Tips for Winter Photography

Winter can offer up some stunningly beautiful images and in many parts of the world, the snow doesn’t last long; blue sky and snow is a particularly rare combo, too, so you’ll want to get as many good images per shoot as you can - that is if we even get any of the white stuff this year. Winter images work especially well on canvas so if you’re planning to get some canvas prints from Hello Canvas as next year’s Christmas presents, read on to find out how to get the best ones you can. 

Dress for the occasion

Make sure you don’t end up firing off just a couple of shots, then feeling cold and going home. Wear warm, dry boots that aren’t going to let any cold or meltwater in. You should dress warmly, but not too warmly as overheating and sweating in cold weather isn’t a good thing at all.

You may find a combination of thin gloves and warm mittens ideal – take the mittens off when you’re taking photos and put them back on for walking around looking for shots. It’s also a good idea to wear sunglasses to prevent snow blindness – it can happen!

Keep your camera chilled but your batteries warm

Taking your camera out of your warm pocket into the frigid air will lead to it misting up, spoiling shots and even damaging the internal components. At best you could miss the shot of a lifetime, at worst you could ruin your camera. Batteries can run down faster in the cold, so make sure they stay in your warm pocket until they’re needed. Also watch out for rain. I managed to completely ruin my DSLR which ended up costing me a fortune to replace.

Don’t delete images while you’re out

Snow is a funny old beast and it can produce unpredictable results that you might not be able to view or judge on your camera’s little LCD screen. Wait until you’re home and look at all your images on a larger screen to get the full effect.

Watch your feet!

Don’t leave footprints all over the place, unless you’re actually planning a series of shots with interesting prints in them.

Switch to manual Snow is white (in case you hadn’t noticed) and so using Auto may give you overly dark images as your camera tries to overcompensate for all that light. Use Manual settings and try a few out to see what happens. If you have a light meter, use it.

Overexpose for whiter snow

Sometimes a snow photo can have a grey or blue cast to it as your camera tries to deal with The Great White. Try a bit of overexposure to combat this effect; you can always tone it down when you edit.

Don’t just take photos of the snow

You should include other elements in your pictures – a stream, a robin or some trees and bright berries. This breaks up the whiteness and accentuates it, all at once.

Warm your camera up very slowly

Once you’re back home condensation can be a problem – you’re bringing your cold camera out in a warm environment. Keep it in its bag for a while until it’s room temperature and then get it out. If you need your SD card, remove it while you’re outside.

Do you have any pictures you're wanting to take this winter? I would absolutely love to get some snow shots of kids playing if we get so lucky this winter.

Mummy B xoxox

*Collaborative Post