I heard that it is starting to snow in the north.
The editor is very empathetic and sends you tips for shooting snow scenes.
Of course, the snow is beautiful, but it is not so easy to photograph, and many times, other people's snow scenes are like this:
And the snow scene you photographed looks like this:
Well, actually, it's not that you take pictures at the wrong time, or the quality of your phone, it's mainly a technical problem when you shoot like this.
Whether it's good to shoot snow or not, it really has little to do with the camera, good snow scenes, good technology, and shooting with a mobile phone will look just as good.
Let's talk about some easy-to-use techniques for shooting snow scenes, maybe the snow is already falling, so you have to hurry~
1
Accurate exposure is more important than anything else!
Most phones or cameras capture gray snow scenes with default settings, just like in the image above.
That's when we have to increase our exposure. With the default parameters, the snow scene we shot looks like this:
If we force two stops of exposure, the image will look like this:
If it's a camera, then there will usually be this button (the one in the red circle), hold it, and move the scroll wheel next to the shutter to the right, and the scale under the AV will run to the right 1, 2, and 3, which is to add exposure, generally speaking, you need to add 1 to 2 stops to shoot snow scenes:
Most smart camera phones,You can also forcibly add or subtract exposure,Long press and hold on to a certain point in the picture,A yellow frame will appear,There is a small sun logo below,Press the small sun,Push up and down or left and right,You can add or subtract exposure (depending on whether you shoot horizontally or vertically, push up and down or push left and right):
It's so hard to take a screenshot of this picture, but fortunately, my eyes are quick, and everyone remembers to like it.
As for why it is necessary to increase exposure when shooting snow scenes, the characteristic of snow is that after the ground is tiled, it will produce a kind of mirror reflection, resulting in the characteristics of the snow surface: large brightness, small contrast, high reflectivity, lack of layers, and single tone. The brightness of the snowy part of the scene is high, while the snowless part is dark, which makes the contrast between the parts great. Most digital cameras measure the light from the reflection of the scene, so if you measure the snow directly, the image will be dark, and you will have to compensate for the exposure to get a normal exposure.
Well, I don't think you're much interested in understanding this paragraph, so I won't expand on it~
2
The issue of using light is also very important!
When shooting snow scenes, it is generally not advisable to use smooth light, because it may cause the picture to be too bright, resulting in dazzling scenery and unclear layering. Generally, side light and backlight should be used for shooting snow scenes, which can better express the light and dark layers and transparent texture of the scene to be photographed, and the tone of the whole picture will also appear rich in changes.
The snowy village photographed by the side backlight will be very layered in the white expanse
In the part of the roof shot under the side light, the snow has light and shadow, which is very textured
The low-angle sidelight of the sun's downset turns the withered grass golden yellow
3
If you know how to use white balance, you are a professional photographer
White balance affects the color of the snow, if the snow is shown as pure white, the shadows will definitely be blue, if the default white balance settings are used, the shadows will be gray, the snow will definitely be yellowish, so the correct exposure should look like this:
In addition, there are some strange peripherals for shooting snow scenes, such as the polarizer (PL lens), which is a special auxiliary filter when shooting snow and ice. It can effectively eliminate reflections and enhance the absorption of blue-violet light without affecting other colors. In this way, in clear weather, the blue sky and snow will perform very well.
The yellow filter can absorb cyan, blue, violet and other colors through yellow, orange, red and other colored light, and is used to filter out excessive blue light.
Well, I know you're all proficient in beauty and phone color grading techniques, and that's all for me.
4
Shooting tips for drifting snow
Generally speaking, when the shutter speed is more than 1/60 second, the snowflakes will solidify into white dots, and when the shutter speed is 1/15 second ~ 1/60 second, you can shoot the flow of snowflakes blown by the wind, and the flying snowflakes can form lines, the slower the shutter speed, the longer the lines, and the tripod should be used to avoid blurring other scenes in the picture.
If you only have a mobile phone, if it is a smartphone that costs more than 1,000 yuan, then in the general photo mode, there will be a "professional mode", in which you can manually adjust the shutter speed.
(Don't tell me, you've never used that pro mode)
The shutter speed is 1/320 of a second, and the snowflakes are solidified into small dots by the high-speed shutter
In the same scene, the shutter speed is 1/60th of a second, and the snowflakes are stretched into a short line by the slightly slower shutter speed
When representing snowflakes, it is not difficult to find dark backgrounds that reflect the snowflakes' falling tracks, such as buildings, fences, woods, and dark mountains in the distance (before the snow completely covers the ground...... In conclusion, it is best to have a dark background perpendicular to the ground. In addition, in order to highlight the effect of snow drifting, you can choose a day when there is heavy snow or when the snow is at its highest.
5
Blind the snow with a flash
Sometimes when the snow is very heavy, you can also use the method of forcibly using the flash, under the magnification effect of the flash, the snowflakes will become more obvious and prominent, sometimes there will be an amazing effect, the picture is very live, and it is also a good way to express the heavy snow.
If you shoot with a mobile phone, you can also force the flash on, and you can also shoot such an effect.
(Don't tell me, you've never forced the flash on your phone)
Arshan railway station at night, heavy snowfall. Focal length 35mm, aperture F6.3, shutter speed 1/6 sec., ISO 2200, metering on the roof of a railway station, 1 stop of exposure reduction, forced flash, handheld, one-time imaging.
Of course, to get this effect, sometimes it is necessary to try repeatedly, because the density of snowflakes falling is uncontrollable, and often you can only try your luck, and the huge reflective snowflakes close to the camera cannot block the main details of the main building, otherwise it will affect the picture effect.
In order to take this photo, I flashed my flash for more than two hours in the snowy sky at minus 20 degrees Celsius, and I was almost buried as a snowman...
When shooting close-ups of people in the snow, you can choose to do it on a cloudy day, which can ensure that the characters are exposed correctly and the snow is not overly heavy, and when you include the snowflakes flying all over the sky, along with the snowflakes on the brim, hair, eyelashes, beard and shoulders of the characters, it will be helpful to enhance the character's personality. And the photos of women taken on such a snowy day add a bit of romance, elegance, tranquility and solemnity. Therefore, many girls like to use snow to set off their image, and at the same time, they also use it to borrow their own character (you are so icy ~~).
I rarely photograph beautiful women, so use this photo of a horse's face to demonstrate...
6
The ink painting effect is too simple
When the snow has just fallen and everything has not been completely covered, this time the shooting becomes very interesting, especially when shooting in the field, the rocks on the mountains and the quietly flowing rivers, due to the uneven position and surface, often form a kaleidoscopic composition, and it is very simple to shoot scenery works rich in ink landscape painting style.
Tien Shan Highway in July
Hailar in December
Songhua River, Heilongjiang
7
Minimalist style?
Due to the snow cover, ordinary scenes also look strange and fresh, so we can use this feature to carefully observe and photograph those ordinary and common small objects or corners, due to the strengthening of the contrast of snow, presenting another flavor, which will make people feel visually novel and have an endless aftertaste.
呼伦湖
Hulunbuir Prairie
Arshan
Tien Shan Ranch
Many of the usual colors tend to be bright and lovely under the white snow, and you can take beautiful color combinations.
Root River Wetlands
Early morning in Arshan
Arshan is not frozen springs
8
It's foggy, the sun is going down, don't rush home and make a fire
When it snows, it is often accompanied by clouds, fog and high winds, and if you take advantage of these extreme conditions, you can often create smart and elegant works, so be careful to observe and seize the opportunity when shooting, because these climatic landscapes often change very quickly.
Dense fog in the snow at the foot of the Tien Shan Mountains
If the snow is sunny at the beginning, it is also a good time to shoot snow scenes, at this time, due to the low angle of the sun's color temperature, encountering the high color temperature of the snow, often change the wonderful colors, at this time to strictly control the white balance, usually at this time the light is not too bright, tripod is essential.
Sunrise in Manchuria
Sunset over the Songhua River
The remnant sun of Hailar
Dusk in the snowy country
8
Passerby A in the snow is waiting for you
Due to the brightness of the snow, we can easily process the characters in the snow into silhouette effects, we should first set the composition, fully predict the movement of the characters in the environment, wait patiently, and press the shutter decisively.
In the northeast, the frozen Songhua River
9
Precautions for snow shooting
The most important thing: battery, battery, battery, important thing to say three times.
The low temperature makes the battery drain very quickly. If a battery is half charged at minus 20 degrees Celsius, it will drain immediately at minus 5 degrees Celsius. Generally, a DSLR battery, which can shoot 1,000 shots, can only shoot 30 shots at minus 30 degrees.
When not shooting, it is best to remove the battery from the body and put it in a cotton pocket, which can also effectively extend the battery life. Of course, it is also necessary to prepare more batteries.
Generally, when shooting outdoors in the snow, when the battery is empty, I will stuff it into my underwear and warm it with meat, eh, that sour~
In winter, the temperature is low and the air is very humid, so it is necessary to carry out simple cold and moisture protection treatments, such as simply wrapping them in a plastic bag. When you are not shooting, you can put the camera in your clothes, which can achieve the effect of heat preservation.
In addition, when the camera is taken from a cold place to a warmer place, moisture condensation is easy to occur, you can first put the camera in a plastic bag, and then seal it, and then remove the plastic bag when the temperature of the air in the bag reaches the ambient temperature, so that you can effectively prevent the occurrence of moisture condensation.
If you're shooting with a viewfinder, you'll have a problem in the cold winter months: the moisture you exhale makes the body hazy, and sometimes even the lens is "polluted" by your moisture, so it's best to carry a soft cloth with you to clean the camera at all times, and it's best to wear a mask or exhale slowly while shooting, and if the shooting time is short, then you can also hold your breath for a while.
Finally, I will share a group of snow scenes taken in Heilongjiang in winter for everyone to criticize:
Let's talk about your snow memories~
Coming from: Kobayashi
Editor丨Zheng Wei