Getting Bright White Snow-Day Photos

A common problem when taking photos in the snow is that they come out a little grey and dreary. This is because the camera sees such brightness that it tries to compensate almost as if putting on sunglasses; and the white balance tries to make white a neutral grey. One way to fix this is with exposure compensation which adds light to the scene.

By adding exposure to the scene, you force the camera to overexpose just a bit. I usually start with +0.7 in snow and then either go up to +1.0 or down to +0.3.

The exposure compensation dial on your DSLR or mirrorless camera can be used in any mode except “green box” program. It is usually found on top of the camera and shows +/-. Simply hold it down and move the thumb wheel left or right to add (+) or subtract (-) light. On your iPhone, touch the screen on the subject’s face and slide the sun icon up a bit to add light to make the shot a less grey. BTW, this tip also works at the beach.

In photoshop, I may brighten the image by about 10-20%. Another trick to ensure white is white in photoshop is to use image>adjustment>levels. Then select the eye-dropper on the right (white) and click on something in your image that should be 100% white. This is a great way to correct images where the color isn’t just right and I find it really helps with skin tones.

Another way to get brighter winter portraits is to use flash. I will cover this next week. Enjoy the snow days of February and March!

 

 

For Better Outdoor Portraits, Add a Little Flash-Even in Winter

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In the photo on the left, I did not use a flash. There are harsh shadows all over the girl’s face, to the point where you cannot even see her eyes. By popping up the flash, even outdoors in winter, you can eliminate the harsh shadows on a bright sunny day and capture a much more flattering portrait of your subject. This is called fill flash. I had my camera in regular program (not green box) mode and popped up my flash to get the photo on the right. Now there’s the eyes! And notice how the camera/flash system automatically balances the daylight with the flash to maintain the saturation in the blue sky, brown trees and green grass.

It’s Almost Spring, But Here’s Another Tip for Snowy Winter Photos

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We had just one snow storm this winter, so just one day to get out and play in the snow with my camera. Snow tends to fool your camera’s meter since the snow is so bright, making the camera under-exposure your snowy pics. My analogy is that your camera wants to put on a pair of sunglasses to cut the brightness. To get a better exposure, start by setting your camera’s exposure compensation dial to +.67 (2/3 of a stop). Most of the time this does the trick, but you can even go to +1.0. (Read about exposure compensation here and here). Your snow will be bright white instead of gray-looking. For this picture, I set the exposure to +.67. I was further away from my subject and got down low to eliminate the distracting fence and bare branches in the background. I also set my aperture to a wide opening of F/5.0 and zoomed in to 185mm telephoto to blur the background. I love the snow crystals on her hat. I feel chilly just looking at this photo! Please take note that if you are lucky enough to get away to a beach destination this winter, this same tip works for bright sand and water, too.

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Here, I zoomed out to 110mm to get more snow in the photo.

Slow Down Your Shutter Speed for Fun Snowy Photos

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Now that winter is here, you’ll find yourself outside with the kids on the next snowy day. A good time to practice slowing down your shutter speed to create fun effects! By putting your camera on aperture priority mode (A on the mode dial)and moving your aperture (or f-stop) to a larger number like F/8, you will get a slower shutter speed. Since it is usually overcast when it is snowing, this aperture setting should be about right, but feel free to make the aperture even larger, or open up a little bit (move to a smaller number like F/6.3 or F/5.6). In this photo, the exposure was 1/40th sec. at F/6.3— just enough to make the very light snow turn into short streaks, but still fast enough to keep my subject in focus if she moved slightly. I used the stabilization feature on my lens, so camera shake was not a worry, but you will want to be sure that the shutter speed does not drop to slower than 1/30th sec. or else you do risk camera shake without a stabilization feature. If your subjects are jumping around considerably, this technique may not work. I asked my subject to catch snowflakes with her tongue, which made her stand still and concentrate on the activity. Slower shutter speeds (typically those under 1/125th sec.) can help convey motion, and this same technique should be used to make water streaks under a sprinkler or from a hose or for waterfalls. Read more about freezing and blurring motion here and here.

Making Snow Pictures Look Less Grey

After the snow falls and school is cancelled for the day, the first thing the kids want is to bundle up and build a snowman. And we can’t help but grab our cameras and shoot the whole process. Sometimes, you’ll find the snow in your uploaded photos looks slightly grey and/or the overall picture is on the darker side. One way to fix this before you shoot is to adjust your exposure using the exposure compensation dial (see photo below and be sure to look this up in your manual). See, your camera’s meter reads the whole scene as very bright since there is so much white all around your subject. In turn, the camera closes the aperture a bit to make what it believes to be the proper exposure (like squinting when it’s too bright out, your camera wants to put on sunglasses).

exposure-compensation-4-2-650x0So you need to trick your camera and “add” more light by holding down your exposure compensation dial (+/-) and moving the thumb wheel to add exposure by going to the plus side. I usually add +0.7 when shooting in snow. The result is a bright picture and whiter snow. So next time there’s snow by you and you go snowshoeing or help the kids with their snowman, add some extra exposure (+0.3~+1.0) before you start shooting.