No matter how harsh the weather gets, some of us will brave the cold, snowy elements to search for the crisp winter light. You can make your trip more enjoyable by planning well in advance.
The toughest elements in our climate show their hand during winter, many people put away their camera bags until early spring. But, by putting away your camera bag you are missing out on the raw beauty that winter brings.
These few tips can help make your pursuit of amazing winter landscapes more enjoyable.
- The right clothing is key to being out taking winter images. Dressing in layers and being warm are essential to the success of your photo expedition. Winter is tough, it brings out all kinds of tough elements. If you are spending a few days out shooting at a location, you need to be well prepared.
- You need to watch the weather. You have to know what the weather is going to be like. You don’t want to make a plan and then have the weather report tell you that it is going to be wet for the days you have planned for your shoot. Weather can dramatically change in a couple of hours in the winter months. You should also let someone know where you are going and the route you are planning to take in case of injury or getting caught in a storm.
- 3. Take with you only what you need, take the essentials. You don’t need to bring every piece of equipment you own in your camera bag. If you are out all day, carrying as light as possible will help preserve energy as well as make it easier to climb icy rocks or cross snow-filled hills. Even carrying a warm flask may do better for you than carrying an extra camera.
- Having an eye for detail, snow, ice, and frost help bring out amazing texture in subjects. An early frosty morning is an excellent time for close-up photography. Frosty mornings also bring out patterns in landscape photography. You should take care where you place your camera, if you are doing early morning photography try placing the camera at oblique angles to the sun, giving your images strong shadows, and adding a mood to your winter landscape image. Make sure you make use of foreground, middle-ground, and background adding depth to your images.
- Snow and ice present exposure problems, you need to expose carefully for them. Your camera’s metering system can be easily confused by snow. The meter in your camera will automatically try to record the snow as grey causing underexposure. This is the time to start bracketing your shots, overexposing one to two stops over your meter reading should compensate for this problem. You can get a good light meter reading by using an 18% grey card.