Winter Photography Tips

Winter photography is a fun way to explore nature and get some wonderful pictures. Snow photography can provide you with some beautiful images. Here are some digital photography tips to help you get great winter photographs.

White Balance

Some cameras have a snow setting that works pretty well. If your camera has a snow setting try using it.

If your camera doesn't have a snow setting you'll have to set it manually. On sunny days many times you'll get a slight bluest cast to snowy pictures if you don't set your white balance manually. Using a custom white balance setting usually gives you the best results. To set a custom white balance just point the camera at an area of clean white snow. Make sure the area you use to set your white balance has no shadows. If you use a shadowy area to set your custom white balance you'll end up with bad results.

On cloudy days the cloudy white balance setting usually works pretty well.

Exposure

When you're taking pictures of snow it is easy to end up with snow that looks gray. To avoid this use exposure compensation. Meter the area that you'd like to photograph. A good starting point is +2 EV. Check the picture to make sure nothing looks over or under-exposed and adjust your settings accordingly. Letting more light into your camera will help the snow appear white in the picture and not gray. The trick is getting the exposure just right so you have white snow, but don't end up with blown out highlights. You can use your cameras histogram to check the exposure also.

For the best exposure results try spot metering the brightest area of snow in the picture.

Glare

Use a lens hood to avoid reflections on the snow. You should also avoid using a flash because it can make the snow look overexposed.

Composition

When you're doing winter photography try to incorporate a colored object in the picture to give your viewer a focal point.

Take pictures when the sun in low in the sky to get the best light.

Protecting Your Camera

Protect your camera when taking pictures outside in the cold. When not taking pictures keep it warm by keeping it inside your jacket. Getting too cold can cause problems with the camera batteries. Make sure the batteries are fully charged before you head out in the cold to take pictures.

If it is snowing protect your camera with a plastic bag. Use rubber bands to secure the bag around the camera lens.

Don't blow on the lens to clear it of snowflakes. The condensation from your breath will freeze on the lens if you do.

I hope these winter photography tips are useful to you. If you're interested in more great tips check out these digital photography tutorials.