Photographing Snow

johnmcdnl

Well the snow is back and this is going to be my first time out with my camera in the snow - is there any settings I should consider using to improve my shots in the snow..

Will the snow affect the white balance or exposure because it's so bright compared to everything else?

How should I counter act this or basically what other tips and tricks does anyone have to takign good shots in the snow

Thanks

richardbradley

presuming you have a dslr just experiment with your exposure compensation. You are right that due to the bright snow your camera will want to underexpose your subject - start with +1 compensation and play around. If the white balance is off you may have a snow setting but its so easy to fix afterwards i would concentrate on getting the exposure right.

FoxT

HI There, not sure what effect it will have on WB - but the camera will tend to underexpose in snow.

Here is why: All cameras are calibrated so that in a given level of ambient light they will expose an 18% grey card correctly. This works well in general. Grass for exaple is approx 18% grey.

Anyway, when confronted with a snowy scene the camera will expose it such that the snow will appear grey, rather than white. Generally you will need to compensate for his by overexposing somewhere between 1 & 2 stops. Take lots of test shots & watch the histogram for blown highlights. Enjoy!

gsxr1

that would explain this. I was wondering why my pics where a little dark today.


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Thecageyone

Yup, over expose a little and shoot in RAW. Choose A WB if not too sure about the lighting [Daylight might give yellow-ish snow whereas Tungsten will make it blue etc .. ] and you can adjust it manually in Lightroom or CS later.

alfalad

Just on the topic of snow, recently bought the Lumix LX 5 but have not had a chance to learn much either about the camera or taking photographs in general but with all the lovely snow any tips for taking shots at night time? Most of them are coming out very yellow/orange.

Many thanks in advance.

Thecageyone

Nice little camera that, wouldn't mind having one as a handy pocket all-rounder.

Yellow snow will be caused by the White balance /WB you use. In auto modes the camera will often get it wrong, especially when faced with something easily over exposed like snow. better to set the WB manually.

Are you shooting in Raw? If not, you should be, to get the most from your image files. In any Raw editor you can then change the WB back at your pc if you get it wrong on scene, it'll also allow you much more control over Highlights/shadows/finer detail. Complete non-destructive editing.


For snow at night, which is very tricky, set WB to auto maybe, with an exposure compensation of -0.5 to -1, might keep the WB cooler.


I'm guessing your WB is set to shade if you're getting orangey snow.

alfalad

Thecageyone wrote: »

Nice little camera that, wouldn't mind having one as a handy pocket all-rounder.

Yellow snow will be caused by the White balance /WB you use. In auto modes the camera will often get it wrong, especially when faced with something easily over exposed like snow. better to set the WB manually.

Are you shooting in Raw? If not, you should be, to get the most from your image files. In any Raw editor you can then change the WB back at your pc if you get it wrong on scene, it'll also allow you much more control over Highlights/shadows/finer detail. Complete non-destructive editing.


For snow at night, which is very tricky, set WB to auto maybe, with an exposure compensation of -0.5 to -1, might keep the WB cooler.


I'm guessing your WB is set to shade if you're getting orangey snow.

Thanks for your help, not shooting in RAW but will do so. As I say new at this.
Happy with the camera thus far, just have a lot to learn! Hopefully I can get some good shoots this evening and if the snow lasts tomorrow morning!

Thecageyone

It was one of the hardest things for me to do, change from my old stubborn JPEG habit to shooting in RAW. Turned out to be one of the easiest, and best things I ever did in the end. I used to process all my images anyway, which makes shooting JPEG pointless as you're basically allowing the camera to process your image first off, then you go and re-process at your pc. And JPEGS don't hold near as much detail. Even if you shoot RAW, process and only save the final JPEG, you're benefiting much more than shooting JPEG to begin with. You don't have to keep your original RAW after processing if you need to save space, though it is recommended for particularly special shots.

Give it a go, it seems hard at first, but once you process some RAWs and realise the benefits you'll never shoot jpeg again.

alfalad

Thecageyone wrote: »

It was one of the hardest things for me to do, change from my old stubborn JPEG habit to shooting in RAW. Turned out to be one of the easiest, and best things I ever did in the end. I used to process all my images anyway, which makes shooting JPEG pointless as you're basically allowing the camera to process your image first off, then you go and re-process at your pc. And JPEGS don't hold near as much detail. Even if you shoot RAW, process and only save the final JPEG, you're benefiting much more than shooting JPEG to begin with. You don't have to keep your original RAW after processing if you need to save space, though it is recommended for particularly special shots.

Give it a go, it seems hard at first, but once you process some RAWs and realise the benefits you'll never shoot jpeg again.

Thanks I will do, just for ease I never changed it, there is an option to save in both jpeg and raw which may be good for instant feedback and being able to touch it up after. I guess I just have to start learning to use the camera to it's potential and then let the computer do some of the work after!

That will be my project tonight after I take a couple of shots so! I assume the software that came with it will be ok for the job? I know it won't be as good as PS but it will be adequate given I'm starting off right?