Shooting in cold conditions with studio strobes?

[MarkoMijailovic]

I'm going to be doing a fairly large production shoot at the end of the month, but feel as if though I'm entering an unknown world because of the weather conditions...

I'm assuming it's going to be around -10 degrees Celsius out around that time and am wondering how that would effect my lighting in specific...

I'd be using a couple of Bowens flash heads to light up about five-six subjects. Anyone have experience shooting in the snow/cold?

It's a fashion shoot.

Would appreciate any input!

Already know about slowly introducing the camera to the environment of a warm car/bag/hotel room, extra batteries, etc. but no idea about the lighting...

Will the triggers be a problem? Should I rent an extra power source? Will the cold play a big problem for the flash tubes?

Thanks in advance!

[inthesouthofireland]

Hi Marko, some years ago I was shooting outdoors at -10 to -15°C with a Bowens Estime power pack. Basically, it worked... But after half an hour in the cold, the power pack started firing by itself about twice a minute. A bit distracting, but it didn't ruin the shoot.

Since batteries can become unreliable at low temperatures, I didn't use any. The camera was a Pentax MX (which only needs batteries to power the light meter) and it triggered the power pack via a very long cable.

Do you have any opportunity at all to test your gear's behaviour at -10°? For many cameras you can get spiral cords which allow you to keep the camera's battery pack in a warm inside coat pocket.

[UlfKrentz]

...
Already know about slowly introducing the camera to the environment of a warm car/bag/hotel room, extra batteries, etc. but no idea about the lighting... 

Hi Marko,

The same has to be respected with strobe equipment, especially because of the high voltage that is present in any electronic flash system. It is more critical the other way around though (coming from cold and start working in warm environment). I don´t expect the flash tubes to cause any problems but am not sure about the packs (or compacts?). Some manufacturers state don´t let your packs freeze (whatever that means) it is described that power loss or serious damage could happen. IMO this indicates that operating a flash pack at very low temperatures might not be healthy for the flash capacitors. To be on the safe side I would suggest to keep the packs in a case or a bag (this also prevents that snow could get inside) and ensure they don´t get too cold, may be put a hot patch next to it.
Do you plan to use battery power? You would need quite an amount of spare batteries, as they will loose a lot of their capacity at low temperatures. If applicable try to use mains or work with a gas generator, if you use compacts may be keeping on the modeling light helps to prevent them from "freezing". - Good luck!

Cheers, Ulf