Snow photography beginner's tips - Snow or winter photography is inspiring for any photographer. After a fresh fall of snow, it looks like a winter wonderland with endless white snow everywhere. The leaves, shrubs, and trees have snowflakes and flurries all over. This year we had an early snow day last weekend. Luckily, it has all melted away now. It only snows two or three times a year in this part of North Carolina so we get to experience it, but are not usually stuck with it. So it is truly a wonderful affair.
Photographing in the snow can be tricky, especially when you have to use your expensive camera lens.
Useful Tips
- The first thing that comes to mind is moisture, your lens and camera's biggest enemy. It is best to secure your camera in a zip-lock bag inside your camera bag when you head out and quickly place it back after taking shots. The idea is to avoid condensation of the lens when you are back in the warmth of your home or car. This way the camera will slowly get back to room temperature and not cause any condensation in the lens which can eventually harm it. It is a good idea to keep a lens cloth handy to wipe away any moisture.
- Shoot in RAW so you have the advantage of correcting the photos easily during post-processing compared to JPEG files RAW files are huge and can store more information. Some aspects that are unable to be corrected or lost in the JPEG mode also can easily be regained if shot in RAW mode.
- Use Manual mode to get actual colors . Semi-automatic modes like shutter priority and aperture mode can be used as well for the falling snow and bokeh shots respectively. The auto mode may often capture dark images as it is all white and bright outside when it snows and the camera might compensate for the brightness by making it grey or dark.
- Overexpose, keep exposure to a higher level to help avoid the grey capture of the snow so that it looks white. This can also be done in post-processing as well.
- It is good to use your imagination and try various compositions, contrasting colors like flowers or bright-colored jackets, scarfs or umbrellas in the snow, footprints, bokeh shots, endless white landscapes, etc.
- Last but not least, wear good protective clothes yourself and enjoy and live the moments as well in the process of capturing! If you have any tips on photographing on a snow day do share them in the comments below, I would love to hear them.
Read more resources on winter photography
There are some really sound and sensible tips here for sure. I love photographing in the snow - very pretty scenes for sure x
Thank you so much Melanie for the wonderful comments , you are right it is awesome to capture scenic pictures with snow all around.
Photos of snow are absolutely breathtaking! I do wish it snowed where I live so I could try taking photos of it, it'd be so much fun. I didn't think about the issue of moisture getting on the camera lens though - even though it seems so obvious now that you've pointed it out! I'm sure these tips will really come in handy for others who want to give this a go 😊
Thank you so much for the wonderful comments Indya! Yes experiencing snow is really very fascinating. Hope you can get to experience it as well . Moisture is camera's enemy for sure .I only use it when I really have to .
Great post. I didn't know about saving pictures in RAW instead of JPEG. This is some nice information. Thanks for this.
Thank you so much, it is a simple setting to do and can help do wonders to your final picture. Hope you find it useful as well.
What a nice post. Its rare to see some information about snow photography., very nice. I miss the winter season! huhu. Anyways, the plant with the color was nice capture.
It's true we hardly see information about snow photography , these days most of us are into mobile captures! These tips really helped me with taking pictures using digital camera as the auto mode usually captures all dark when it sees too much bright white outside . Thank you glad you liked the picture of the plant!
These are great tips! I am going to use them the next time it snows here!
Wonderful to hear that ! Thank you so much and hope you have a fun time taking the pictures .
Gorgeous pictures! I love snow when I am inside looking out...lol
Thank you Diane , appreciate it!
Such gorgeous photos and great shots!❤
I'm here in Memphis, still waiting for snow to happen! 😉
Thank you so much 🙏 we had an unusual early snow day this time , enjoyed and done with it for now .I guess it is due sometime again in Jan/Feb ..looks like delayed ..but am not really looking forward to it again 😊 . Hope you enjoy the Memphis snow ❄️
Never thought about this! But then again, I try to avoid going out into the snow..lol
Yes me too I avoid unless I have to , but I enjoy photographing it and the first fall of snow ❄️. Thanks for the comments!
Lovely pictures 🙂
Thank you so much!
Awesome Tips Nisha! And loved all the captures. Fantastic 👌
Thank you so much Smitha for the appreciation, glad to hear you like them!
Thanks for sharing wonderful tips, I always find it difficult to capture the ice cream, and I think these tips will help me. 🙂
Thank you so much Megala, glad you find the tips useful!
So pretty Nisha. 🙂
Thank you so much Lorelle, it was indeed a pretty sight all around!
Love all of your tips. That note about condensation is a good one! I’ll remember that if I’m ever taking pictures in the winter! Also love your photos, especially the red and green stem.
Thank you so much Juliet, appreciate your wonderful comments!
Great article with spot on tips for all photographers, even the ones like me that should pick up a top or two once in a while. Especially about protecting our cameras in zip lock bags😊
Beautiful clicks Nisha...
Happy day ❣️
I also got to know of this tip recently , wish I had known about it earlier. Thank you so much Jyo!
Great tips and lovely photos, Nisha! We definitely get snow a little more than three times a year so these tips will come in handy 😉
Thank you so much Lynn , happy to hear it is useful!