Tips for winter landscape photography
Tips For Shooting Winter Landscapes.
A few tips that might come in handy over the next few days – its just been snowing here!
Some of us, regardless how harsh the weather gets, will brave the tough elements in search of the crisp winter light. Planning well in advance will help make your trip more enjoyable. Winter brings out the toughest elements in our climate, with many people putting away their camera bags ‘till early spring. But, if you do put away your camera you are missing out on the raw beauty that this magical season brings.
Here are a few tips to make the trip more enjoyable.
- Watch the weather: It’s very important to know what the weather is going to be like. You don’t want to travel for a couple of hours and then hear a weather report that tells you that: the weather is wet for the next few days. During the winter months the weather can dramatically change in a matter of hours.
- It’s always advisable to let someone know where you are going and which route you’re planning to take. If you do get injured or ever caught in a storm someone may be able to help.
- Carry only what you need: Carry only the essentials. You don’t need to upload your camera bag with every piece of equipment you own. If you are going to be out taking pictures all day you are much better off going as light as possible. Carrying a light load will also help preserve energy. You could be climbing icy rocks or crossing snow filled hills; a warm flask would serve you a lot better than a third camera.
- Wear the right clothes: It’s very important to wrap up warm when out shooting winter images. The winter season brings the toughest elements, so if you are planning to spend a few days out and about always be well prepared.
- Expose carefully: Snow and ice are extremely difficult to expose properly. Snow usually confuses your cameras metering system or your hand held light meter. When you take a light reading from snow you will automatically get an underexposed image. The meter will record the snow as grey.
Now is the time to start bracketing your shots. If you bracket your shots add 1 – 2 stops of light to compensate for your light meter reading. Using an 18% grey card, which I described in a previous article, should also give you a perfect light reading.
Thanks for the tips. I have never tried taking photos of snow, but this would be great help once I do take snow pictures.
Yes you’re right! That was really great tips. Why bother with the weather and let our camera bag stay at the corner when we can capture beautiful images out of the winter. Should have some fun! Every things made by God deserves to be captured. Thanks for this post.
lovely pictures, just want to say, although i have never taken any “snow scene pictures”, i fell i would like to try when the next snow comes, you have inspired me!
i am only an amataur though and may not get end results like yourself but will certainly have a try!,
Who knows, maybe i may be a natural!!
good reading and tips, thanks alot
Thanks for these tips. Last time I went out shooting in the winter, I took way too much stuff and it rained half the time after a 3 hour trip to get there. Not ideal.
Hi, just stumbled upon your site and found it very good read, pictures are lovely, you are definately a great photographer capturing images like this!, well done, will popo in from time to time to see some of your new stuff, thanks!
Love your blog by the way, your pictures on here are fantastic! Hope i can learn from you, im currently studying the art of Photography and i know i have a long way to go now that i have looked at your work!! Well done! Thanks for some great ideas in my project work though!
I loved the idea of having proffessional newborn pictures, do you have any problems with this, is it time consuming at all, i would love to go down this route for a hobby, i love the idea of capturing the newness of the childs life!
Photography is my hobby thanks for these tips i can learn from you.
.-= Srpska imena´s last blog ..Srpska imena za bebe =-.
I am a good photographer but i can’t compare myself with professional photographers. I try my best to get the maximum from my camera. But there is still some gap in it. I hope your tips ‘ll help me a lot to fill this gap. Thanks for sharing the tutorial with us.
Incident-light meters work well in snowy situations.
Another tip, if you’re shooting film, is that it’s better to underexpose slides but better to overexpose negatives.
Incident-light meters work well in snowy situations.
Another tip, if you’re shooting film, is that it’s better to underexpose slides but better to overexpose negatives.
Thanks for the tips, unfortunatly the closest I get to a winter wonderland photo oppurtunity is my rear garden but i will be sure to wrap up, thanks : )
I think the points about wrapping up warm and only taking what you need are perfect. I have been caught out a couple of times when I have been on a shoot and have ended up walking for miles with a huge bag of equipment that I was never going to need. By the end of the day I was aching all over which I think was affecting my shots as I just wanted to get home.
It doesnt matter how much snow we have, I would never be able to find anywhere in the U.K so stunning as that, absolutely gorgeous.