Information Addicts

Christmas is nearly upon us, and so are the wintery days here in the UK and also in other parts of the world, and most of us enjoy taking snow filled pictures.
What more could you want, exciting, fun, and vibrant snow filled pictures of your family and friends on Christmas day. Or maybe you just want to head out on your own with your camera and take some snowy landscape photos.
However, taking snow photos is a little bit trickier than shooting normal picturesque scenes, because if you don’t set your exposure correctly they will turn out dull and lifeless.
The reason this happens is snow can fool a cameras exposure meter into thinking that the scene is brighter than it actually is, therefore setting the camera for an underexposed picture making it appear too dark and the snow ends up looking grey.
Below are 5 smart ways to improve your snow photographs:
1. Turn your camera mode dial to AV and then set the exposure compensation dial to +1, take your photo and then check it on the camera screen.

All cameras have different menus and if you are not sure how to change the exposure compensation then read the manual if you have it.

2. If you find that the picture is still too dark then try +1.5 or even +2. Again check the picture on the camera screen.

3. Be careful, though—its better to slightly under-expose than to over-expose as this leads to washed out photos, when this happens they can’t be restored with image software. Under-exposed shots can be corrected.
That’s it, as easy as that. Hold on, I said 5 ways to improve your snow photographs. Well to be honest the other 2 great tips below are to protect your camera equipment.

4. When you are out and about take care not to breathe on the lens, because if it is really cold you could freeze it ending up with blurred and foggy shots. The best thing to do is fit a UV or Skylight filter, and if that freezes, you can take it off.

5. If you are travelling in the car from one photo location to another which are close together, don’t switch the heater on. Condensation can form inside your camera and damage the electrical components. The best thing to do is keep the car around the same temperature as outside if possible, wind your front windows down and make sure your heater is on cold. Remember to wear warm clothing and lots of thin layers are better than a few thick layers.

Do you have any tips for better snow photographs? Then share them in the comments.

[eminimall]

This entry was posted on Friday, December 21st, 2007 at 10:35 am and is filed under Photo Tips and Techniques. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.