wardrobe colors

[Azmyth]

if I am shooting a young girl (17ish) who is somewhat dark skinned (she's hawaiin I think) and has jet black hair. I'm shooting her at night, running through some creepy looking woods.. utilizing fog and lighting etc. I'm trying to determine what colors are bad and good for her to be wearing. What colors to stay away from that might be distracting, or make it look "bad".

 

[Chris Adler]

Isn't it all about making the wardrobe fit the character, the story, and the tone? As long as you follow basic fashion rules (don't mix stripes with checkers, etc) then the decision should be wholly artistic. And I guess (depending on your camera, distance from subject, etc) make sure any patterns play nice with your sensor and compression.

 

[Sad Max]

Even following basic fashion rules goes out the window, if it suits the character to break 'em.

 

[Azmyth]

i was under the impression, that certain colors tended to look better within certain scenery. Like if your trying to show a very somber sad scene, you wouldn't have someone wearing yellow or zebra print.

 

[Sad Max]

Unless you deliberately choose to introduce the visual counterpoint of bright colors, against a dramatically 'dark' scene, for a particular narrative purpose. Which might be a choice that a given director might make, in telling a given story.

 

[clang]

For a night scene, the biggest issue is how visible do you want the actor in the shots - white clothing would be great if you want her relatively bright against the dark woods, but equally you may want black if you want her almost invisible. Her skin colour is only relevant for close-ups - again, do you want her face clearly visible, or should she be just a shadow until her eyes or face happen to catch the light.

 

[Sad Max]

I think that you may be better off thinking about distinguishing your performers via lighting, and using it to control background contrast, if the resources are available to you.