We have had a pretty cold Iowa winter so far this year – with wind chills in the negative and highs of 9 degrees. The Petz asked me to do their maternity photos before their little one arrives in February. They were up for an outdoor session with snow if possible. We tentatively scheduled the session for Thursday, January 6th, and the weather forecast for the week of the session was looking cold and icy.
Luckily, Tuesday afternoon got up to 34 whole degrees! We had a wonderful time shooting in the snowy forest preserve.
How to be Flexible for Winter Sessions
Stay in communication.
Connect with your photographer especially the week leading up to your session. The forecast can change pretty quickly, but the 10-day weather forecast can be a good indicator of storms, high winds and extremely cold temps.
Be flexible with your session date.
If you are set on an outdoor session, plan to be flexible with your session date with the weather constantly changing. The summer and fall months are more steady in weather.
Take “warm up” breaks.
If necessary, jump in the car to warm up for a bit if needed during the session. I’d rather everyone be warm and take breaks than be uncomfortably freezing the entire time. Bring blankets to wrap up in while walking between locations. Or that could be in your photos like family quilts!
Plan an indoor session.
And indoor session may allow you to commit to a firm date (unless there is a winter storm). You could also plan an indoor location as backup if an outdoor location won’t work.
Photographer Tip
Get there early to allow your camera equipment (especially lenses) to acclimate to the temperature. This will help with the lens fogging up. I take my primary lens and camera out in the cold prior to the session. And any back up lenses are in my backpack which goes outside into the cold with me to adjust to the temperature.
