Le t it snow!
Nothing sums up winter more than a covering of pristine snowfall. Here’s how to make the most of your opportunities when it comes to shooting the white stuff…
1 SHOOT CLOSE TO HOME
When the conditions are freezing, or the white stuff is falling, don’t feel compelled to travel too far. Driving conditions can be difficult in wintry weather, so staying close to home is often advisable until you know the roads are safe. You will rarely have to travel far to find and photograph stunning scenes at this time of year, with even a light dusting of snow transforming familiar scenes into a winter wonderland. If you have a park, woodland or farmland within walking distance, leave the car at home and go on foot. Use your knowledge of the area to capture unique views – while saving on the cost of fuel and reducing your carbon footprint too. Skeletal trees, rolling countryside, local landmarks and church spires are among the features to look for. You don’t necessarily need big, sweeping vistas – look for abstract and detail shots too. The advantage of shooting close to home is that you can easily return to the same viewpoint if the conditions aren’t quite right on your first attempt and you want to have another go.
2 WRAP UP
You must invest in suitable outdoor clothing if you wish to capture great winter shots. If you are wet or cold, your creative juices will soon be overwhelmed by the desire to get indoors to warm up. Wear a breathable base layer to wick sweat off your skin, plus a good insulating mid-layer to help you retain body heat. Your outer layer should shield you from the wind and rain. Good, warm walking socks, walking boots, hat and gloves are also essential in the battle against the elements.
3 SHOOT A FAMILIAR LOCATION
Some locations are well photographed and for good reason – they are stunningly beautiful. It is not easy to capture fresh or original shots of hackneyed viewpoints, but winter provides fresh opportunity. Aim to visit a familiar landscape after a dusting of snow or while there is a hoar frost. The wintry conditions will help you capture fresh shots of familiar viewpoints that will stand out. Arrive early while snow is pristine, and you can capture images without too many people in the frame.
4 ALWAYS AVOID GREY SNOW
Snow has a nasty habit of deceiving metering systems. Why? Well, camera’s meters are calibrated to base exposure on tonal neutrality. Therefore, when a scene is dominated by light, white tones – snow for example – your camera will often underexpose, recording whites as a dull grey. This is simple enough to correct in-camera, though. Apply positive exposure compensation – or select a slower shutter speed when shooting in manual exposure mode. Normally, +1EV will be enough, but use your camera’s histogram to guide you. Nikon users can switch on Easy Exposure Compensation (Custom Setting Menu b2 on the Nikon Z 7II) to make it faster to apply.
5 WATCH YOUR STEP
Be careful when walking through virgin snow that you don’t put unsightly footprints where you might later want to photograph. Think about where you step and which direction you may later wish to shoot in. Move slowly and thoughtfully, visualizing shots in advance. Get to popular locations soon after snowfall, before they are ruined by messy footprints – you might be able to clone out a few footprints, but once the snow is spoiled, the opportunity will have gone.
Arrive early while snow is pristine to capture images without too many people in your frame