Attention Photographers: (hoping this is the right category)

juliemouse83

I do a LOT of photography, both studio and location. I never quite know how to count the calories for such an animal. My HRM doesn’t register unless I am really REALLY moving. Sometimes my sessions are like pilates in that I have to get in stretching positions to nail the shot. Sometimes it’s just sitting there with a heavy camera body and lens and snapping away. Sometimes, I am standing or walking slowly back and forth with said heavy camera body and lens.

Do any of you pro-shutterbugs count your sessions as work outs, and if so, how do you figure the numbers?

Thanks and have a great night!

Elizabeth_C34

I don't count it. I burn so much more with my gym workouts than the days I spend shooting.

MegJo

I use to be a photog for a news station - we did a LOT of walking and carrying that camera around was tough! I never logged it though, I would just make sure your activity level that you set when you started MFP is accurate. Currently I have a desk job so I consider my activity level 'sedentary'. I would just make sure yours is "lightly active" or "active". I would only log real workouts that get your heart pumping!

sharidiane

I do some property photography, so I hear ya on this one. Sometimes I am trekking all over a 5 acre property to get the right shots. I haven't logged any of those, but I should.

Also - the other day I spent 3 hours stripping wallpaper off my girls' bedroom walls. I logged it in as 1 hour of 'cleaning - light effort' - mostly because it was hard, non-stop work, and I felt like I was in the 'low burn' zone the whole time. But I didn't want to accidentally overestimate the calories, so I logged 1 hour instead of 3. So maybe just log it that way?

juliemouse83

Sadly, I have a 40 hr/wk day job (flying a desk) and a 30+ hr/wk studio, (wedding/senior season) so I don’t have time to get to the gym like I would like. I DO, however, have a pool in the back yard, and swim for 15-30 minutes as many days per week as I can.

The gym opens at five and I don’t have to be to the day job till 7, but there are days like today when I just can’t get out of bed at 4:30 after working till midnight the night before. Early spring was a piece of cake. Now? Not so much.

juliemouse83

Thanks, y’all….I appreciate the feedback. I just got home from a two hour shoot that left one (yes, only one) bicep burning, but I haven’t counted it at all.

NeuroticVirgo

I tried using my HRM once...and it gave me some insane calorie burn (Like 5000!)....which I didn't think was right. So I just decided not to log it.

Though on days I'm working (I shoot weddings, so other than the wedding day, I'm behind a desk editing...ugh..worst part...) ... I'm on my feet for 12+ hours...so maybe it was right and I was just shocked LOL.

juliemouse83

Shooting weddings is a physical thing, so you may very well have burned as many as it said…I mean, twelve plus hours moving around…probably correct. My HRM has a tendency to under estimate my burn, so I tend not to use it in more sedentary sessions.

BTW, Pro Photogs, please feel free to shoot me a friend request. It’s good to know I’m not the only photographer out there trying to lose weight.

sarah44254

I have no experience with photography but I believe that 'jobs' should not be counted as exercise, but instead registered as part of your daily activity level. Classify yourself as active that would be my best bet.

sharidiane

I have no experience with photography but I believe that 'jobs' should not be counted as exercise, but instead registered as part of your daily activity level. Classify yourself as active that would be my best bet.

I would generally agree with you .... except that some jobs fluctuate vastly in activity. My husband is the General Manager of a Movie Theatre, and he is at his desk Monday through Thursday. But in the summer and during the holidays, he could easily walk 10 miles on a Saturday afternoon/evening shift. So, for some people, it might be beneficial to keep their activity level at what it *usually* is, and then log the outliers. Just my opinion.

juliemouse83

Hi, Sarah…if it were an EVERY day thing, I would…but it’s hit and miss.

I reckon what I’ll end up doing is wearing the HRM to long shoots (weddings and the like) and not counting the 1-2 hour things.

Thanks, guys, for all the advice and input.

juliemouse83

At the day job, I’m sedentary, except for when I walk across the hospital several times to drop paperwork off to another department. I can live with that…but my studio is above and beyond the 40 hour work week. I know, however, that when I do a short shoot, I tend to be sore the next day.

tacticalhippie

never thought about logging it...

my shoots aren't usually that intense though.

pannacottayum

Sadly, I have a 40 hr/wk day job (flying a desk) and a 30+ hr/wk studio, (wedding/senior season) so I don’t have time to get to the gym like I would like.

Tabata Studio circuit:

107" seamless clean and jerk
apple crate box jumps
sand bag lunges
background support chin-ups

20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, cycle through twice for 8 rounds total.

Yes, i'm joking

(edit) Post workout high protein meal at Wilbur's (just saw you are in Goldsboro

juliemouse83

OMG…Wilbur’s ROCKS! Who are you and are you local?