Forums >
Model Colloquy >
Is 50 to 55 F too cold to shoot?
Just wondering if the temperature in the range of 50 to 55 F is too cold for a shoot. Oct 19 19 07:35 pm Link Oct 19 19 08:10 pm Link SierraPhotographics wrote: Depends on the model and depends on the location. If you're in Alaska, the models are probably gleefully stripping down if it hits 55F. In Arizona or Florida, they likely slap on the parka when it drops to 70. Oct 19 19 08:50 pm Link Oct 19 19 09:15 pm Link No. Except if it is windy. I was going to work with a model outdoors about 50 miles west of Phoenix. The temperature dropped to the 50s in the late afternoon and it was windy. I suggested that we have the shoot back in Phoenix in my hotel room. She was very happy to do this. Oct 19 19 10:26 pm Link Just wondering if the temperature in the range of 50 to 55 F is too cold for a shoot. ... and the time of year. Oct 19 19 10:27 pm Link SierraPhotographics wrote: That is the perfect temperature Oct 20 19 05:48 pm Link SierraPhotographics wrote: If you were shooting eskimos you would be shooting below zero. Someone has to do it. Its just a number. I haven't shot iceman yet. Oct 20 19 08:28 pm Link Years ago, I shot with a model whose most recent prior shoot was with a photographer who flew her out to Utah for a nude set on the Benneville Salt Flats... in January. And he spent most of the shoot verbally abusing her for looking all blue and goosebumpy. Oct 21 19 12:43 am Link Humidity is also a factor. In Arizona 65 degrees with a humidity of 5% feels very cold. In Massachusetts 50 degrees with a humidity of 40% feels like summer time. I've lived in both places so I know. Oct 21 19 09:13 am Link Aw, come on...shouldn't you be asking the model that you want to use that question ? To some models yes...to some models no. And will she be naked or wearing a mink coat ? What we think is useless, ask the person that has stand there in that weather. Oct 21 19 11:54 am Link Vector One Photography wrote: Bingo! Oct 21 19 03:32 pm Link Vector One Photography wrote: /thread Oct 21 19 05:12 pm Link SierraPhotographics wrote: I agree that *if* you have a model, you should ask her or him. If you're doing general planning before casting a model, I think it's a legit question. Oct 21 19 06:59 pm Link SierraPhotographics wrote: I can generally shoot in temps down to about 40 f before my fingers are too cold to push the shutter release, your mileage may vary. Oct 22 19 08:07 pm Link Red Sky Photography wrote: Photographer fingers are one constraint. Blue model goosebumps are another. Oct 22 19 08:12 pm Link I personally don't wanna do it. I have before and it was miserable. I don't want to be out there for my own sake but I also don't want to give shoots less than my best and disappoint the both of us. As a photographer I just shoot indoors in the winter. I have no desire for snow shots or any of that stuff and even clothed I dont want to be outside in that weather so I certainly wont ask a model to do it Oct 22 19 09:34 pm Link Vector One Photography wrote: Nah, that makes too much sense. Why would anyone assume that models are people too? Oct 23 19 02:45 pm Link 50F to 55F is doable if there is no wind, but not otherwise Dawn temperatures are often in that range and the light is wonderful Oct 26 19 05:48 pm Link Depends on the model. That being said, it's inadvisable to shoot nude at that temperature for a long amount of time. Even warehouse type buildings get extremely cold if they are that temperature - being outside would be even more miserable. I generally do not ever consent to shoot in temperatures lower than 60 degrees fahrenheit unless it's for short bursts - and even then it can be a bit much. As a photographer, I've shot outside in colder temperatures but don't particularly like doing so, and definitely for no more than 30 minutes. I hate photographing a model who is clearly uncomfortable as it makes me feel like an absolute tool - I don't care if they agreed to it or not. I don't like seeing someone in discomfort. I'd rather simply shoot indoors once it's cold out. Oct 27 19 11:01 am Link SierraPhotographics wrote: It all depends, the higher the pay rate, the lower the temperature. Oct 27 19 09:16 pm Link I am a beiliever that Photographers should dress in similar attire as their Models so they better understand how warm / cold it actually is Nov 01 19 06:51 pm Link Garry k wrote: Yep, fair is fair. Nov 02 19 05:54 pm Link Garry k wrote: All my offers to shoot without clothes have been rebuffed Nov 03 19 01:47 am Link Brooklyn Bridge Images wrote: Your Speedo will have to do in such situations Nov 03 19 06:21 am Link Garry k wrote: Nobody wants to see that!!!! Nov 03 19 10:14 am Link One thing to remember is if your model starts to shiver a bit it is time to wrap it up immediately. Some models will be very determined to continue which is honorable but now you are risking her safety. In the worse case scenario delayed hypothermia can set in without her knowing. I know, I am one of those stubborn surfers who will NOT get out of the water when a chill sets in because I want that last wave, next thing I know I am shivering for an hour in front of the heater. Nov 03 19 08:27 pm Link Yes . . . anything under 85 is freezing according to my body thermometer . . . SOS Nov 05 19 08:12 am Link I have slept outside in a tent in below freezing weather. Nov 05 19 08:48 am Link Entirely up to the model whether temps are ok for shooting or not. If it was up to me I would never shoot outside except when the temp is between 70-78 degrees. lol With that said the photographer is responsible for the safety of the people he is shooting. I’ve had to be rather forceful a few time insisting the model take a break to warm up, cool off or hydrate. I admire people who are willing to push their physical boundaries for art but I also trust that my age and experience are needed to keep people from going to far. Nov 05 19 12:58 pm Link Liv Sage wrote: Many years back, I did a few shoots in a garage in the Sierra Nevadas in winter and it was so cold that we could see our breaths. There was ice on the windows. We gathered space-heaters and radiant heaters around the set, all aimed at the model, and she was happy as a clam. Step off the set, though, and it was Antarctica. I had to let the camera adjust to the cold before the shoot started so we didn't have to worry about condensation fogging the shots. I hate photographing a model who is clearly uncomfortable as it makes me feel like an absolute tool - I don't care if they agreed to it or not. I don't like seeing someone in discomfort. I'd rather simply shoot indoors once it's cold out. On top of cruelty to the model, it's a waste of time getting shots of a model who's in misery. And even if she's a trooper and doesn't show the strain, the skin doesn't lie. It's no fun trying to Photoshop a cold-shocked body. Nov 06 19 09:05 am Link Garry k wrote: Sure. Nov 07 19 02:15 pm Link Nov 07 19 02:38 pm Link way before Digital, they would do the swimsuit shoots on a Long Island beach at sunup in January!!! now there were usually several girls just hanging around wearing extra coats to put on the models between shots. nobody got paid extra either... Nov 08 19 07:17 am Link retphoto wrote: Every year at New Years, a bunch of crazy people go out and jump in whatever freezing cold nearby water they can find. Up here it is Lake Whatcom. They make quite the to-do about it, has been going on for decades - possibly centuries. Nov 09 19 09:35 am Link Depends on where you grew up, and where the model is from too. SoCal girls might not like it below 65. North eastern states where models may be used to below zero days, then freezing temps might even work. Best of course is to be able to fix up your outdoor setting for a nude photo shoot in the snow, right next to a very accessible hot tub for warming up between each set. I've laid out in the sun to 'tan' in winter at 10 degrees, but no wind and direct sun. When wet and then a breeze on you, cloudy and in upper 40's and you can get some really bad shivers going fast. Its up to where you are conditioned to the outdoors. Oct 01 21 12:27 pm Link Jerry Nemeth wrote: Well of course, you're in Michigan! I've slept out in a tent many a winter, and actually did 181 days in a row from Nov through winter to end of April one year in Chicago area where we got to minus 20 at least a few nights. I think we 'northern' people are better adjusted to that cold than most in south or far southwest are. Oct 01 21 12:30 pm Link Find a cosplayer who's a fan of Spice and Wolf. Naked Holo photoshoots in the snow seem to be very popular. (Oops, old OP... advice still stands) Oct 01 21 02:01 pm Link I've done it. Gotten sick afterwards but with the right, skilled photographer is worth i. (Getting paid helps) I wouldn't do it with someone who's not got a consistent quality portfolio Oct 01 21 05:46 pm Link I have shot nude in water, late October, in upstate New York. I have also shot in snow and ice. The cold, autumn water was more tolerable than the mid-winter snow. Lying naked in snow on frozen ground is absolutely horrible, but it when it's your job and you agreed to do it, you do it. That being said, I shot at a lot of locations and in positions of physical discomfort in my 20s, that I would no longer do - not because I can't, but because in hindsight, the risk was not worth the reward. I also once hung upside down by only my ankles off the balcony of an abandoned building in Rhode Island, so the photographer could shoot from the perspective of traffic passing below, and my nude body hanging off the balcony above traffic. If I'd fallen, I could have easily died. When weeks passed and I never received images from that shoot (it was, what we called back then, "tfp"), the photographer simply replied, "Those didn't turn out." I actually risked my life for those shots. I didn't respond at all, but I never worked with the person again. That was one of many similar experiences over a 15 year period of shooting almost exclusively on location, and often in physically intense circumstances, where extreme heat, cold or circumstances posed high risks but little reward. Many people have medical conditions, or are on medications, that make them intolerant of certain environments. Some models, especially very young ones, are willing to put a lot on the line for their art and work. However, it behooves the fellow collaborative partner to make it worth the model's time, by however means all involved parties see fit. Many years later, my primary role is as a photographer. I shoot with models a lot. My experiences as a professional nude model heavily influence how I work with others. It provided an element of empathy and understanding that I probably wouldn't otherwise have. I wouldn't expect someone to shoot outdoors in temperatures lower than 70 degrees unless they were clothed, or I knew them very well and trusted they were (very!) healthy and not on compromising medications. Oct 06 21 06:15 am Link |