Top 10 Tips For Extreme Cold Photography

1. Use A Sealable Bag

One of the most important winter photography tips in this list, and a double tip, so I’ve put it first to ensure you properly protect your camera in winter from the cold.

If you’re using your camera in particularly cold weather, you’re going to want a bag (or bags) that you can fit your camera gear (i.e., camera body, lenses) in that has an airtight seal – my recommendation would be something like a fabric dry bag (as sold for kayaking etc.) or a Ziplock plastic bag.

The reason for this is that when you move from somewhere very cold to somewhere warmer, such as outside to your vehicle or hotel room, there is the risk that moisture will condense on or inside your equipment. Moisture does not play well with the internals of most cameras, and protecting your camera from it is important.

To stop this happening, before you head inside , seal your camera equipment inside the bag along with some of that cold winter air. You can remove the battery and memory card before putting it in the bag if you want so you can begin importing your photos and recharging your batteries. Then you can take your camera inside, leaving it inside the sealed bag, and it will warm a little more slowly with none of the moisture able to penetrate the bag.

The second tip is to use resealable bags to keep your gear dry, ziplock bags for snacks, phones and larger dry bags to keep dry cloths dry or wet cloths isolated-this sort of bag is much better than a rucksack in a cramped snowcoach.

2. Take spare batteries

Cold weather kills batteries. Fact The cold causes batteries to drain faster than normal inside the camera, and even when not in use, they’ll still lose their charge.

Bring lots of batteries-I have 4 per camera for a full day shooting.

You will also need to keep those spare batteries warm. Keep them in an inside pocket close to your body rather than in a rucksack, or better still there is a company called ColdCaseGear that make specialised insulated pouches suitable for batteries, phones etc.

Similarly, your smartphone battery will drain quickly in the cold, so treat it as with your batteries.

 3. Don’t freeze to your gear

Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

Parts of some camera’s and items such as tripods are made from metal and will get very cold very quickly.

Don’t touch these parts with bare skin or risk being stuck frozen.

4. Wear good gloves

One of the big challenges of cold weather photography is just trying to use the camera in those sub zero temperatures. Dials, buttons, filters – all these things that are easy to deal with when shooting in normal conditions, all become very challenging when we’re wrapped up to the max.

There are a variety of gloves designed for winter photography and cold weather conditions, which vary in their approach, from fingerless solutions to gloves with removable sections. In my experience, really cold conditions tend to need bulkier glovers, so make sure you pick the pair that will suit the conditions you’ll be shooting in.

I’d suggest using a thin merino wool or silk underglove and then find a pair of gloves that has detachable fingers so buttons and dials can be adjusted quickly.

I use a Vallerret Market Pro and merino wool lining glove.

There are of course a number of other options on the market. 

5. Use Heat Packs

Chemical heat packs solve the problem of your hands (or feet) getting cold, and you not being able to warm them back up again. This is especially the case for your hands, which will be handling very cold camera equipment.

A chemical heat pack can provide hours of warmth to your hands for a minimal cost, and are a sound investment – just pop them in your gloves (or hold them in your hands) for instant relief from the cold

6. Wear warm winter clothes too!

Photo by Aman Shrivastava on Unsplash

If you’re out in cold weather, you want to be wearing clothes designed for cold weather.

The key here is layering, from thermals, overshirt, mid layer and outer layer.

I’d suggest merino wool or silk thermals, a merino wool hoodie, overshirt, and down outer layer with the addition of an overcoat or parka for the extremes

Avoid cotton if you can, as if it gets wet from either rain or snow or if you are sweating you’ll get cold very quickly and stay very cold.

Don’t forget a hat, a merino beanie perhaps, along with scarf or Buff neck tube and snow boots.

 7. Use a good camera bag

Photo by Sead Dedić on Unsplash

This isn’t just a cold weather photography tip, but when you’re out in extreme conditions, a good camera bag is a must. It will protect your gear until you’re ready to use it. You want something that is purpose designed to be a camera bag, as it will have the necessary amount of padding to protect your gear.

You also want a bag that offers some level of protection against the elements. When it’s cold, this is usually snow, which will brush off, but a bag with a waterproof cover is a good investment nonetheless.

For me its Tenba bags all day long-functional and bullet proof-I use a Tenba Roadie for travelling and a Shootout backpack.

8. Invest in a good tripod

Photo by David Marcu on Unsplash

If you want to take decent landscape and wildlife photos you are going to need a good tripod. Winter photography is often is low light so you will be using long exposures and will need to make sure your camera is steady.

A good tripod is a worthy investment. A second good travel tripod for hiking and flying is another good investment.

Look for a carbon fibre version for the cold weather-it won’t freeze- with a decent ball head and maybe a gimbal head for wildlife.

Make sure you affix the footspikes in the winter to get a grip on ice and frozen ground.

I’d would also recommend the low cost Op/Tec USA neoprene tripod sling. In fact I’d also recommend their camera straps as well.

9. Use the right camera settings for Winter Photography

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

First tip-shoot in RAW so that you can correct mistakes back home. The cameras sensor are often fooled by slowly landscapes given you blue hues and under-exposed photos.

Snow makes for beautiful winter photography opportunities, but it can also wreak havoc on your camera’s exposure meter, resulting in images that are under-exposed, or darker than you would expect. This is because all the glare from the snow confuses your camera, causing it to read the light in the scene wrong.

If you are shooting snowy scenes, one of my top winter photography tips is to compensate by increasing your cameras exposure by around 1 stop – the exact amount will vary depending on the amount of snow and light.

Use your exposure compensation function (using +- dial) and set it to between +0.3 and 1, allowing more light into your meter which should whiten up your snow.

 10.BE AWARE OF YOUR FOOTPRINTS

Photo by Jason Flaherty on Unsplash

As you’re walking through the snow, keep in mind your intended shot. Be careful that you do not walk through an area that you hope to include in a future shot…unless footprints are the intended purpose.

If you have found this blog useful why not check out my website or some of my other winter blogs such as A photographers guide to Yellowstone Winter Wildlife or Winter Photography Tips