Creative options in winter

Complement the scene with correct colour balance adjustments

There are numerous creative camera functions that can enhance your winter images. Your first port of call is the Picture Style menu, where you can tailor the colours to the subject. Wintry scenes, which are often quite muted, can suit the pared-down tones of the Neutral or Faithful presets, for example. If you’re shooting JPEGS, then these settings also give you a good starting point for making further colour adjustments in editing software later on.

We would, of course, recommend shooting Raw files rather than JPEGS, as this gives you the freedom to start from scratch and completely change the picture parameters in Raw processing software. Setting up your camera correctly will, however, give you an accurate preview when you’re out shooting. This has a couple of benefits: you get a histogram that’s going to represent the exposure of your final image more closely; it allows you to make adjustments to the composition if, for example, there’s a clash of colours or tones. The latter is particularly helpful when it comes to shooting black and white images with the Monochrome Picture Style – you can adjust your framing to make sure.

Previously we’ve highlighted the technique of using the ‘incorrect’ white balance to enhance the mood of a picture, and winter is a perfect time to try this. You can enhance the coolness of a scene by selecting the Tungsten or White Fluorescent preset, but it’s an effect that tends to look more natural when light levels are lower. If the effect is too strong, try the Daylight preset and experiment with the WB Shift/bkt option in the Shooting menu. This function allows you to increase the amount of blue and magenta by subtle amounts.