Shootin' the snow ( Help pleeeze)

Cobra

Cobra

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I might get the oppertunity at very short notice to go to lapland this year.
Trouble is I aint got a bleedin' clue how to shoot
"snow scapes" :shrug: I haven't seen decent snow since london bridge was a field and certainly not since I have had my DSLR therefore I am "a little bit stuffed" to say the least I know the theory of over exposing by a stop of two.
but I won't have a laptop to download "on site" as it were, and I would actually like to come home with a few keepers, so
I am guessing that RAW would be better to recover the predicted cock-ups
would a fill in flash be a good idea in daylight?
any / all other tips would be greatfully received,
Cheers
 
Cobra said:
I might get the oppertunity at very short notice to go to lapland this year.
Trouble is I aint got a bleedin' clue how to shoot
"snow scapes" :shrug: I haven't seen decent snow since london bridge was a field and certainly not since I have had my DSLR therefore I am "a little bit stuffed" to say the least I know the theory of over exposing by a stop of two.
but I won't have a laptop to download "on site" as it were, and I would actually like to come home with a few keepers, so
I am guessing that RAW would be better to recover the predicted cock-ups
would a fill in flash be a good idea in daylight?
any / all other tips would be greatfully received,
Cheers
Click to expand...
Hi Cobra,

you're on the right track. RAW is good. Take enough memory cards. Yes, overexpose when there's snow in the scene. Forget the idea of fill-flash in daylight in Lapland in the winter. There's no such thing as daylight up there until April! So take lots of flashguns and batteries! And bracket.

Have fun!
 
Quote from that link about over/under-exposing...

Photographing snow & minus EV

Some photographers recommend using positive selecting a positive Exposure Value when photographing snow under clear and cloudy skies (+1.5 to +2 EV under clear skies and +.5 to +1 for cloudy skies).

When asked about the recommendation in his article for using minus EV, Bernard Dery replies:

"I know this is an subject open to debate. You have to decide if you want your snow to be perfectly white before post-processing (editing) orif you want to preserve some texture to it."

By increasing the EV value, snow remains pure white but it will likely be blown (washed out looking). If you lower the EV value, your snow might look a bit gray but will still have texture. You can then fine-tune the actual whiteness when post processing.

Bernard also makes the following points:

1. if a scene has a few things that are not snow (a tree, for instance) then overexposing is likely to blow it completely. Depending on the metering, it's quite probable that darker objects are almost over-exposed as it is, so it might be safer to underexpose to preserve their detail too.
2. if the scene has many objects, not primarily snow, then the camera should meter properly in most cases.
3. the biggest danger when photographing snow is not exposure, it's white balance if you're not careful. Exposure comes just after, but it's better to get a slightly gray snow patch than a blue snow patch.
Click to expand...
 
Helloooo!
There is no daylight in Lapland in the winter!
How is Cobra going to get pictures of snow if there's no daylight...?

:cuckoo:
 
If you forget to adjust the exposure to correct for the brightness of the snow as I have done on the odd occasion, simply load into PS and run auto levels. It does a fantastic job.
 
The other advantage of shooting in RAW would be that you can easily correct your white balance later if necessary. I appreciate that there could be some debate about whether you want your snow pure white or slightly-grey-with-some-texture, but you certainly don't want it to be purple.

And... don't forget that batteries die quickly when it's cold. Make sure that you have spares and that you keep them somewhere warm.

And... don't forget to guard against condensation on your camera/lens if you take it from a cold outdoors to a warm indoors.
 
Thanks for the links and great advice people :thumbs:I just hope the "trip" comes off now
W Smith, there will be some daylight there

Dec: 5 hours -12°C
Jan: 6 hours -14°C
Feb: 9 hours -14°C
Mar: 12 hours -9°C
 
Cobra said:
.... there will be some daylight there

Dec: 5 hours -12°C
Jan: 6 hours -14°C
Feb: 9 hours -14°C
Mar: 12 hours -9°C
Click to expand...
December and January look good to me. You'll be able to have a long lie-in and still capture that lovely pre-dawn light! ;)
 
StewartR said:
December and January look good to me. You'll be able to have a long lie-in and still capture that lovely pre-dawn light! ;)
Click to expand...

:lol: my type of thinkin' :thumbs:
"if" it happens it wil be late Nov. early Dec.
 
hi

is there enough light to take photos and what are the main precautions o taking the camera into the cold

thanks

Mark
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
Sounds fab.... I've no experience of that kind of shooting but I'm thinking some graduated filters might come in useful, all that low light, almost a constant sunrise and sunset I expect.
Click to expand...



Graduated filters :bang: of course :thumbs:
looks like its a go-er mid Dec :thumbs:


 
W.Smith said:
Graduated filters and no daylight? Better take a very good tripod!
Click to expand...


As above 5 hours of daylight in Dec.
Thats 5 for taking pictures and 19 for eating, drinking & sleeping I like the odds on this one :D
 
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