Tips For Shooting in Winter and Cold Freaking Weather

[RowdyRay]

Also, I want to strongly recommend ProMaster photo gloves. Very warm but the thumb and index finger tips slip to the side for those times you absolutely need maximum dexterity. Did a shoot at Conowingo Dam pre-sunrise with a stiff breeze and temps (without the windchill) in the low 30s--my hands were the warmest part of my body.

Yep, I have both pairs now. Bought the knit ones first. Less bulky, I felt. Worked fine even in the 30's. Unless the wind was blowing. Went right through them. I'll see how the 4 layer ones are this winter. They both seem to work on touch screens without exposing a finger too. Not real accurate, but.....

Others gave good advice about layering. It's key to staying warm in extreme temps. Every person/body is different. Every activity is different. Knowing how many and what types of layers to use is trial and error. Sweat is your enemy. That'll do you in faster than anything else. Been there, done that.

As far as the camera goes, I have not had any serious issues. Think the lowest I've had any of mine outside, so far, was -15 F. The camera never skipped a beat. Took around 300 photos one day. The battery was fine, but I did have another in a pocket just in case. Condensation is the biggest problem. I just leave it in my backpack/bag and put it in my truck about an hour before I leave. Same when I come home. Wait about an hour before removing it. As a hobbyist, there's no rush to process photos.

 

[ac12]

I was shooting a soccer game tonight. 55F but with WIND.
The cold did something to me that I had not happen before. My arms were getting sore holding the camera+lens. I had to use the monopod, to take the stress off my arm muscles. But that wind was strong enough that I had trouble standing steady with the monopod.
I gave up after the first game, I was TOO COLD, to stay and shoot the 2nd game.
I had thermals under my pants, and SIX layers on top. I was so puffy with those six layers that I had trouble handling the camera.

I may have to research different layering materials, to find a better combo that what I used.

 

[SquarePeg]

I may be in Calif, but it ain't warm in the SF Bay Area.
When I shot the last football game last Fri, I was wearing thermals under my jeans, and 6 layers on top, and I was still cold. I had to go to the bathroom and warm my hands under the heated hand dryer. And it wasn't winter, yet.
In the Winter sport season (starting soon), when shooting soccer at night in the wind, the ambient temp sometimes feels like it drops down into the 40s.

One of these days I have to bring a thermometer to the field to see how cold it really is.
But I don't know how to measure wind chill.​

6 layers for 40 degrees? Only in CA!

If you ever have the opportunity to go out on the ice for pregame festivities before a hockey game, try to not fall on your a$% in front of 6-7000 people. (I didn't.) Learn to walk on ice while carrying a camera and pray to the hockey gods (first time I did I remember thinking, please just don't let me fall out there...) because they don't roll out carpet for the photographers. I realize that's for indoor sports in the cold! but that's what I got.

I ran into a similar situation at our local wildlife sanctuary. Some of their trails that cross swamps have boardwalks (not always level). I went for an early morning shoot and ran into the "bridge freezes before roadway" phenomenon. I almost ended up in the swamp.

I love those boardwalk paths.

I was shooting a soccer game tonight. 55F but with WIND.
The cold did something to me that I had not happen before. My arms were getting sore holding the camera+lens. I had to use the monopod, to take the stress off my arm muscles. But that wind was strong enough that I had trouble standing steady with the monopod.
I gave up after the first game, I was TOO COLD, to stay and shoot the 2nd game.
I had thermals under my pants, and SIX layers on top. I was so puffy with those six layers that I had trouble handling the camera.

I may have to research different layering materials, to find a better combo that what I used.

I like to wear the Nike dry fit as the bottom layer with a thermal then a fleece with one of the new lightweight down jackets on the outside. Do they have LL Bean in CA?

 

[SquarePeg]

My best tip for shooting outside in the cold - create a home studio.

 

[ac12]

@SquarePeg
I need to go to REI and have them teach me how to properly layer.
Because as cold as I get, it is obvious that I do NOT know how.

 

[snowbear]

@SquarePeg
I need to go to REI and have them teach me how to properly layer.
Because as cold as I get, it is obvious that I do NOT know how.

About 1:02.

 

[SquarePeg]

@SquarePeg
I need to go to REI and have them teach me how to properly layer.
Because as cold as I get, it is obvious that I do NOT know how.

How to Dress For Winter

 

[pocketshaver]

If you ever have the opportunity to go out on the ice for pregame festivities before a hockey game, try to not fall on your a$% in front of 6-7000 people. (I didn't.) Learn to walk on ice while carrying a camera and pray to the hockey gods (first time I did I remember thinking, please just don't let me fall out there...) because they don't roll out carpet for the photographers. I realize that's for indoor sports in the cold! but that's what I got.

Always the option of wearing crampons. That would really make the hockey gods laugh

 

[MVPernula]

This was an interesting read!

As a Swede with Finnish heritage I've always been very accustomed to cold weather, and aside from that I'm a generally warm blooded guy, cold doesn't bother me much until -20C (-4F, man translating heat is weird), when it gets that cold I put my hat on.

Things to think about:

-Wear thin but warm fingered gloves, thick enough to keep the heat in your hands but also thin enough for you to be able to comfortably maneuver your gear. (good gloves already recommended above, but hey, it helps. A lot.)

-Keep your backpack on when the cold hits, it helps isolating the heat. Worth the weight if it's that cold, trust me.

-Beware of your own breath if you have glasses, condensation can get messy with your lenses but that wont matter much if you can't see anything with your own eyes. This would bother the most whenever I wore a scarf that would cover my nose and/or mouth, your breath simply just goes straight for your glasses. *sigh*.. A skiing mask or alike works better since it's basically glued to your face, your breath goes through the fabric rather than bouncing off of it. That or don't have anything in front of your face basically.

-Batteries run out, keep the ones you aren't using close to your body to keep them warm until use. And bring as many as you can if you're expecting longer shoots. Even for shorter strolls I'd bring at least 2 to be safe.

-The coldest weather isn't the amount of degrees dropping, but rather the wind. The wind is the worst. Leather, skiing jackets and just basically anything that keeps the wind out will keep you warm.

-Ears don't get cold, they get painfully freezing! Cover them up.

-Snow melts on your gear even below freezing, keep that in mind if you don't have a weather sealed camera or lens.

That's what I can think of for now at least.
Hope I lived up to your expectations @JoeW

 

[johngpt]

I wear a neck wallet inside my jackets in which I keep my batteries. This keeps the batteries warm while making it easy to retrieve them.

 

[kowanut]

If you've been in freezing temperatures you do not want to bring your unprotected camera directly into a warm, humid place like your home or your automobile. Seal it inside one or two layers of tightly tied plastic bag. Do not take it out of the bag(s) until you can feel through the plastic that your camera has warmed up to above the freezing point.
Condensation doesn't only form on the outside of your camera. Cameras and lenses are not hermetically sealed and that moisture is also forming inside your gear and can lead to many problems later on. It's annoying to have to wait for an hour or so before you can get your camera out, but it's time well spent in the long term.
Taking your camera from a warm humid place out to a cold dry place won't cause any problems; it's only troublesome when bringing a cold camera inside.

 

[JoeW]

This was an interesting read!

As a Swede with Finnish heritage I've always been very accustomed to cold weather, and aside from that I'm a generally warm blooded guy, cold doesn't bother me much until -20C (-4F, man translating heat is weird), when it gets that cold I put my hat on.

Things to think about:

-Wear thin but warm fingered gloves, thick enough to keep the heat in your hands but also thin enough for you to be able to comfortably maneuver your gear. (good gloves already recommended above, but hey, it helps. A lot.)

-Keep your backpack on when the cold hits, it helps isolating the heat. Worth the weight if it's that cold, trust me.

-Beware of your own breath if you have glasses, condensation can get messy with your lenses but that wont matter much if you can't see anything with your own eyes. This would bother the most whenever I wore a scarf that would cover my nose and/or mouth, your breath simply just goes straight for your glasses. *sigh*.. A skiing mask or alike works better since it's basically glued to your face, your breath goes through the fabric rather than bouncing off of it. That or don't have anything in front of your face basically.

-Batteries run out, keep the ones you aren't using close to your body to keep them warm until use. And bring as many as you can if you're expecting longer shoots. Even for shorter strolls I'd bring at least 2 to be safe.

-The coldest weather isn't the amount of degrees dropping, but rather the wind. The wind is the worst. Leather, skiing jackets and just basically anything that keeps the wind out will keep you warm.

-Ears don't get cold, they get painfully freezing! Cover them up.

-Snow melts on your gear even below freezing, keep that in mind if you don't have a weather sealed camera or lens.

That's what I can think of for now at least.
Hope I lived up to your expectations @JoeW

Good Stuff! Thanks for the tips. And the more active you are in TPF, the more value you get from it.

 

[MVPernula]

This was an interesting read!

As a Swede with Finnish heritage I've always been very accustomed to cold weather, and aside from that I'm a generally warm blooded guy, cold doesn't bother me much until -20C (-4F, man translating heat is weird), when it gets that cold I put my hat on.

Things to think about:

-Wear thin but warm fingered gloves, thick enough to keep the heat in your hands but also thin enough for you to be able to comfortably maneuver your gear. (good gloves already recommended above, but hey, it helps. A lot.)

-Keep your backpack on when the cold hits, it helps isolating the heat. Worth the weight if it's that cold, trust me.

-Beware of your own breath if you have glasses, condensation can get messy with your lenses but that wont matter much if you can't see anything with your own eyes. This would bother the most whenever I wore a scarf that would cover my nose and/or mouth, your breath simply just goes straight for your glasses. *sigh*.. A skiing mask or alike works better since it's basically glued to your face, your breath goes through the fabric rather than bouncing off of it. That or don't have anything in front of your face basically.

-Batteries run out, keep the ones you aren't using close to your body to keep them warm until use. And bring as many as you can if you're expecting longer shoots. Even for shorter strolls I'd bring at least 2 to be safe.

-The coldest weather isn't the amount of degrees dropping, but rather the wind. The wind is the worst. Leather, skiing jackets and just basically anything that keeps the wind out will keep you warm.

-Ears don't get cold, they get painfully freezing! Cover them up.

-Snow melts on your gear even below freezing, keep that in mind if you don't have a weather sealed camera or lens.

That's what I can think of for now at least.
Hope I lived up to your expectations @JoeW

Good Stuff! Thanks for the tips. And the more active you are in TPF, the more value you get from it.

Yeah I'm very on-off on forums generally. The on I've been on most is LinusTechTips, 3000+ posts there, but haven't been super active for over a year now.