Camera settings

Here’s how to handle the exposure (and white balance) in typically bright wintry conditions

With winter images, a common problem is that bright snowy areas often look grey. All that white fools your camera meter into underexposing scenes, so take back creative control for a result that’s truer to the scene in front of you. In automatic modes, this is done by adding a stop of positive exposure compensation. In Manual mode, tweak the settings so the light meter is about one stop over the given reading. When you use the histogram to review images, remember you’re not looking always looking for a uniform distribution of tones. Snow should look white and crisp in a scene, without being totally blown out.