A winter wonderland

Capture the gamut of scenes and subjects at this time of year

Winter serves up some of the best light you’ll find for outdoor photography. The soft, diffuse light of a cloudy day can be wonderful for portraits and close-ups, while the dynamic sunsets at this time of year can bring landscapes and cityscapes to life – with the bonus that you don’t have to wait until late in the evening to capture the colours of dusk.

Of course, that’s fine if it’s not raining. For many of us, there’s more of a chance of shooting in drizzle than greetings card-friendly snowdrifts. There’s still a lot of creative work you can do when it’s wet – even if it’s just editing shots at home! Backlit rain shot against a dark backdrop can look fantastic, for example, particularly if you use a slower shutter speed to turn drops into streaks of light.

Snow, ice and frost are the big draws when it comes to winter photography, but you’ll need to be up early to capture them at their best.

Freeze a crowd Set your alarm clock when a hard frost is predicted, so you can rise early and capture the cool results in your back garden.

There’s snow limit When it snows, look for amusing vignettes on the streets as well as the big-picture cityscapes and landscapes.