The Real Reason Why... | The White Shirt Effect

Set of Marker Pens and a whiteboard did it for me Seth (but I’m not talking photography tho’). Yeah no need to stop rambling-on Seth!

Excellent! One of the great aspects I love about being a photographer is that we can (and must) wear comfortable clothes to do the physical work we do! I used to wear white t-shirts, but now that I'm older, I stick with black T's with a breast pocket. I usually wear tan khakis, sometimes jeans, or cargo shorts if it's hot. The black T's are a bit heavier and fit looser that regular t-shirts, but I love the comfort. Also, by wearing black, draws less attention to myself, which I prefer. However, if the shoot calls for me to look more professional, I'll dress appropriately, but always with comfort in mind first!

Seth, love your candor - small things like being respectful of people's time and letting them know what type of video this is so they can listen to it more like a podcast and being forthright with everything is inspiring - I hope one day I can find my style of confidence as you have!

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I really liked this! Keep it up!

Cool video Seth, but I must admit, of all the videos I seen you in, I can't ever remember seeing you in a plain white T-shirt. 🤨😊
I guess I'm not as observant as I thought I was.

Great video Seth. Thanks for sharing with us...your vibe. Later dude.

Thanks Seth, I've always enjoyed and learned from the videos you post. I pity those who haven't discovered you yet.

Thanks for sharing brother 🙏🏾 you inspire!!

I mainly wear darker shirts, mainly Stoltman Brothers ones, as for years I used to do event safety so we had to wear white dress shirts.
As I am very partially sighted I have to carry extra eye drops, creams and lens cloths so I love cargo trousers, yep trousers not pants as I is Scottish, and they have so many pockets. Also being a chocoholic I always have some in my bag and some for the model as well

Congrats with the 10k subs,
You and Dan deserve at least 100K subs👍
And can't say it enough thx for your video's.

I'm shooting all white shirts during the warm months too. I sweat a lot and the white handles it the best...or should I say least worse :D

I kinda like it too.

Cool story bro 😀 Not what I was expected, so kudos for that. Loved it
I am not sure what my "white shirt" is...I was thinking about this for the last ten minutes. It might be my light meter. Usually, if we have not planned something super spesific, - I feel its nice to just set up a simple 3 light setup, and meter the lights to my standard starting point. Even though this is not where it will end up, it feels kinda, I dunno, calming (?) to know what you will get. And as an added bonus, the subject also feels a bit more relax when they see on the first picture on computer screen already looking good right out of the box. ANd THEN start messing about and experiment. NOt ure if that makes any sense but yeah

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Ramble on .. never gets boring 😁
Camo cargo pants is my armour. Shooting mainly dogs, never have to worry about stains or dirty. Almost a brand people look for at shows.

My white shirt is a black shirt. I have a draw full of them. That and my Dickies pants or shorts

Finger ring, lol the stuff that we connect is completely mad. Cheers Seth and thanks for everything you share and most off all your simplicity and honesty to yourself and others.
Keep up the good work I’m sure you will accomplish all that you want

The white shirt was my default for landscaping, in weather like this it'd often be three in a day.

As a bounce card! That's genius!

Love this story and the logic. 🤜🏾

Penguinz0 has entered the chat

Bro; I dunno how we got here in recommendations. But the white shirt thing for me is just about how you’ve summed it up here. Such an interesting and random thing that is the exact same. Anyways, carry on sir. Really enjoyed this.

I wear compression t shirts got a few in different colours ,, but when im wearing my white one i feel alot bigger and shows all of my muscles off which makes me feel bigger than what i am ,, dont know if this has anything to do with this video because never watched it all

Almost at 10k!

I don't have an item of clothing (jeans - maybe?) but my white shirt is probably a camera with "Nikon" on the front. I know that sounds very fanboy, but it's true. I bought my first camera when I was 23 ("we were so poor ... 🤪") which was a Nikormat FTn and it gave me confidence to shoot. Since then, apart from an OM-2n and an OM-4, all my cameras have been Nikons.
I have nothing like your history of and experience in photography, but at the age of 72, my Z9 makes me feel bulletproof when I'm tackling a subject.

I follow just a few photographers and you're the only one that's addressed 'armor'. Thanks for explaining those white shirts, and for encouraging us to find what we want to say as artists. Really enjoyed this Seth!

Seth I'm intrigued by your life story. You went Pro at 15yrs old. Was that the end of your formal education? You have a well developed vocabulary and ability to tell stories. It is a pleasure to listen to you, and to watch you interact with models and other professionals. Despite the fact that I am 68 years old (so we are not contemporaries) I enjoy listening and learning from you. Thanks for being you!!!

I think my white shirt would have to be my old Domke straps, from when I shot for a few newspapers back in the day. On some level I think it’s also Nikon gear (not to sound like a fanboy - just bein’ honest).

Now I’m off to order a new pack of white t’s (v-neck, always) 🙂

When I was traveling a lot with the military we always threw out t-shirts and underwear rather than find a place to wash it because it was easier to get new when you got to the new duty station, plus no under arm stains lol. I have done a lot of formal public speaking , weddings, funerals, etc and being a very low key, back of the room type person, having to be the guy in charge, crazy as it sounds, a really nice suit, dress shirt and tie puts me in the "professional mode". Somehow I can put all my emotions about the event in a box and "do my job" even when the people involved are close friends or relatives and then when my part is over, I can strip the jacket and tie and slip to the back corner again. I really enjoy hearing your honest presentations, and I really like it when your the mixer guy and tell Daniel how to get something done on his camera, that's hilarious and obviously you two are good enough friends that its like two brothers together.

Literally in the warm months when going out for landscape photography I wear long nylon hiking pants a synth tee shirt and a Columbia PFG button down and a goofy wide brimmed hat. Any exposed skin gets the Deet-treatment. Do I look like that middle aged white male photographer geek? Absolutely... that's my armor. BTW, your white balance in the studio is wicked blue!

I don't think I have any physical thing that is my white shirt. For me the thing that really gets me in the right vibe is hitting the road and heading out into the wilderness. I can get in the swing of things at home but it's not the same as the feeling I get when I know I'm going to be away from it all for at least a few hours.

Interesting! I don't think I have anything like that, but I am not a pro and don't really face any pressure other than from myself (which is minimal - I shoot for fun, as long as I'm having fun all is good).

I do have a habit of dragging my Bronica ETRSi to shoots, because it's my favourite camera and I love using it. It's a huge heavy lump, I might only shoot one roll through it but it's great when I do.

Always a good idea to have a white Tee handy 2x. 👍

Thanks Seth !!!!!! :) Luv Ya Man .....

This sounds a lot how I feel about Mascara and lipstick. I don't wear a lot of makeup anymore but when I put it on when I need an extra confidence boost.

It's your superhero outfit!

Taking my shoes off in studio is my white shirt...dunno why

yeah. blk calvin vneck, charcoal KUHL pants, white hitop chucks. coffee. ready to jam.

Almost your Good Luck Charm and Trade Mark.. I will product shirts if they are supplied I do not have any particular clothes to wear to a shot. For me once set up is done and in you are "In the Moment" that is when the fun begins. I have yet to get any from the creators I like as I do not have a credit card! Anyway have a great new week and Thanks Seth. 😎👍🇨🇦

[Thinking about it] I guess I am almost always in a vest? Not a suit vest, nor a fleece vest, but a softshell vest. It is a happy medium for me in the PNW. I get to hot with a jacket but no outerwear can be too chilly. I can handle most of what the Seattle area throws at me with a vest. I am almost never without a vest.... so, vest. haha.

So why do you wear white shirts Seth? lol. Keep up the great art buddy.

It's always good to get more Seth lore. This just shows that you never really forgot where you came from as a creator. My white shirt these days is an anime shirt unless the job itself asks me to wear something more appropriate (which I hate).

Oh, always wearing a black shirt is purely to disguise the perspiration from hard work and/or "oups I made a mistake" heat, haha.

My first thought about your white shirt was a portable reflector. The second was to be completely opposite Danial in the studio. :)

As someone who is partial to landscapes, I think my white shirt is to experience as many places as possible if for nothing more than the "I was there!" feeling that comes from it when looking at photos years later. A good 80s playlist helps too! :)

If I had to say who I'm learning from, LastXWitness and DanielNortonPhotographer are definitely at the top of my list.

Congrats on being sooooo close to 10k subscribers. You absolutely deserve that!

Interesting, Seth. I'm not trying to make a statement to a particular audience with my clothing, but agree with your method of "trademarking"... It matters. For me, these days, my clothing choices (in Alaska) are related to climate. In temps lower than about 50 degrees, which is probably 3/4 of the time, I'm always wearing black jeans, and dark gray "smart wool" shirts. In the summer, I'm typically wearing beige pants and light-colored shirts, to help keep me cool. Simple, and comfortable. And... Never take any fashion advice from me! :)

That's pretty cool. The nice thing about tossing them is it's easy to get fake blood off your shirt when you never wear it again!

"Learn who you are learning from" 💯🔥

I wear a white shirt when shooting in the studio. But my "white shirt" is this:

Having lost a lot of my hearing when an IED comprising some 3.5 tonnes of military and commercial explosives detonated about 100 yards away, I wear hearing aids. They are Bluetooth enabled and connect to my iPhone/iPad. I have the entire Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler recordings on iTunes and they play in random order. That's gets me in the right mood. BUT ... there are certain records and particularly guitar solos that I have to stop what I'm doing, sit down and listen to them. 😎

My other "white shirt" was a wonderful hat that I picked up in Memphis TN. Sadly, though, I took it off while packing my car after an outdoor shoot, put it on the roof out of the way, and drove off with it still on there! 😥

Awesome to hear the background behind the white shirt Seth. Thanks for sharing with us!