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