How do I plan photo shoots in the Winter without a studio?

I am in love with photography and yet I have no idea what I'm doing. I have people who are willing to work with me but I used to do my shoots outside in the sun, when it was warm...however I live in Canada, long winter season and well where do I shoot in the meantime...any ideas?

Try the forest preserves or empty streets.

try photographing your subjects indoors in their environment by any north window indoors is great, a north window is great because it gives a fantastic soft light that is amazing to look at.

also, don't be afraid of the cold, just wear good gloves and just be quick.

Perhaps the book "Adventures In Closeup Photography" by Lief Ericksenn & Els Sincebaugh or "How To Control & Use Photographic Lighting" by David Brooks will inspire you to try more indoor table-top photography.

Then there are these selections:

"How Digital Photography Works, 2nd. Edition" By Ron White

"Advanced Digital Photography" by Tom Ang

"The Joy of Digital Photography" by Jeff Wignall

"The Art of People Photography" by Bambi Cantrell & Skip Cohen

"Closeup Shooting": A Guide To Closeup, Tabletop & Macro Photography" by Cyrill Harnischmacher

"Professional Portrait Posing: Techniques and Images from Master Photographers" by Michelle Perkins

Hope this helps you through the long winter months.

I live in Columbus Ohio and we have dismal winter eeather as well.

I have a few indoor places I like to go. There are local conservatories(www.fpconserbvatory.org) where I am a member and a historic library in our downtown.

Try and think if there are any scenic indoor type places open to the public. You'll be limited in the lighting setups you can have, but at least you'll have a nice, warm indoor area for portraits and what not.

I live in New Hampshire and like to keep shooting in the winter also. What I did was built a homemade lightbox. Then I went up to walmart and bought a bunch of clamp on worklights for a lighting source. I use it for shooting food and isolating various objects. It's good for adding to my stock portfolio at Fotolia. http://www.fotolia.com/partner/169859

I'd much rather go outside but I guess it's better than nothing. If it's not too cold I'll still get out with snowshoes or ski's. Try to get some animal shots or landscapes. Summer time is much nicer though. It'll be here before you know it.

PS. Learn about light painting. Great for indoors. All you need is a flashlight.