Cold Weather Photography Tips for Photographer and Videographers
We absolutely love being outdoors and capturing photos and videos in the winter. Winter photography can be beautiful, with the snow-covered landscapes and frozen water creating stunning images. However, winter photography comes with its own unique challenges. One of the biggest is cold weather battery life. Cold weather can significantly reduce a camera battery’s lifespan by as much as 20% and even more if you’re shooting video. As a photographer, you will want to make sure you have enough extra batteries on hand to get through your shoot without running out of juice in the cold. You’ll also want to take extra steps we have listed below, to prevent other issues from happening to your camera and gear. Some of our favorite shoots have been winter sessions, so we’ve had our fair share of trial and error when shooting outdoors in the cold. Here are some tips to keep your camera batteries lasting longer when shooting in the winter cold temperatures.
The Benefits of a Battery Grip for Cold Weather Photography
Since the batteries can drain faster in the cold, we highly recommend using a battery grip. We have found that using a battery grip has been a game changer. It adds to the over all mass of the camera body keeping it from cooling down as fast. it’s important to keep your camera warm—ideally between 50°F and 77°F to function the best, so anything that you can add to the camera to retain some heat will help you out. Another huge benefit of using a battery grip is that you aren’t needing to swap batteries, which can become very problematic, especially if it is snowing outside and there is a chance of getting moisture in your camera. We love using the battery grip when shooting in inclement weather, like the cold and snow, and highly recommend it.
Know Your Battery Life Expectancy
Knowing how long a fully charged battery will last can help you plan ahead for how many extra batteries you need per hour(s) of shooting time. Different types of cameras have different battery life expectancies at varying temperatures, so make sure you know what kind of battery life expectancy your camera has at lower temperatures before heading out into the cold with it. This knowledge can help ensure that you don't run out of power halfway through your shoot! We typically plan on having one extra battery per four hours of shooting time for photography and two extra for four hours of shooting for videography in the cold weather and that has worked great at preventing us from running out of batteries during a shoot.
Keep Batteries Warm Until Use
It is important to keep your batteries warm until use. If possible, store them indoors or in an heated vehicle until it is time for use. This will help reduce their exposure to the cold and significantly increase their battery life during your shoot. We have our batteries stored in a waterproof case that we can slip in our pocket, during a shoot. We purchased this case back when we had a shoot that was going to be -20 below zero with snowfalls and we knew we’d be outside for a few hours. This saved us big time. We were was able to have two extra batteries ready to go and didn’t have to worry about moisture getting on the batteries or the cold directly affecting them if we just had them loosely stored in our pockets or bag. It has separate compartments to prevent the batteries rubbing against each other and getting damaged, as well as some slots for extra camera cards. As long as you keep your batteries warm, regardless of what method you choose, they will operate fairly well even in cold weather.
With these tips in mind, you can better prepare yourself for winter photography by making sure you have the warmest setup for your camera, enough extra batteries on hand, and keeping those batteries warm until use! By understanding your camera's battery life expectancy at colder temperatures and taking precautions like storing your batteries in an insulated case or heated place, you can be better prepared for any winter shoots you may encounter! Don't let a dead battery or a camera that gets too cold ruin an otherwise perfect shot - taking these steps above will help to ensure you are ready for anything, so you can just get outdoors and enjoy your cold winter photography!
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