How many calories does photography burn?

Katbody10

If you don't eat them back, then log them as 1 if you insist on logging something.

hmm.. guess weighing scale after the trip would be a better indication of things, though I do lose a lot of water on my rides as well, so don't know how accurate it would be.

If you really want to log something .. maybe you can figure how many miles you walked (stopping/starting) .. and simply log 100 calories per mile. I would venture to say that you will burn at least that with the weight of equipment you're carrying, plus your personal weight (not being in shape). unless it's all downhill .. you are expending more energy than you normally do in a sedentary environment.

100 calories per mile .. if it takes you an hour or 3 hours to walk .. would be a safe and conservative guesstimate

Edit: Note** I'm in shape .. and walk briskly uphill in my neighborhood .. up to 5 miles (half is uphill) .. it takes me about an hour and 15 minutes to walk the route .. and I burn about 257 calories in that time. .. I'd only be able to log 50 calories per mile. However, I'm not hauling around excess weigh on my back .. or my body frame and I am fit. I'll be burning less calories on my walks.

Christine1110

I would just consider it work...and I don't log it.

CarolynB38

I used to be a pro, meaning, I made my living from photography. When I shoot, I come home dripping wet. I don't know why. It's just the intensity of the mental exercise and the physical. But, I might be different, but I don't use tripods,a nd I am very active. I probably do 10000 squats looking for different angles and all that. Also, the next day I am really sore, like I did an iron man competition or something. I can barely move. And, I am really hungry. So, for me, I would count the activity very high in the calorie burn area. People don't understand this, but my friends that have gone with me are surprised at how difficult it is. Again, maybe it's just me. I'm kind of intense. Lol.

This is a really good point. I'm strictly amateur, but after a 2 1/2 hour session of taking action shots from various angles at a karate tournament, I was shattered! It doesn't look like you are doing much but I know I felt like I'd done a workout when I got up the next day. Admittedly there was a lot of getting down on the floor and back up again to get the best angles and a little walking around, but I didn't think I'd be that tired afterwards. Perhaps I should wear a HRM next time to see just what I do burn (unless I'm competing myself!) :bigsmile:

Katbody10

I would just consider it work...and I don't log it.

I wouldn't either .. but he leads a very sedentary life otherwise. This is like a major cardio workout for him compared to those of us that are more fit and in better shape.

Imagine spending all your time sitting .. only walking to the bathroom, the kitchen.. a few short jaunts to the grocery store. Then.. once a month you strap on a 15 lb backpack .. and carry a 1 lb dumb bell and walk .. leisurely for 3-4 hours on Sat and Sun. It is most definitely extra effort and exercise he doesn't get on a normal day/week of his life

Pandy1962

Buy a pedometer, log how many steps you take, The British Heart foundation say that if you do 10,000 steps a day you burn 400 cals, That is my preferred form of exercise and it is working for me.

wheldar

Good question and so many good anwers. I have often wondered the same as in my work I walk properties, taking photos. This also includes taking stairs and climbing on roof areas and up ladders. Kind of hard to guage this type of excercise. I do wear a pedometer and log my daily walking routes. Though the walking is not consistent excercise, I do walk considerable distances in a day. Sometimes, as much as 5-6 miles in a day. I was actually surprized after I started wearing the pedometer that I walked that much in a day. I usually work 3-4 days a week, with 3-6 miles a day which averages 15.75 miles a week (3.5 days x 4.5 miles-averaged). This was eye opening and made me feel good about getting more excercise in than I originally thought I was.

Since the walking, taking photos and climbing stairs is not 'consistent'; I would consider using a slow pace walk at 1-2mph as a sample rate. this is the calc I use. I hope I am hitting the mark and not fooling myself here.

I have also started using a treadmill for 20 minutes a day every day to add to what I already walk during working days. The treadmill will give me a consistent result and build stamina and get my HR up to a good rate.

Anyway, good questions as I have also wondered about 'excercise' level of photography work.

Katbody10

Buy a pedometer, log how many steps you take, The British Heart foundation say that if you do 10,000 steps a day you burn 400 cals, That is my preferred form of exercise and it is working for me.

I WISH!! :happy: I walk well over 9,000 steps on my 5 mile morning walks .. and burn only 257-260 calories. And I'm walking briskly and half my walk is straight up hill.

Pandy1962

Buy a pedometer, log how many steps you take, The British Heart foundation say that if you do 10,000 steps a day you burn 400 cals, That is my preferred form of exercise and it is working for me.

I WISH!! :happy: I walk well over 9,000 steps on my 5 mile morning walks .. and burn only 257-260 calories. And I'm walking briskly and half my walk is straight up hill.

Go onto the BHF website the info is on there. I added it to my exercise tab when I started and it seems pretty accurate for me as I eat my exercise calories back and I have been losing. Maybe it is not for someone who is quite fit as the BHF tends to be looked at by people who have had Heart Attacks etc, so are often overweight etc. I looked when my hubby had a HA and he had to up his exercise etc for rehabilitation.

yogeshsarkar

This is a really good point. I'm strictly amateur, but after a 2 1/2 hour session of taking action shots from various angles at a karate tournament, I was shattered! It doesn't look like you are doing much but I know I felt like I'd done a workout when I got up the next day. Admittedly there was a lot of getting down on the floor and back up again to get the best angles and a little walking around, but I didn't think I'd be that tired afterwards. Perhaps I should wear a HRM next time to see just what I do burn (unless I'm competing myself!) :bigsmile:

Sounds like a lot of fun. Haven’t done anything of that sort, though have covered a few stage performances and boy it is fun.

I wouldn't either .. but he leads a very sedentary life otherwise. This is like a major cardio workout for him compared to those of us that are more fit and in better shape.

Imagine spending all your time sitting .. only walking to the bathroom, the kitchen.. a few short jaunts to the grocery store. Then.. once a month you strap on a 15 lb backpack .. and carry a 1 lb dumb bell and walk .. leisurely for 3-4 hours on Sat and Sun. It is most definitely extra effort and exercise he doesn't get on a normal day/week of his life

Exactly, it is a lot of hard work at the end of day and not just me, guys who are decently fit, also get tired, just that I am a lot more tired. So kind of seem a bit disappointing, if I couldn’t factor it in, especially since something like that would probably give me a little more incentive to do this a bit more regularly.

Good question and so many good anwers. I have often wondered the same as in my work I walk properties, taking photos. This also includes taking stairs and climbing on roof areas and up ladders. Kind of hard to guage this type of excercise. I do wear a pedometer and log my daily walking routes. Though the walking is not consistent excercise, I do walk considerable distances in a day. Sometimes, as much as 5-6 miles in a day. I was actually surprized after I started wearing the pedometer that I walked that much in a day. I usually work 3-4 days a week, with 3-6 miles a day which averages 15.75 miles a week (3.5 days x 4.5 miles-averaged). This was eye opening and made me feel good about getting more excercise in than I originally thought I was.

Since the walking, taking photos and climbing stairs is not 'consistent'; I would consider using a slow pace walk at 1-2mph as a sample rate. this is the calc I use. I hope I am hitting the mark and not fooling myself here.

I have also started using a treadmill for 20 minutes a day every day to add to what I already walk during working days. The treadmill will give me a consistent result and build stamina and get my HR up to a good rate.

Anyway, good questions as I have also wondered about 'excercise' level of photography work.

Yes, it doesn’t seem like much, since we are generally stopping for quite a while, but it is a lot of work.

I am thinking of creating Street Photography as Exercise in MFP with average calorie burnt while standing as the parameter for it. I know we would actually burn more, but it seems like a good starting point and wouldn’t actually be over counting that way.

pixtotts

i put it as walking but only put down a fraction of the amount of time im there...
i do the same for shopping so i may be gone 4 hours but ill count it as a hour and half, maybe 2 depending on how i feel...
x

darrensurrey

If you don't eat them back, then log them as 1 if you insist on logging something.

hmm.. guess weighing scale after the trip would be a better indication of things, though I do lose a lot of water on my rides as well, so don't know how accurate it would be.

Too many variations, I think eg what you ate (physical weight of food), when you went to the toilet.

yogeshsarkar

i put it as walking but only put down a fraction of the amount of time im there...
i do the same for shopping so i may be gone 4 hours but ill count it as a hour and half, maybe 2 depending on how i feel...
x

Thats what I did last time around. However now I have added Street Photography as exercise in cardio with similar calorie figure as one I got from another website. Not the most accurate, but I guess a start nonetheless. Hopefully it can be corrected by those who have HRM etc.