Winter is a great time for taking pictures. But in order to
capture winter beauty, you have to overcome cold temperatures not only for
yourself, but also for the whole photo outfit. We have prepared for you seven
practical tips that will help you get great photos during the ice season
without harming your own health and irreparable damage to the entire arsenal of
photography equipment.
Remember that exciting feeling that you experienced as a
child when the first snow fell? If you turn into a grumpy adult when it comes
to winter, challenge yourself - bring back the miracle of winter this year!
How to Take Pictures in the Winter Season
If you hate the cold, stay inside!
When you think about winter photographs, most likely in your
head there is a picture of an all-consuming general cold, which surrounds and
penetrates into all conceivable and unimaginable holes and holes, while you are
trying to avoid frostbite during photography. Perhaps the thought of crazy
winter weather stops and does not allow to go outside to take photos in the
cold months. But who said that you have to go outside to get beautiful winter
images?
Before you go outside, think about what you can achieve
indoors. Have you noticed, for example, how icicles hang from the roof of your
house? Instead of taking pictures of them outside, try photographing, as an
option, icicles from home.
Golden hour
Icicles in the afternoon
These are icicles at sunset. In Ontario, Canada, sunsets are
often deep and vibrant.
These icicles are lit by the cold light of the full moon
Battery Preparation
Suppose you still decide to go outside to shoot; in this
case, it is better to prepare in advance. Make sure that the batteries for the
camera are fully charged (including
spare batteries ). They tend to discharge faster in cold weather, so find a
warm pocket to keep them there. It should allow the batteries to lean against
your body; perhaps it will be an inside chest pocket. In addition, try holding
a hand warmer or, for example, a bag of salt heated in a pan in your pocket!
Enjoy a cup of hot tea while you wait for the batteries to
charge! Steam is very interesting to take pictures and the most successful
pictures are obtained when it is additionally highlighted
Snow measurement
Most people use automatic settings on their camera, for
example, take pictures in "landscape" or "portrait" mode.
With all these settings, your camera uses its internal meter to calculate the
correct exposure or image brightness.
But this can just become a problem. When the landscape is
dotted with bright white snow, your camera will want to darken the exposure.
This means that you take a picture, and the snow on it turns gray. The camera
does not know, after all, that you want the snow to look bright white in your photo.
Of course, she does not even suspect that she is “looking” at the snow!
There are two ways to make white snow white. First, you must
use the manual mode to control the exposure yourself. If you’re still not
comfortable using manual mode, try using exposure compensation. Set the camera
to aperture priority, then use exposure compensation. Continue making
adjustments until you see that everything is correct. Refer to your camera’s
instruction manual for how to adjust exposure compensation.
If you do not use exposure compensation, you will have to
color the winter photos with Lightroom. Notice how pronounced the gray color of
snow is in the photo on the left.
Even if you can fix your photos later with a photo editor,
it’s much better to get the right exposure right at the time of shooting
Look for contrast
After you have mastered exposure and measurement, it's time
to take some creative photos. The first thing to look for in a snowy landscape
is contrast. Since the snow is bright white, you should look for dark objects
that will differ from the color of the snow. Contrast is what helps your photo
shoot and gives it more size. In landscape photography, it can be trees,
buildings, animals, or just people.
Dark trees in the background help highlight the shape of a
snowy hill. The boy sliding down the slope also creates contrast
Think in black and white
Are you already looking for high contrast paintings? Bright
white snow combined with dark objects creates the perfect high-contrast black
and white photograph. Viewing your photos in monochrome allows you to evaluate
the lines and texture in a photo without being distracted by colors.
Bright snow contrasts with dark trees.
There are two options for obtaining a black and white photo.
You can change the camera settings so that the photo is monochrome initially.
Or you can take photos in JPEG or RAW and convert photos later. It is
recommended that you use the RAW format and set the camera to black and white.
Thus, your photo will retain its color, even if it looks black and white on the
camera monitor . Using the RAW format makes it possible to see the image in
black and white during the shooting process, but at the same time you have the
opportunity to save them in color when viewing on a computer monitor during
post-processing.
The silhouette is the perfect choice for high contrast black
and white photos.
Low shutter speed
The constant movement of snowflakes will allow you to
creatively approach the shutter speed . You can set the shutter speed to freeze
the movement of snowflakes, and you can also reduce the shutter speed to
capture their movement. You cannot see the wind with your own eyes, however you
can convey its movement through the snow. When you slow down the shutter speed,
a blurry trail of snow flakes is recorded in the picture.
You can slow down your shutter speed a bit and capture a
slight motion blur.
You can reduce the shutter speed to 1/30 of a second to get
even more motion blur. Just make sure that both the camera and the subject are
still ( think about using a tripod )
Try working with shutter priority mode. Slow down the
shutter speed until you reach the desired degree of blur in the photo. Remember
the third tip that talks about measuring bright snow? If you are having trouble
getting the right exposure, switch to manual mode or use exposure compensation.
Protect your camera before entering the room
People who wear glasses know how to get into the heat from
the cold annoyingly. As soon as they enter the room, the glasses fog up!
Condensation is to blame for everything - elementary physics. This is moisture
from warm air collecting on a cold surface. Your camera is no exception. When
you bring it inside the room from the cold, moisture will accumulate on it,
penetrating all the tiny parts of the camera. Naturally, this can be a problem
for the long-term health of the equipment.
What can be done to bring a cold camera into the house and not worry about
condensation?
While you are still outside, put the camera in a large and
durable airtight bag that closes. Seal it so that moisture cannot get inside.
Now, when you bring the camera into the house, moisture will not get on the
camera body. Allow the appliance to warm to room temperature before removing it
from the bag. And when you remove the camera from the bag, it will no longer be
moisture.
This sealed bag will retain all condensation from the
chamber until it returns to room temperature
Beautiful photos in cold weather?
Regardless of whether you take winter photos while in the
warm room of a cozy house or are going to withstand the winter cold, remember
these few simple tips.
·
Charge the batteries and
keep them warm.
·
Take perfectly-exposed
photos using manual mode or exposure compensation.
·
Make your winter photos
creative with contrast by converting them to black and white or using slow
shutter speeds.
·
Protect the camera from
moisture by sealing it in a sealed bag before returning to heat from a cold
street.
·
Get ready for your next
adventure and charge your batteries as soon as they get warm at home after shooting!
Comments
Post a Comment