Winter is such an underrated time of year for photography, especially if you can find some puddles to jump in or have an adventure in the snow! I was lucky to have a week at Mt Buller last week with my parents, my brother and his family and my son (my husband isn’t a fan of the snow so stayed home and looked after our animals!). While many of the “rules” for photography don’t change, there are a few things to consider if heading out to play in the snow! Here are my 10 tops tips for Snow Photography!
10 Top Tips for Snow Photography!
1 Dress Appropriately!
This may sound obvious but being in the snow can be really cold and conditions can change very quickly! You may first step outside to blue skies and a balmy 5 degrees only to find yourself in the middle of a blizzard 10 minutes later. So, for snow photography, check the weather for where you are before you head out so you know what to expect and don’t get caught out.
- Warm shoes are a must!
- Don’t skimp on wearing warm shoes with a good grip! There is nothing worse than freezing toes and feet while slipping and stumbling in the snow. Usually where there is snow there is ice making for a slippery environment and a good pair of snow shoes (there are lots of different sorts around from hiking boots and shoes, moon boots, lined boots etc). I wear a cross between a hiking boot and moon boot that I purchased from Anaconda for around $60 on special – so you don’t need to spend a fortune to be comfortable.
- Layering works a treat!
- Layering your clothing is a great way to stay comfortable when in the snow. As we know, if we are walking around and exercising, we warm up. We are better off being comfortable while moving around and not overheating. Layering allows you the opportunity to add or remove layers depending on the whether. For walking around I usually have thermal underwear (top and “sexy” long johns), a skivvy +/- a thin jumper or hoodie and my jipara (which is wind and water proof). If it is a bit cooler (but dry) I will replace my jipara with my wooden coat. Dressing like this allows me to remove layers if I get too hot, and put layers back on if I get too cold.
- Gloves
- I never leave home without gloves when I’m in the snow for many reasons! Obviously we wear gloves to keep our hands warm, but gloves also protect our hands from scratches and lacerations if we fall over (falling over in the snow can really cut up our skin!). I don’t like the bulkiness of ski gloves when I am taking photographs so I use a thin close fitting pair of leather gloves which work perfectly. On clear blue sky days, I use a pair of fingerless gloves.
2 Batteries
It is amazing how quickly batteries drain in cold weather!! Always bring extra batteries for your camera when going out for a photo shoot and it is a good idea to keep them in a water proof bag (zip lock bags work well) and keep them next to your body while out and about to keep them warm. Be careful when changing the batteries over that water (snow!) does not get into the battery compartment of your camera.
3 Avoid Condensation!
Don’t try and keep your camera warm while you are outside! The constant changes in temperature will cause condensation on the lens and may cause damage, plus you are at risk of missing that amazing photograph if your lens is fogged up (think fogged up sunglasses and car windscreens!). Your camera is better off staying cold until you go inside. Once inside, just let your camera return to room temperature naturally. Don’t place it in front of a heater or vent, or stick it in your doona. Allowing your camera to return to room temperature naturally will significantly reduce condensation risk.
4 Careful Changing Lenses
I would never change a lens out in the snow due to the risk of condensation from the differences in temperature of the camera and the lens, plus the risk of moisture getting into my camera if it is snowing, or if I have moisture on any of my clothing. The best time to change a lens is just before you head out, when the camera and the lens are the same temperature (yep, to avoid the pesky condensation again!). If you are wanting to use more than one lens during the one shoot, its better to bring an extra camera body with you and carry around both camera’s with different lenses attached. Once back at home, don’t change the lens over until the camera has returned to room temperature.
5 Which Camera to Take?
I don’t ski with my DSLR, it is too bulky for one and gets in the way, even in a back pack (I like to ski with as little as possible extra baggage!). Plus I don’t want it getting damaged if I crash! When I’m skiing on the slopes, I take my smart phone! Most of us have smart phones these days and they are easy to whip out to take awesome photo’s of your kids, friends or family out and about! Sure, you won’t necessarily get the same images that using a DSLR affords, but the camera’s in smart phones are pretty good these days and you won’t be disappointed! Just be aware however, that as mentioned in point #2, battery life can drain very quickly!
One of my favourite iPhone photos taken on a chairlift while having a ski with my son, nephew and sister in law
I love this photo of me with my dad, mum and brother on a chair lift at Mt Buller! My parents are in their 70’s and still skiing strongly!
6 Shoot in RAW
If you can, shoot in RAW (no, not in the raw!). RAW format photography gives us the greatest flexibility in post production to develop and create stunning images. Shooting in jpeg format, the camera develops the image for us and the result is not always what we would like. RAW files are larger, so not as many photos will fit onto your memory card. So bring along some spare memory cards to accomodate for the extra file sizes. Also, with so much white around, it can play havoc with our exposure, so use your histogram and this is also a good opportunity to practise using your manual settings on your camera.
7 Adventure Out at Night!
Night photography in the snow is one of my favourite times for snow photography! The way the lights reflect on the snow make for stunning images!
8 The Colour Red!
There is a very good reason that my son and I wear red jackets in the snow! Red really stands out and looks fantastic in snow photography!
9 Go for an early morning walk!
I love looking for the pristine untouched snow to photograph! These make for beautiful images and to be walking around in this environment early in the morning is invigorating! If you are lucky, and the weather is on your side, you may be able to capture a stunning sunrise! Unfortunately on this trip, we did not have clear enough skies to capture a sunrise or sunset. I did enjoy watching this magpie though and managed to catch these images
10 Have Fun!!
It is more important to have fun with your photography thank anything else! Enjoy your time up at the snow, experiment with your snow photography and come home with some wonderful images of your time mucking about in the cold, white, fluffy stuff we call snow!
I would love to see some of your winter photo’s, especially if you have had an opportunity for Snow Photography! Please comment below or share them to my FB page!
Happy Snapping!
Larissa x
