Photographing in Snow – Some tips for Photographers
If you were to associate Firefly Nights Photography with a single image, most people would think of this senior girl riding a horse through the snow. It is what won me the international Best Teen Image award a couple years ago.
I always love snow sessions. They lend themselves to being dramatic with the absence of distraction. All that white acts as a strong reflector, adding a ton of light to images, which also makes photographing in it very tricky.
So because shooting in snow is one of my favorite things, I decided to write a post with tips on how to successfully photograph in snow. Now, keep in mind, these are tips according to the way I get my images and the way I work and edit.
1) Snow is going to mess with your metering – big time. I’m assuming that you are shooting in Manual mode. If not, well, shame on you. LOL But your camera’s internal metering is going to drastically lie to you about how much light is in your picture because all that white and reflection makes it think there is a lot more light than there is. You will get a horribly underexposed image if you listen to it. If you get close to your subject and meter of their skin, you are going to blow out the snow and get an overexposed image. Successful snow images cannot blow out the snow. You need to have some detail in there, otherwise it will look fake. So in truth, you want to perfectly expose the snow – as bright as you can without blowing it out. Now, this will result in the subject being a bit underexposed, but you can adjust the person in LightRoom easily or in PhotoShop. I tend to paint on an exposure brush in LightRoom. All of this assumes you are shooting in natural light. However, using external lighting will make life a lot easier.
2) Not all snow is good snow. You want good looking snow. Dirty, slushy snow is….well…ugly. And having footprints everywhere can ruin a picture (depending on the image). Now, this doesn’t mean you have to get out there right after a big snow. But it does mean you need to be cognizant of the factors and location. Pick a place that won’t have been ruined by too much foot traffic. And, I’m not one to be at one with reality. Things can always be changed. I take out footprints all the time thanks to PhotoShop. But you need enough untouched snow around to make it realistic.
3) Personally, I love the colors of snow. I don’t want to compete with all that white. The beauty of it is that skin tones can really pop against it. I naturally edit warm, and in contrast to the cool tones of all that snow – people really pop. Therefore, I don’t like people to wear much color. Blacks, whites, light greys or blues are perfect. I want clothing to sort of blend, so the skin is what stands out. Of course, my personal style demands a pop of color, usually red. But that is my signature look.
4) Gotta be fast! If you are shooting in snow, then it is obviously fairly cold outside. I don’t bother shooting unless the temperature is about 30 degrees. Assuming you are photographing people, you don’t want to make them be outside too long. Noses turn red quickly. Therefore, I want it as warm as possible without melting the snow (though if you have a ton of snow, going on a warmer day is fine, as it won’t melt off all your snow). I also always tell subjects to come completely bundled and in snow boots. I want them in parkas, scarfs, and gloves. Once we are completely set up, including being posed, then they toss their gear to the side or to their waiting parent, I take a few shots, then bundle them again. Unless I am actively shooting, they remained bundled. And if you are not going far from the cars, keep them running with the heat going, so they can go back and thaw out if needed. High school seniors tend to be great sports, but I wouldn’t recommend having snow shoots with very young children.
5) Red noses only look good on reindeers. Now your first images probably won’t have this problem, but by the end of the session, you should be looking at the subject’s nose and cheeks to make sure they aren’t red. If they are displaying the look of being cold (which we don’t want), here is what I do to get rid of it in PhotoShop. Use the eyedropper tool to select color from their face in an area that is not red (forehead or low on the cheeks) then choose the brush tool and change the mode to Color. Make the opacity about 24% then brush over the nose. It should be fixed in one or two swipes.
6) No such thing as a bad sky in winter. With winter, you will many times get those completely whitish grey skies that are ugly. Those days will result in a super soft lighting, as light will be pretty much equal from above as from below. It will be a flat lighting, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. The below image was shot on such a day. On sunny days, you have to battle the reflections from the snow, but you will get more directional lighting. In the horse image, it was sunny, and I had her actually walk toward the sun. In the swing picture, it was also super sunny, but the sun was getting low in the sky, so it wasn’t too direct, and I also used external lighting to supplement there. It all just depends on the look you want. The point is, any type of day can create a beautiful image.
7) Shooting while it is snowing. You will see many photographers look like they have shot while it is snowing when in truth, they are using snow brushes to make it look that way. You can create that look anytime you want if that is the result you are going for. However, if you shoot while it is actively snowing, you have to really be fast. Snow melts in the hair and will ruin hair styles if you are taking too long. It can also mess up makeup. You also need to really be careful with snow getting on your lens. All that being said, it doesn’t mean you can’t shoot in a snow storm. In the below two images, it demonstrates the difference between adding your own snow in editing versus real snow. The snow storm started during part of our session. In the first image, all that snow in the air was added via snow brushes. In the second, you can see the snow in her hair. If up to me, I would rather add it in editing, so I have more control. People will also get colder quicker if they are getting wet.
I hope you enjoyed the tips! Now get out there and shoot!