Snow Photography Tips: How to Take Photos in a Wintery Scene
We’ve already covered the essential gear you need to get started shooting in colder weather: from our ever-popular photo gloves to spiked feet for stabilizing your tripod in snow and ice and a Rugged memory card able to withstand the freezing temperatures. Now it’s time we cover how to actually photograph a snowy scene while maintaining the right light balance and exposure settings for your desired results.
Add a CPL Filter
The brightness of snow can seriously affect the white balance and glare in your image. Adding a circular polarizing filter (CPL) cuts through the glare of the snow and adds more detail to your composition. Mount the filter on your lens and rotate the filter while looking through your viewfinder until you achieve your desired level of polarization.
When you add a CPL filter to your lens, you may need to compensate by adjusting the exposure settings in your camera, since a CPL filter will darken exposure. Adding a CPL is a simple addition that can make a big difference to increase the contrast and saturation in your image.
Adjust Camera Settings
We recommend shooting in manual when in a wintery scene for the best control over your image results. Experiment with different settings and adjust according to your personal taste and the conditions at hand. Here we’ll cover a few crucial settings you’ll want to consider before embarking on your shoot.
Exposure Compensation
White snow on a sunny day can make your camera’s light meter read the setting as too bright. It will automatically compensate, resulting in snow that may appear muted and gray in your image. Manually setting the exposure to +1 will increase the brightness in your image and ensure the snow stays a bright white without veering too far into overexposure.
ISO
The ISO setting determines your camera’s sensitivity to light. When shooting snow on a bright day you’ll want to keep the ISO as low as possible (ISO 100) to reduce noise. Conversely, if it’s overcast or you’re in the shade, increase the ISO to 200 or 400 so your camera lets in more light for better exposure. Play around to find the right balance for the conditions you’re in.
Aperture
Aperture settings change how much light is let into your camera’s sensor. When it comes to snow photography, adjusting the aperture gives you greater control over the depth of field in your image. A wide aperture (f/2.8) lets more light in and creates a shallower depth of field. This means the focus in your subject and the background is blurry, great for close ups of snowflakes. A narrow aperture (f/16) lets in less light and creates a deeper depth of field. This comes in handy for landscape photography, when you want the subject and background to both be in focus.
Shutter Speed
Long exposure photography takes on a new meaning in a wintery scene. Adjust shutter speed to shoot a long exposure of a river surrounded by snow or see how different shutter speeds affect falling snowfall in your image. If you go this route, we recommend adding a VND filter to the end of your lens to compensate for the slow shutter speed. VND filters help reduce the amount of light coming into your camera without having to manually adjust your settings and still achieve proper exposure levels. Set up your tripod with all-terrain feet to ensure your camera is stable for this type of photography.
These are just a few settings to consider when creating images in snow. Others to consider like shutter speed and white balance can help fine tune your intended image even more. Adjust your camera settings to match your scene and you’ll have less work to do in post-production!
Get Out and Photograph
With your gear in place and camera settings set, you’re ready to take on the snowy scene that opens up a new world of creative possibilities. Consider different perspectives and compositions. Look for interesting contrasts with snow and other structures, wildlife, and nature. Pay attention to the time of day. Daylight in winter is limited, presenting new opportunities for playing with the light. Sunrise or sunset, play around with how the light reflects off the snow and changes the colors in your image. While snow can create a challenge by blanketing everything in white, it’s a challenge worth facing for that perfect composition. Bundle up, experiment with different approaches, and take some great images!
