Hey photographer friends! Last week we finished up our Camera Bag Essentials Blog Series. While we have our next series in the works, we’re going to spend the next few weeks teaching a few “one-hitters”. This week, we’re addressing an issue that Sarah and I have been learning the hard way these last few months – how to photograph a cold portrait or engagement session!

 

Busy is a Good Thing

Don’t get us wrong – having to shoot in the cold is a good problem to have, since it means we’re staying busier in the winter! In years past, we haven’t been in high enough demand to do very many sessions in the cold winter months. This year however, we’ve been consistently booking and shooting, even through the November-to-February months when the highs in Charlottesville are typically in the mid-40s! As of right now, we’re on par to quadruple our winter business from last year!

 

If you live in a part of the world with hot summers and cold winters like us, and this isn’t your experience, don’t fret. As you get better and your business grows, increased demand will come, both in-season and out. For us, more frequent winter shoots have forced us to come up with these practices as we’ve strived to give our winter couples the same incredible and personalized experience that our couples might get in May or October!

 

 

1. Set Expectations

Never forget: the way you make your clients feel during your time together will influence the way they react to their final images! If you deliver stunning images but they had a miserable time, it will tarnish their perception of your imagery. Because of this, giving them the best experience possible isn’t just the kind thing to do, but it’s smart for your business as well!

 

And when it comes to a cold photoshoot, the best thing you can do is walk your couple (or senior or family) through what the session will look like well in advance. It’s easy for anyone to hustle from their home to their car in 40 degree weather and not think it’s too bad, so they might not realize just how cold 40-degrees feels after 90 minutes or more. Make sure they know what they’re getting into, and see if postponing is an option in the first place. If not, use a phonecall or email to walk them through what the process will look like and set their expectations that the session will be cold, but that you’ll all still have a great time and produce some incredible images!

 

It’s much better to set the expectation at “we might be a little miserable for the hour”. Then, if it’s as cold as everyone feared, they feel like they were at least prepared for it. And if it isn’t too bad, they leave with a nice unexpected surprise of feeling good! Either way, managing expectations is crucial.

 

 

2. Educate Them Well

Nothing says “intimate engagement session” like puffy down jackets, amiright?! Not exactly – and for that reason, you’ll want to send over suggestions to help your couples look their best while staying as warm as possible. We recommend for many of our winter sessions that our brides-to-be wear a floor-length maxi, then hide some warm leggings underneath! For our guys, we just recommend layering to keep warm – the blazer on top of the sweater on top of the button-up on top of the undershirt.

 

Sarah always recommends our couples splurge on professional hair and makeup before the engagement session. When it’s going to be a colder session, we also recommend they inform their makeup artist that they’ll be outside in the cold for an extended period. Since the cold tends to leave our couples with pale faces and bright rosy noses or cheeks, a good makeup artist can adjust accordingly and keep our couples looking great even in the snow!

 

 

3. Bundle Up

This may sound like a no-brainer, but just because your couples can’t bundle up for their photos doesn’t mean you shouldn’t! Dress warm in lots of smaller layers to make sure your mobility isn’t reduced, and be sure to invest in gloves that retain some sense of feeling in your fingers to navigate your camera’s settings more naturally. You may even consider bringing a hot cup of coffee, cider or tea in a thermos for you and your clients to share!

 

 

4. Keep Them Moving

The only thing that makes the cold worse is when you aren’t moving. Be sure to incorporate walking and dancing shots throughout your session to keep your subjects from freezing. We’ll sometimes chose a few locations on opposite sides of the venue and go back and forth between them a few times so everyone has a chance to warm up with a brisk walk!

 

 

5. Warm Up at Halftime

Most locations that we shoot at have a wine tasting room, gift shop or at least a public restroom. We’ll work extra-efficiently during cold sessions so we can drag out our intermission a bit longer. This not only gives our couples time to change into their second outfit, but also gives us some time to quickly review shots from the first half of the session and scheme on posing and locations for the second half. The mid-shoot break is also a perfect time to sip on a warm beverage to brace yourselves against the cold.

 

 

6. Serve, Serve, Serve!

When it comes down to it, no one likes being stuck in the cold. So do everything in your power to make your clients as comfortable as possible, and when all else fails, give them a reason to forget how cold they are! Crack jokes, engage them in great conversation, or move so quickly that they can’t help but be engaged in the session.

 

Sarah and I will often have our couples wear their heaviest winter jacket on top of their outfits when testing lighting, explaining posing or moving to new locations. Then, once we’re ready to take the photos for real, we’ll each grab a jacket and hold onto it while shooting so that their big puffy warmth is never more than a few steps away!

 

 

Best of luck, and stay warm out there!

 

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