How do I photograph snowy landscapes and icy water effectively?
Asked 12/4/2010
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This winter will be my first season shooting with a capable camera. I’ll mostly be photographing snowy mountain landscapes, plus some lakes and streams that may be partially frozen. What techniques work well for snow scenes in terms of exposure, composition, white balance, and filters? I already use a circular polarizer. I’m also interested in any tips for photographing icy water and long exposures in winter conditions.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
15
Set the exposure compensation to +1 or +2 (or shoot manual!) as snow reflects a lot more light than the 18% reflectance that the camera's metering system assumes.
Filters wise just what you'd use for landscapes, a graduated ND and polarizer are helpful.
Composition-wise, isolating details can be difficult if everything around you is white so you have to work a little harder sometimes.
Definitely shoot Raw, if you can, as Leonidas states. Colour correction is inevitable as snow strongly reflects the colour of the lighting. Shadows in particular will look very blue with clear skies as they are actually being illuminated by the blue of the sky.
Colour is also a very important tool for altering the mood of an image, an overall slight blue tint really emphasises the coldness of the scene, and to me looks more normal than a "correct" neutral white balance.
Other things to be aware of:
Battery life can become significantly diminished in cold conditions. The best approach is to have two batteries, keep one in an inside pocket for warmth while shooting with the other and rotate often.
Bringing cold lenses into warm buildings can cause condensation inside the lens which is difficult to shift (and can grow mould if it happens often enough!) To prevent this place your camera and lenses in a plastic bag until they have warmed up.
Originally by user1375. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1375
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Snow often fools the meter into underexposing, because cameras assume a midtone scene. Dial in about +1 to +2 EV exposure compensation, or shoot manual and watch your histogram so the snow stays bright without clipping highlights. If your camera offers a highlight-protection mode, it can help preserve detail in bright snow.
Shoot RAW if possible. Snow reflects the color of the light, and shadows can go quite blue under clear skies, so RAW gives you much more flexibility for white balance and color correction. A gray card can help set white balance accurately.
Useful filters are the same ones often used for landscapes: a circular polarizer to reduce glare and deepen skies, a graduated ND for balancing bright skies, and stronger ND filters if you want long exposures to smooth flowing water or use wider apertures in bright snow. For long exposures, bring a tripod.
Composition can be harder when everything is white, so look for isolated details, contrast, shape, and color to give the scene structure.
Practical winter tip: wear thin gloves so you can still operate the camera comfortably in the cold.
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