The Weather

A really big factor in the ease or difficulty of shooting a calendar project like this one is the weather. All of our shoots were done outdoors. We shot at a sand dune, the ocean, a dry lakebed, and a couple different deserts. The weather was a huge player in all of these shoots, unfortunately. I can control a lot of things, but the weather is not one of them.

Think about how much the weather plays a part in your family picnic, going to a baseball game in an open stadium, or going to a concert at an outdoor amphitheatre. If it rains, regardless of how prepared you are, it is not going to be as enjoyable an experience. If there is lightning, they will cancel the event.

Shooting these calendars is a planned event, where you book the models, MUAs, and Hair Stylist’s time, and if the weather does not cooperate that day, they get paid anyways and you have to book additional time, which will cost additional money. So, I had to live by the axiom, “The shoot must go on!”

Shoot 1 – Sand Dunes

When we arrived at the location, before going into hair and makeup, the temperature was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. That makes for a very warm shoot. Now as we got closer to sunset the temperature dropped to a much more comfortable level. That was the condition I knew about when we went on location, what I did not know about was the wind. The wind? What’s the big deal? So the models’ hair got blown around a bit. First, they just spent a couple of hours in hair and makeup, and half of that just got blown away. And second, and more importantly, WE WERE AT A SAND DUNE! The wind was moving anywhere from 30-40 mph. The grains of sand became hundreds, thousands of projectiles heading straight into the models face and eyes. They could not keep their eyes open for any length of time without experiencing pain.

After trying to make this work for over 30 minutes, I thought to myself, “This is futile and a waste of time for everyone. Why don’t we just call it a night, go and get something to eat, and start over again in the morning? Hopefully without any wind.”

The Shoot Must Go On!

I decided to continue shooting and if nothing came of it, at least we tried. Fortunately, as the sun was starting to really set, the wind completely died down and we did get one image that was put in the Naked Girlfriends Calendar. It is a really nice image that we would not have gotten if we had given up. The moment I took the shot my hair stylist told me that image was a winner, and he was right. The next morning when we went back to the same location to continue shooting at sunrise, the temperature was perfect and there was absolutely no wind. We got a number of images that morning for all three calendars, which completely made up for the night before.

Shoot 2 – The Ocean

You might not think so, but the tide is part of the weather. I found a great location with a beautiful beach and really cool cliff walls. My concern when I scouted the location was the tide. Would it come up to the cliffs at high tide? While I was there I asked some fishermen if the conditions right now were low, medium or high tide. They assured me it was high tide. Well the waves did not come up anywhere near the cliffs, giving me plenty of room to shoot. I was good to go.

Were they drunk, ignorant, or just screwing with me. When we showed up for the sunset portion of the shoot the waves were pounding the cliff walls. There was absolutely no room to shoot, not even close. I was pissed to say the least. But…

The Shoot Must Go On!!

So I found another location very nearby that offered nice cliff walls and plenty of room to shoot. We got some gorgeous images that night.

Shoot 3 – Dry Lakebed

I was warned, but I wanted to shoot there, so I took the gamble. We all paid for that decision.

In Southern California, while other parts of the country were experiencing unusually hot temperatures, we were experiencing unusually cold temperatures, and this shoot was definitely cold. I don’t think the temperature got out of the 60’s at sunset or sunrise. It was cold. But that is not what everyone warned me about. They warned me about the wind. The wind can really pick up on the dry lakebed, and it did. Once again we were experiencing 30-40 mph winds. And when the wind was coming straight at us, it contained sand, which as you now know, is very painful for the models. And on top of that, it was cold. Fortunately when the wind shifted about 45 degrees it was still as strong, but it did not contain sand. Which means it was uncomfortable, but not unbearable. Once again I was faced with the same situation. This was futile! It was too windy, let alone pretty cold. Do we call it a day and hope for better conditions tomorrow morning, like at the Sand Dune. Everyone really wanted to, including me. But, you probably know the answer to that question.

The Shoot Must Go On!!!

I literally had to pay attention to what direction the wind was coming from to know if it would contain sand or not. When it was coming straight at the models I had to stop shooting. When it shifted directions, I could resume again. Once again, the hair stylist’s work was gone with the wind. The girls really were good troopers and did their best under these far less than desirable conditions, and we did get a couple of really nice images from that night.

The next morning when we arrived back on location at sunrise, the wind had completely died down, but it was still really cold. Once again, we got all the shots we needed and it completely made up for the conditions the day before.

Shoot 4 – Desert

The weather cooperated on this shoot. It was very comfortable to shoot during sunset and sunrise, and the heat only became an issue later in the morning of the sunrise shoot, and by that time we had all the images that we needed.

Lesson learned?

The Shoot Must Go On!!!!