Photography Forums

Winter time is here,and summer is gone. Time to put away the shorts, grill, beach ball and other things of summer. But don't put away that camera!! Despite the cold tempuratures, winter provides us with great opportunities for winter scenery photos. Did you know that winter scenery photos is one of the most sought after photos by publishers to use, for example, in calenders or greeting cards? They get plenty of flowers and summer type photos, but not a lot of good winter sceneries.


You have to remember a few pointers though. Winter shooting can be tricky as majority of the landscape is white and the background is bright. When shooting a snow filled area, the brightness of the snow may often cause your digital camera to somewhat underexpose the scene, thus making the snow to look gray. To correct this, you might have to increase your exposure compensation so the whiteness of the snow can be appropriately captured. The time of the day you took the picture can also have an effect in your image. So if you want cooler shots shoot closer to midday but if you want warmer shoots, shoot early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

Although traditional photography belief tells us that using flash outdoor is not necessary but if you are shooting a winter photograph, using a flash can bring out details and highlights that might not be captured without it. However, if you are shooting close shots avoid using flash as much as possible as the reflection can greatly reduce any detail in your photo.


1. Invest a few dollars and get a uv(skylight) filter. It will help in eliminating the bluish hue on snow tha shows up in photos. The filter especially helpful when the snow is in shady area.

2. When bright and sunny, use a circular polarizer. You can turn the filter on the lens to adjust brightness of sky, make it nice and blue, and you can adjust the reflections coming off of water, like a lake or creek.

3. Use low speed film, 100 or 200 speed is great.

4. Go out as soon as you are able, like in morning, so you can catch the snow before it is trampled all over by footprints.

5. Decrease(slow) your shutter speed by 1 to 2 stops. Remember, the exposure meter(or light meter) in your camera adjusts the shutter speed so that the lighting is in a medium tone. (Think gray!!, photographers, remember the gray card?) If it is bright, the meter is saying "whoa!!too bright, increase shutter speed to let less light in!" so the speed will be adjusted to make it a little darker. Snow is bright and white, so you don't want it darker. If bright and sunny, decrease(slow) speed by 2 stops. If using a polarizer, decrease by 1/2 a stop,. if it is real bright, 1 stop should do. And if using a Canon, always add 1/2 stop more exposure to above estimates.


With the flexibility of processing available with digital cameras, you have better choices when in comes to choosing the finished format of your photograph. There is really nothing to lose to trying winter photography. You might even be surprised with the images that you captured. Once you have become accustomed to winter photography and have been familiar with the different techniques, you will find that winter is one of the best times of the year to go out there, take photos and make use of your digital camera. You will be surprised to see that the final results are worth the hassle.