Remember how, on the old Warner Brothers cartoons, hot weather was depicted by a thermometer exploding?  When the weather spiked somewhere around 113 in Las Vegas, that's a bit what it felt like.  My origin state is Wisconsin, so you might think that the Mojave Desert heat would get to me, especially while carrying so much camera gear.  While it's not the most pleasant feeling in the world, I never realized how much we've acclimated to the heat until meeting Allen and Lisa, who almost literally melted.

I'm so glad that they mentioned their discomfort to us though, as we later found out that they actually became ill from the heat!  A couple of important tips when shooting outdoors in Las Vegas is to always remain hydrated.  In the morning, try to drink an entire bottle of water before leaving your home or hotel room and bring along several bottles of water to drink along the way.  When you sweat, you not only lose water, but salt as well, so while it may seem counterintuitive, also bring along a slightly salty snack like peanuts (which has the added benefit of protein).  But most importantly, stay away from alcoholic beverages the day before and the day of your shoot (especially any shoot in hot weather!).  Strong drinks can dehydrate you and not only leave you feeling too sluggish to get into the shoot, but leave you with bloodshot eyes, saggy or lined skin and puffy eyes. 

Our plan was to do a couple of hours on Fremont Street with the wedding couple and party, but after around 40 minutes or so, these poor folks had nearly passed out from heat exhaustion and we decided to reconvene at our new studio the next day.  Allen and Lisa are not only a great looking couple, but once they got into the shoot, they were on FIRE and while our time together was short, I liked them quite a bit and I hope that they come see us again (in slightly cooler weather, 'natch )