Snow (25)

Requirement

Images showing different lighting conditions 

Purpose

To practice adjusting exposure and exploring contrast in snow conditions

Technical learning

• As with beaches, snow scenes are at the extreme end of brightness

As a result, 4 key features

• Shadow fill: powerful fill-in of shadows by reflected light 
• Backgrounds: bright backgrounds so that many of the issues arising when shooting into sunlight, or bright reflected sunlit scenes, apply (see Project 20)
• Contrast: varies between low in overcast, twilight conditions and high in direct sunlight
• Exposure: needs, typically a +1 or +2 stop compensation, for the averaging around neutral grey of reflected light meters, else snow will be rendered a muddy grey colour

Exercise instructions

• Take the opportunity of fresh snowfall and good weather to shoot as many treatments as possible of snow scenes.

Images and review

Fog

Overcast

Partly cloudy

Bright light