Photographing snow

01/12/08

There is something incredibly beautiful about snowy landscapes. I enjoy travelling to places in winter and walking or skiing in landscapes covered in deep snow because they change beyond recognition. In some strange way I also really enjoy the harsh conditions of winter, the coldness but also the purity of the winter air.

I grew up in the north of Czech Republic surrounded by two major mountain ranges: The Ore Mountains and the Czech Middle-Mountains that's why I love the highlands. In winter the mountains are at their most beautiful - fairy-tale lands.

Capturing image in snowy conditions can be a bit tricky because the snow strongly reflects the light and this can fool the camera sensor. Care must be taken whether the sky is overcasted or if the sun is shining. Look at it this way: The bright snow acts as a second light source because it reflects the sunlight shining on the ground.

I usually have my camera set to a manual mode because I find it easier to control the exposure. If it is sunny, a small aperture and a high shutter speed is a must. Set the exposure while framing a bright area, the exposure often needs correction and lowering the EV compensation (as a general rule -0.7 or – 1 is a good rule of thumb). I usually use the spot metering and check the histogram to ensure the right exposure. It is easy to overexpose but also to underexpose which results in your snow looking grey rather than white. Another thing worth remembering is that the preset white balance mode will find it hard to handle snowy situations, resulting in a strong blue cast in all your images.
I shoot in RAW so this can be easily corrected later using digital software.

I went skiing earlier this year to Andorra and I couldn’t resist taking my camera with me to capture the beauty of the Pyrenees in winter. On such occasions, I take a small specialty camera bag that you can put comfortably on your back and be free to ski. It’s a great investment. These bags are padded so even if you fall your camera should be ok. I took my Nikon D300 with me with just one lens mounted on at all times because you really don’t want to change lenses in snowy conditions as moisture will enter inside the camera and can damage it.

Have fun in snow and enjoy the beauty of the white landscapes!