Last year, we got lucky. We had Winter but it wasn’t as snowy or as cold. This Winter, Toronto has been in a snowy, slushy, icy deep freeze since early December. Yesterday it actually rained painful ice and dropped 20 degrees in 5 hours. The best way to deal with this is to hibernate indoors, order everything off UberEats and watch the entire Netflix catalogue. BUT! We have sneakers to take pictures of (despite the need to wear sneaker boots every single day).
Here are some top tips to try to get pics of your sneakers even when the weather is working against you.
Shot on an office chair
#1 Wear the sneaker boots, bring the sneakers
I am lucky enough to be able to wear sneakers at work. So, every day I pick the ones I want to wear, pack them into a bag and carry them to work. Sometimes this gives me a chance to shoot them on a nice background.
Shot in my condo lobby
#2 Plan out some indoor opportunities
This winter has really pushed me to get creative with finding good indoor settings with visual variety. Places like: my condo lobby, the streetcar/subway station, fountains in the mall, museums and hotel lobbys. Typically these aren’t as strong as outdoor locations but with a little quick thinking you can get a good shot.
Shot in the park near my house during the blizzard
#3 Use the weather to your advantage
Before the beautiful snow turns into an ugly, dirty, slushy and icy mess, you have a short window when you can take a beautiful pic. To get to some untouched snow, look out for a park with benches or picnic tables you can stand on. This will prevent you from getting your sneakers too wet, but not from freezing your toes off as you switch from boots to sneakers.
Shot when @laizey_bones went to Maine
#4 Travel
This is not realistic for everyone I know. But if you can go somewhere (ideally without snow), bring sneakers with you. I try to go somewhere warm once every winter – even for a weekend. When I go, I bring as many sneakers as I can fit into my carry-on so I can stock up on pics.
Sneakers in hand
#5 When in doubt, resort to the flat-lay
If you really want to post a pic of a new pick up you love, a flat- lay (sneakers + outfit or box or accessories flat on a neutral surface) or in-hand (holding one sneaker over the box or other sneakers) are your best bets. They are not favourites of mine because it is important to me to show sneakers on foot but when desperation strikes, it is better than nothing!
Bonus tip: Find a cute dog and shoot on foot next to them (use a treat to make sure they sit still). Extra bonus: put the dog in a cute sweater first.
Hype Less 