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GardenTalker · Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 3:13 pm Post subject: Photographinc Snow with a Digital

ttp://www.digicamhelp.com/learn/nature/snow.php

By Bernard Dery

Snowy landscapes are among the trickiest situations to photograph with digital cameras. The exposure and white balance settings can easily be fooled by the bright lighting conditions.

Whether the sky is overcast or the sun is shining, special care must be taken to avoid messing up the colours completely. The very bright snow acts as a second light source by reflecting sunlight shining on the ground.
The basics of photographing snow

Some cameras offer a Snow or Winter setting, and this feature can be very helpful. It usually corrects the Auto white balance calculation of the camera and lowers the exposure value to avoid over-exposing the image.

The Snow mode is usually efficient and delivers more than acceptable results. However, it is not perfect, and not always available depending on the brand and model digital camera. Moreover, using this mode usually means the photographer loses control over aperture and shutter speed, limiting creativity. Luckily, there are ways to take beautiful snow pictures even without the help of a preset scene mode.
Photographing snow under clouds cont...

http://www.digicamhelp.com/learn/nature/snow2.php

Snow photography (2)

By Bernard Dery

Continued from Part 1

Here are tips and techniques about taking better photos of snow scenes. Discover the best times of day to shoot and how to deal with the colour, shape and texture of snow.

1. When snow is falling, use a slow speed to capture the movement of the snowflakes. This is more efficient if there is a light source in your image.
2. Use the flash to fix the movement of the snowflakes. This will improve images that could otherwise look dull or blurred.
3. If you have access to a strobe lamp, use it with a slow shutter speed to capture the movement of the snowflakes in sequence and create very interesting effects.
4. Shoot during the Golden Hours, when the sun is low on the horizon, to capture the texture and shape of the snow on what would otherwise look like a uniform field of white.
5. A trick for good composition is to include a single coloured subject in an otherwise monochrome snow landscape. This can produce very effective results.
6. Avoid shooting in sepia or black-and-white as it is easy, with these settings, to loose what little contrast your image has.
7. Remember to protect your camera from the cold.

cont...