Snow photo

[williampp]

We will be going to New Zealand next month. We hope to see a bit of snow.
I have read that a snow scene tricks the exposure on automatic Camera's, and it gets exposure wrong. To correct this you have to alter (compensate) the exposure.
Question, Which way do I alter it up, or down, and about how much ?.

[wheelinround]

Hi Bill depends on the camera greatly

Changing the "White Balance" in settings on some others its "White Back ground" Some camera's have settings for Snow photo's :2tsup:

[daninjt]

you have to over expose the shot. ie make the shutter speed slower.

The cameras metering system will try to expose the entire scen to an average grey. When it sees all the bright white snow it speeds up the shutter speed to try to make the white look grey.

About 1 1/2 - 2 stops should be enough, but check the image in your camera after a test shot. if it still looks grey slow down the shutter speed a little more, if it looks overblow white, speed it up.

Cheers,

Dan

[williampp]

Thank you Wheelinround & Daninjt. I have a Nikon D50, I should be able to compensate 1.5 stops no trouble.

When compensating with the D50 it talks about EV's. I think 1ev is equal to 1 f stop. Have I got this right ?.

Just want some snow.

[springwater]

Thank you Wheelinround & Daninjt. I have a Nikon D50, I should be able to compensate 1.5 stops no trouble.

When compensating with the D50 it talks about EV's. I think 1ev is equal to 1 f stop. Have I got this right ?.

Just want some snow.

Sorry williampp, I thought when going to this thread I'd be seeing some pictures of the snow, but now I'm here would the suggestion of setting up some white sheets for target practice be good?

[Ernie47]

Gedday Bill, if you're going to the South Island you should see plenty of snow. We were in Queenstown last Christmas & there was a light dusting on the peaks on Christmas night. (40 deg here in Perth, 8 deg in Queenstown.)
Exposure meters work on the principle that 18% of the light falling on a scene is reflected. (That's what you see.) Hence the 18% grey card.
If you take your exposure reading from the snow, or anything else bright, your shot will be under exposed, conversely if taken from a dark part of the shot, the rest will be over exposed.
If you haven't got an 18% grey card, another trick is to hold your hand in front of the lens & get an exposure reading from your palm. (I presume the settings on a digi camera bear some resemblance to film.)
It depends on how much you can manipulate your settings as to the outcome of all this.
A lot of stuffing around I know, but if your not going to be there long, any trick to get the shot, other than blindly firing away & hoping to get a worthwhile shot is worth trying.
Have a go where you have a nice bright background. Maybe a sunlit shed or even a white painted wall. (It's probably a bit far for you to stroll down to the beach.)
Try changing the EV up & down to see the difference it makes.
Just don't forget if it's up or down you should be doing! when the perfect shot presents itself!
Have a great trip!

Ernie.

[williampp]

Thanks Springwater & Ernie47, when we come back from NZ I will post a few photos of the snow, (if we see any, global warming may have melted it all) along with f stops, shutter speeds, compensation etc.

[wheelinround]

Bill not sure if your into using filters but this may be a great benfit

Cokin http://www.geocities.com/cokinfiltersystem/polarizer.htm

or Hoya http://www.hoyafilter.com/products/hoya/gf-05.html

[Ernie47]

Bill, as Wheelin suggested & I forgot, a circular polarizing filter will really make the sky, (if you can see it,) a standout blue against the snow. They are also great for cutting out reflected glare.
Having an SLR, you probably already have a UV filter, even if only to protect the lens. Pretty cheap insurance.
As for "global warming", a tour driver commented that they were still waiting for it to arrive in New Zealand.
The other day the temperature range in Christchurch was Zero to 4 degrees!
Ernie.

[Cliff Rogers]

I you get a copy of Opanda IExif viewer from here, http://www.opanda.com/en/iexif/iexifpro.htm you can look up what settings you used on a digital shot at the time. :2tsup:
Read more about it here. http://www.opanda.com (http://www.opanda.com)

It lets you see lots of info about digital photos.

[prozac]

Thanks Springwater & Ernie47, when we come back from NZ I will post a few photos of the snow, (if we see any, global warming may have melted it all) along with f stops, shutter speeds, compensation etc.

Global warming is a real worry. If you don't get any snow to shoot in NZ, pop into Sydney on the way home. It snowed here last week.

prozac

ps: If you bump into Kevin007 whilst you're out of the country let him know Julia is still doing a good job.