Digital Photography Tricks - It's Snowtime - The Wonderful World of Winter!

I almost started typing this article today with gloves on - it's that cold where I am right now. But the weather has inspired me to pass on some digital photography tricks for taking pictures in the snow. Hopefully you will feel suitably inspired too.

Let's start with an essential tip. The light meter in your digital camera can be completely baffled by a bright snow scene. It tries to find a mid-tone in the scene, which normally results in underexposure. This can give you grey-like images rather than the dazzling whiteness you hoped to capture. Therefore you need to compensate a little for this before taking your shot. The compensation will vary depending upon the conditions and how sensitive your camera is, but generally a setting between +0.3 and +1.0 EV should suffice.

Timing is everything. In any landscape picture, for instance, the time of day you shoot has a dramatic affect on the outcome of your final image. Taking snow scenes is no different. Early morning or late afternoon makes for warm hues. If at all possible, avoid the middle of the day and use the exciting light of dawn and dusk to your improve your shots. Light captured at a low angle will add long shadows, or try using backlighting to create a silhouette effect.

One of my favourite digital photography tricks is this. As surprising as it may seem, using flash outdoors in snowy conditions is a great idea. Flash can highlight details your camera might not have picked up. Snow provides a high level of reflection, and this enables the flash unit on your camera to add some texture and intrigue to what can otherwise end up as a flat and lifeless image. If you are fortunate enough to be around when snow is actually falling, the influence of the flash will make the snowflakes stand out too.

With all the excitement of being out in the snow it is all too easy to forget the basic rules of composition. But this is just as, or even more, important during this time. For instance, however dramatic or stunning your snow shot may look, it is always a good idea to have a point of interest in there. This could be children having a snowball fight, or a freshly created snowman. Whist all this "whiteness" is going on, another good idea is to look for opportunities to add a splash of colour, to break the image up. Rich reds, for example, always look outstanding in such scenes (and at Christmas time, in particular).

I hope these few digital photography tricks are helpful, and if you have similar wintry conditions where you are, get out there and make the most of the wonderful photographic opportunities, especially if this is rare occurrence where you live. You'll also find that you appreciate these images even more when looking back on them during the summer months.