“Taking an image, freezing a moment, reveals how rich reality truly is.”
– Source unknown
If you’re an amateur photography buff for much of the year, but take fewer shots during snowy months, read these hints for capturing the wonder of winter!
CARE
Preparation is key. Keep your camera in an insulated bag, and put the lens cap on (or make sure your phone stays warm and dry until you use it). Store extra batteries in a pocket close to your body, where they can stay warm and ready to act as replacements when needed.
If you don’t have a bag or sleeve for your camera, setting up an umbrella can protect your phone or camera lens. Whatever gear you use, clean your lens with soft material before taking photos. If it gets fogged up or covered by snowflakes, never blow warm air on it as this can form a thin layer of ice on it and damage the lens.
Before heading indoors, put your camera in a well-sealed zip-lock bag, and let it warm slowly to room temperature before taking it out again. This allows condensation to form on the outside of the bag and not on your camera.
CONCENTRATE & CONFIGURE
Using mindful or tactical breathing techniques can prevent your hands from wavering, and keep your breath from fogging up the lens. Setting up a tripod can also make for steadier shots – and allow you to try different techniques!
A lens hood or shade can protect your camera lens, prevent flare from light sources outside the frame – such as reflective snow – and add contrast to your photos. In a pinch, blocking sunlight with your hand will produce a similar effect.
With a camera, Aperture Priority mode works well in cold weather, and selecting the RAW setting lets you choose from a wider variety of editing options. Using the digital zoom feature on a smartphone will crop and tighten an image, but may result in a grainy or unclear picture. Certain phones allow users to choose a telephoto lens, or lower the ISO settings (which measure a camera’s sensitivity to light), and both options will create cleaner photos. Otherwise, try clicking normally, then cropping the image – or have fun experimenting with third-party apps, to sharpen and edit photos to your taste.
COMPOSE
If you prefer to optimize photos as you go, choose the flash setting or increase exposure to add warmth and brightness, and help snowy scenes appear less blue or grey.
Consider the “star” of your photo. Footprints, rivers and fences can all be guide lines to a specific image (if not the focus themselves), and showing items in the foreground, such as tree branches or shadows, will provide greater depth and dimension. You might showcase falling snow with a faster shutter speed, or highlight background items with a slower shutter speed. Drawing attention to a few dark or brightly-coloured items, or creating your image with black and white mode, will offer crisp definition, and a vibrant contrast to sparkly snow.
CONSIDERATIONS
If you visit areas where you’re likely to see animals, avoid disturbing them (especially if they’re resting or eating), and be careful not to disrupt their habitat.
Light conditions, shadows, and the style and speed of snowfall can all change quickly. Be open to seizing the moment, and embrace different perspectives: light flurries swirling; melting ice; a blanket of snow; the contrasts between a wintry forest from a distance and in a close-up shot, and at various times of day.
Happy snapping!
Article by
Leigh Wood Landry
Articles I read before writing this:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/tips-and-solutions/7-tips-taking-photographs-snow
https://photographylife.com/when-to-use-lens-hood
19 Snow Photography Tips (How to Capture Magical Snow Shots)
https://furiouscamera.com/apply-these-9-secret-techniques-for-better-snow-winter-mobile-photography
https://time.com/5660278/smartphone-camera-picture-tips/
https://blogs.systweak.com/how-to-fix-grainy-photos-on-android/