Posted by Cindy Nowlin on January 22, 2007 at 9:45 PM
I recently moved to TN from FL middle of last year, so this will be my first winter shooting in the smokies and cades cove area. I have been out shooting a little near newfound gap in a winter wonderland. But what it looked like to my eye and what the photos looked like, well I didnt capture what i was seeing. It was a little washed out. I was trying different settings, but never found the right one.
What is the best way to meter for a photo like that? And any suggestions for shooting in snow. I cant remember right now what my white balance was set at, maybe that was the thing I did wrong.
thanks for any input.
Some examples can be found here -
http://www.gallery2003.eyetoeyephotos.net/lggsmnfgapsnow071.htm
Usually your biggest problem with snow scenes is the tendancy to underexpose. If the scene is dominated by snow and very light tonal values, you can open up by 1 or 1 1/2 stops to keep the image from being too dark. Or you can spot meter a neutral tone that is in the same lighting as the rest of the scene and use that exposure. Or, if you are shooting digital, just refer to your histogram and make sure the right edge of the image data is as far to the right as possible without clipping the highlights.
EDIT:
Okay, I just looked at the images you had linked. Somehow I missed them the first time I read your post.
Cindy, I dont think they are bad at all. Maybe a tad dark, but it can be fixed in PS by just bringing up the whites to be actually white, and not a dirty white/grey. The image from Mortons Overlook has a washed-out sky, but that would be expected in that situation. A ND Grad filter or darker exposure/blend in would make that a nice image!
Posted by Cindy Nowlin on January 23, 2007 at 7:44 PM
thanks richard, will work on them in ps more. Those were the best of the day shooting. I was just hoping for more snow this season and wanted to get out and photograph it the best way I can.
Discussion
2 repliesWhat is the best way to meter for a photo like that? And any suggestions for shooting in snow. I cant remember right now what my white balance was set at, maybe that was the thing I did wrong.
thanks for any input.
Some examples can be found here -
http://www.gallery2003.eyetoeyephotos.net/lggsmnfgapsnow071.htm
What do you mean by "washed out?"
Usually your biggest problem with snow scenes is the tendancy to underexpose. If the scene is dominated by snow and very light tonal values, you can open up by 1 or 1 1/2 stops to keep the image from being too dark. Or you can spot meter a neutral tone that is in the same lighting as the rest of the scene and use that exposure. Or, if you are shooting digital, just refer to your histogram and make sure the right edge of the image data is as far to the right as possible without clipping the highlights.
EDIT:
Okay, I just looked at the images you had linked. Somehow I missed them the first time I read your post.
Cindy, I dont think they are bad at all. Maybe a tad dark, but it can be fixed in PS by just bringing up the whites to be actually white, and not a dirty white/grey. The image from Mortons Overlook has a washed-out sky, but that would be expected in that situation. A ND Grad filter or darker exposure/blend in would make that a nice image!
Those photos were my first attempt.