Snow pics - advice on settings please
Discussion
I'm off to play in the mountains of Austria at the weekend, and the camera is coming with me.
I've only taken pictures in snow once before, and that was a long time ago now... and I like to hope that I'm a bit better with the old Canon these days - although I'm still in the "beginner" bracket.
Photos will either be scenes, portraits, or action shots (skiing etc). Could someone suggest some baseline settings, and whether or not to tinker with the white balance...
TIA
I've only taken pictures in snow once before, and that was a long time ago now... and I like to hope that I'm a bit better with the old Canon these days - although I'm still in the "beginner" bracket.
Photos will either be scenes, portraits, or action shots (skiing etc). Could someone suggest some baseline settings, and whether or not to tinker with the white balance...
TIA
If you can, take RAW whenever there is snow about. This will enable you to make snow white (in Photoshop) when it turns up grey on your screen.
Doing this will also eat memory cards, so if you have to, use JPG and turn white balance to SUNNY
(edit... unless it's pi55ing down of course)
Doing this will also eat memory cards, so if you have to, use JPG and turn white balance to SUNNY
(edit... unless it's pi55ing down of course)
Edited by GetCarter on Tuesday 20th February 20:22
Just needs the use of a few brain cells to help the camera along.
Your average metering system thinks you want everything 18% grey (or thereabouts, it does vary) so it will try to underexpose, thereby shifting your lovely white snow to a muddy grey.
To prevent this you will probably like to over expose (oo-er missus, typical Podie thread again) to compensate. But hang on! Have you got a camera which lets you see the histogram? If so, you can try a few test shots and see exactly how much you will need to move the histogram to get it to fit - but without losing anything at the highlights end.
(This is all assuming you don't have a Nikon - which will want to underexpose anyway because it's a right "highlights-Hitler" not wanting you to blow them.)
Biggest issue is likely to be that a digital sensor isn't too brilliant at high dynamic range. If in doubt bracket a few shots. Better to have a couple to throw away than just miss a good shot - especially with digital images...
What do you normally do for WB? Auto should cope. As ever, taking a test shot and setting custom WB should give perfection but might be overkill.
ETA - dammit, GC got there first.
But anyway, thinking about it... Austria you say? Well, what with global warming an' all, do they still get snow in February????
Your average metering system thinks you want everything 18% grey (or thereabouts, it does vary) so it will try to underexpose, thereby shifting your lovely white snow to a muddy grey.
To prevent this you will probably like to over expose (oo-er missus, typical Podie thread again) to compensate. But hang on! Have you got a camera which lets you see the histogram? If so, you can try a few test shots and see exactly how much you will need to move the histogram to get it to fit - but without losing anything at the highlights end.
(This is all assuming you don't have a Nikon - which will want to underexpose anyway because it's a right "highlights-Hitler" not wanting you to blow them.)
Biggest issue is likely to be that a digital sensor isn't too brilliant at high dynamic range. If in doubt bracket a few shots. Better to have a couple to throw away than just miss a good shot - especially with digital images...
What do you normally do for WB? Auto should cope. As ever, taking a test shot and setting custom WB should give perfection but might be overkill.
ETA - dammit, GC got there first.
But anyway, thinking about it... Austria you say? Well, what with global warming an' all, do they still get snow in February????
Edited by beano500 on Tuesday 20th February 20:25
GetCarter said:
If you can, take RAW whenever there is snow about. This will enable you to make snow white (in Photoshop) when it turns up grey on your screen.
Doing this will also eat memory cards, so if you have to, use JPG and turn white balance to SUNNY
(edit... unless it's pi55ing down of course)
Doing this will also eat memory cards, so if you have to, use JPG and turn white balance to SUNNY
(edit... unless it's pi55ing down of course)
Edited by GetCarter on Tuesday 20th February 20:22
I shoot RAW as a matter of course, so equipped to deal with that aspect!
beano500 said:
To prevent this you will probably like to over expose (oo-er missus, typical Podie thread again) to compensate.
beano500 said:
But hang on! Have you got a camera which lets you see the histogram? If so, you can try a few test shots and see exactly how much you will need to move the histogram to get it to fit - but without losing anything at the highlights end.
Yep, I've got a 300D. Can read a histogram, so I can always shift things along a stop.
beano500 said:
Biggest issue is likely to be that a digital sensor isn't too brilliant at high dynamic range. If in doubt bracket a few shots. Better to have a couple to throw away than just miss a good shot - especially with digital images...
Agreed.
beano500 said:
What do you normally do for WB? Auto should cope. As ever, taking a test shot and setting custom WB should give perfection but might be overkill.
Generally I've found the Canon to be fine on AWB. There are occasions when I've used tyhe shade setting (although auto AE seems to be better for getting round this) or the tunsten lamp setting.
beano500 said:
But anyway, thinking about it... Austria you say? Well, what with global warming an' all, do they still get snow in February????
I didn't organise it... it's a stag do (how great is my missus letting me out with the lads for 5 nights?!?!) - oh, and yep, there is snow.
www.j2ski.com/snow_forecast/Austria/Nassfeld_snow.html
Edited by Podie on Tuesday 20th February 21:08
I find that dialling in between +1 and +1.5 EV gets some good snow pics . . . but I tend to check the histogram as things can change quite rapidly . . .
Just back from Canada myself, lots of fresh snow, extremely cold and very little light but managed a few I like the look of . . . just an initial conversion from RAW in my post travel stay-up-a-thon . . .
I'm not the kind of person who normally complains of cold hands but with temps around -10 -> -20C and some windchill thrown in it was as much as I could do to hang around enough outside to shoot these . . . even with mountain grade goose down helping ;-) . . . The D2X performed flawlessly as ever, cold soaked down to -15C for 1/2 a day in a backpack and still showing no signs of trouble - just don't touch the metal case with your fingers ;-) . . . bit sad that the camera fares better than the owner - must be getting old . . .
Fd
Just back from Canada myself, lots of fresh snow, extremely cold and very little light but managed a few I like the look of . . . just an initial conversion from RAW in my post travel stay-up-a-thon . . .
I'm not the kind of person who normally complains of cold hands but with temps around -10 -> -20C and some windchill thrown in it was as much as I could do to hang around enough outside to shoot these . . . even with mountain grade goose down helping ;-) . . . The D2X performed flawlessly as ever, cold soaked down to -15C for 1/2 a day in a backpack and still showing no signs of trouble - just don't touch the metal case with your fingers ;-) . . . bit sad that the camera fares better than the owner - must be getting old . . .
Fd
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