It's snowing! Get out there and take some pictures!

It's snowing and It's beautiful and I need to take a picture!

Everyone wants to capture the beauty of a snowfall. Even boring places like your own backyard become magical when covered in a fresh blanket of snow.

In order for you to come back with some really good photos here are a few tips – whether you have a point & shoot or a big DSLR that will really help.

Why does the snow in my pictures look gray?  All this white around is going to throw your camera’s exposure way off because it thinks it is looking at lovely greenery—but it’s not- it is white. Lots and lots of white. So to get your snow to look as white as you see it you need to play around with your exposure compensation.

 Move the + to about 1.0 or 1.5.


     

Why does the snow in my pictures look blue?  This tip is about white balance.

 If you don’t adjust your white balance you can end up with very blue looking winter photos (because the snow reflects the sky)- not ideal at all. So change your white balance to cloudy or indoor and it will take that blue cast away.

What should I know about using my camera in the cold? Batteries get used up more quickly in the cold, so make sure you set out with a fully charged set. And keep a spare set of batteries in an inside pocket so they are nice and warm. That means they are going to last much longer.  Same goes for your camera – keep it close too -  if it stays warm, it will work much better for you.

My final tip is about keeping warm & dry. Not only yourself, but also your camera.  If you bring your camera from inside to outside too quickly it may mist up and get condensation resulting in pretty awful photos  - give your camera a few minutes to acclimate to the conditions.

So get out there and take lots and lots of photos- of the scenery, of your kids, even a selfie of you shoveling…

…..because it’s not going to look like this for long. So make sure you get the best pictures you can!