Winter is a cold and dark season for many ways people it could be defined as not ideal for shooting landscapes. The hours of light are few and especially in the mountains it could be very cold.
Nevertheless it is one of my favorite seasons to capture photos, some winter colors are unique in their kind and the mountain landscapes are filled with snow and ice that helps framing different compositions
Photographing winter is more challenging than other seasons it needs extra protection for the camera and it need more time to plan your shots. In this article we will see 10 tips for better winter landscapes that will help you to capture beautiful images
1 Use a Cold White Balance
For all those who shoot in raw the white balance can be easily adjusted in post processing, but if you have the possibility to set a cold white balance on your camera at the time of you’re shooting it, can help give a greater winter atmosphere to your images
It is above all the sense of having high-performance and expensive cameras, if you have the possibility, it is better to do these steps before shooting
2 Look at Forecast
It is not uncommon to find winter days characterized by a dense gray sky and not very interesting. Checking the weather often helps you not miss the opportunity to take the winter photo you imagined
Not only sunny days are interesting for winter, weather is changing very often during this season and few thing are more beautiful than a snowy landscapes
3 Overexpose your Shots
Usually overexposing a bit your images it’s a good tip for every kind of landscapes shots. Likewise overexpose winter landscapes is the key to capture beautiful images and looks the key method to deal with clear white sky
Be aware on the histogram when you do overexpose your shots and keep attention to clipping highlights. On the subject I suggest you to read the article how to read histogram for better photography exposure
4 Bring Extra Batteries
Carrying spare batteries it is one of the most useful tips during the winter season, especially when shooting landscapes in cold or very cold temperatures
Shooting in cold weather can reduce battery life dramatically. An extra tip is also to keep batteries near to you (for example in your pocket to keep them warm) and limit the use of live view which contributes to shortening battery life
5 More Shooting Opportunities
Contrary to what happens at other seasons of the year where most of the shots are concentrated during the golden/ blue hour in winter photography there are more shooting opportunities
During the winter season there are more changes to take interesting photographs also during other times of the day, sun is setting early compared to other seasons, sunset comes much earlier and it is easier to capture softer lights at other times of the day
Even during midday or with a blue sky light can result more interesting when you’re in a winter wonderland
6 Add Textures to the Foreground
Winter offers great opportunities to include in your images composition with great and unique foregrounds. The snow itself it’s only a valid composition element but there are many other elements that helps compositions
You can use cracked ice, frozen lakes, patterns into the ice or rocks this is yet another reason why it’s important to slow down and look your surroundings before you begin photographing winter, you will impressed by what you will find!
7 Watch your Steps
In photography composition, an important point is not to include too many distracting elements for the photo viewer. When we are photographing the snow (especially the fresh one) leaving footprints in the direction of our composition can be a very disturbing element
For this reason it is very helpful to take a good look around before taking steps on the snow and avoid leaving footprints in the direction of our shots. This simple notice allows you to avoid a lot of waste of time in post processing
8 Look for Contrasts
During winter the colors of landscapes are frequently dominated by white and often in the absence of dominant compositions the image can be flat and lack of contrast
For this reason, adding elements of strong contrast with white can help make our photos better
Some examples can be
- Dark trunks
- Rocks
- An animal
- A house
Simply composing your image adding one of these elements will make your photo more attractive to the viewer and strenghten your composition
9 Look for Colors
Same thing we wrote above for the contrasts also applies to the colors. In a snowy landscape dominated by white tones, a touch of color helps to improve the photographic composition and obtain a more interesting image.
Some examples can be
- A person with a colored jacket
- A colored building
- Isolated colored trees
10 Add Details
Images can appear flat and uninteresting when there’s nothing standing out in the foreground and the majority of the image is white. Adding details by zooming into a subject can help give more depth to our image and make details more visibles
Getting closer to the subject will add depth and instantly make the image more visually appealing, it also helps to find new interesting photographic compositions
Bonus Tip: Keep your Hands Warm
Spending a long time outdoors taking pictures can be really difficult if you don’t cover yourself properly. The cold can turn into a strumbling block to your shot and your outdoor projects
For this reason, as a bonus tip I suggest you equip yourself with professional equipment also in clothing and I suggest you use gloves that allow you to keep your hands warm and dry and at the same time allow you to interact with your equipment easily. About this I am a big user of The Heat Company gloves, leaders in the winter gloves sector for photographers who shoot in all these circumstances
I also like their warming pads that are a real godsend. I often use those for my feets, very useful when you spend hours with boots on the ice 🙂
Conclusion
Winter is a great season for landscape photographers who are willing to brave the cold and snow. It’s time to capture landscapes details during this season like no others can do
The most important advice is to have fun and don’t stress about too much technicalities, let surroundings embrace you with the winter atmosphere and get inspired
Remember this tip for your winter photography, as always I hope you will find this usefull. Let me know in the comments below your winter favourite advice
