winter photography hacks

Winter is the most magical time of the year for me and nothing does it a better justice than a good photo taken in the morning when the sun is just above the horizon and the blue and yellow and orange are at my hand to play. I turn into a poet when it comes to writing about photography. so with no complex literature let's get started.

Cold Temperatures Required 

Obviously, for ice to form, the temperature must be cold. While cold temperatures make us want to stay inside, ice is a great subject to pull us out of our comfortable houses. If there has been a period of below-freezing temperatures, don't wait to take advantage of the ice.

Water is Required 

Along with cold temperatures, ice requires water to form. Thus, ice is found where there is water. While that also may sound trivially-basic, start thinking about locations that have water, including non-obvious ones. Or, consider creating your own ice.

Make Safety Paramount 

Ice can be extremely slippery and it is a very hard surface to impact upon falling. A thick stocking hat with a thick folded-up rim can keep you warm and add a little protection to what matters most, though a helmet is a better idea in certain scenarios. Be careful out there.

Snow Changes the Appearance 

Snow tends to stick to ice. While snow can be at least as beautiful as ice, if photographing ice is your goal, snow may cover your subject, turning everything white. Time your ice photo sessions so water has frozen before the snow falls or after water has sufficiently frozen over a prior snowfall. Also, look for vertical ice that snow cannot cling to. Of course, mounds of snow-covered ice surrounded by water are great to have in a scene.

Snow Confuses Auto Exposure 

Bright ice and snow consuming a significant portion of the camera's selected metering area will cause the camera's autoexposure algorithm to underexpose the image. The amount of underexposure can vary, so learn to watch the histogram and compensate the exposure for a brighter result. Enable the camera's blinking overexposure warning and adjust the exposure so that only a small number of the brightest pixels are blinking to get a typically-best exposure.

Find Interesting Ice 

While ponds and lakes can have interesting ice to photograph (and methane bubbles are always calling us landscape photographers), flowing water tends to create more-unique shapes (including bubbles), with falling water creating some of the most-interesting stalactite and stalagmite formations.

Make Ice Secondary 

While ice can make an excellent primary subject, it works especially well in a supporting role. Finding a great waterfall is an easy example of this strategy. Consider taking your portrait subject along to photograph in front of or beside the ice formations.

What are some of the weird photography hacks you know? let me know by leaving a quick comment.

Until then check out my new post on weird photography hacks that actually worked for me.