The leaves are dead, it’s cold outside, and you might even be waking up to a slight frost on your car windows in the morning. You’re likely in the middle of booking winter photo shoots and you’ll need to know how to make it so they go off without a hitch.
Full Frame Insurance is here with some tips on how to make the most out of your photography sessions during the winter and preceding colder months. Plus, we also want to tell you about insurance for photographers and how it can benefit your business as you become the professional you’re meant to be.
How to Make the Most Out Of Winter Shoots
1. Protect Your Gear From the Elements
Along with bringing breath-taking scenery that you will absolutely want to capture on camera, wintertime brings with it some cold and dreary weather. As beautiful and stunning as those snow landscapes are, they are equal parts wet and dirty.
In order to protect your gear, you’ll want to ensure you carry plastic coverings that will protect it during any bouts of rain or snow that could potentially harm your equipment. There are dozens of options for waterproof camera body covers out there, you just have to do a simple search to find the best option for you.
But, if you’re looking for a quick solution or don’t want to spend the money, you can always make one yourself with supplies you probably already have on hand.
2. Dress For the Weather
Wouldn’t it suck for your photo shoot to be ruined not because your gear is unprotected, but because you are? You need to be sure you’re walking out the door with any clothing you think you will need. Maybe you’re thinking it’s not cold enough for gloves or not wet enough for extra rain gear, our tip is to carry it anyway! You don’t want to be left upstream without a paddle when you could have just brought it along with you, to begin with.
You also want to make sure your clients are dressing for the weather during outdoor shoots. Encourage them to bring blankets and coats as needed. They can always remove them right before a shot is taken and then go back to being warm right after.
If you’re on the search for a new coat or camera vest check out this article that tested and reviewed some of the best options out there.
3. Have A Quality Tripod
Maybe you’re shooting landscapes or family portraits. If this is the case, you’ll want to be sure you have a sturdy tripod that will do its job and not collapse on you during a shot. How awful would it be for your camera to fall and break because your tripod didn’t hold up to its standards?
Plus, by having a tripod on hand, you give yourself a chance to rest your DSLR somewhere. If it’s actively snowing or raining you don’t have to worry about your camera slipping out of your grip or moving around the rain cover you have over it. Check out this list of the best tripods to find one if you’re in the market.
4. Try To Keep Your Clients Warm
If possible, aside from telling them to bring their heaviest coats, you should have a system set up for outdoor photos that keeps your clients warm. This might mean having an idle vehicle during a wedding photo shoot that the bride can wait in during groom shots and vice versa. Attention to details like these will help set your business apart from other photographers. Anything to make your clients happy will bring in positive feedback and could generate repeat business or referrals—greatly impacting your business.
5. Carry Insurance For Photographers
The best thing you can do to prepare for winter photo shoots is to protect your business by purchasing insurance for photographers from Full Frame Insurance! Insurance for photographers is designed to protect you against bodily injury and property damage claims that arise out of your business operations.
This means that if someone were to get injured during a shoot as a result of your posing orders or if they knocked over your tripod only to have it land on them and injure them, you could be protected if you were sued.
Full Frame Insurance even offers camera equipment insurance starting at just $55 on top of an annual policy that could protect your gear if it were to fall and break during a shoot.
Full Frame’s event policy starts at $59 for 1-3 days of coverage while our annual policy starts at $129. Get the coverage you need and rest easy knowing that if the worst were to happen during a winter shoot, you could be protected and keep your business alive.
Conclusion
Making sure winter photo shoots go smoothly takes a lot of preparation and attention to detail. Prepare yourself by following these tips and insuring yourself with insurance for photographers. You never know what could happen and the best thing you can do is be prepared.
