THE THINGS I DO…

Living in the part of Virginia that seldom, if ever, sees any significant snowfall, I have been asked by several of my regular photo walkers to give some of my tips for shooting in the snow. What follows are some tips for making better snow pictures and dealing with the effects of cold weather on your gear.

If your photo has more than 3/4 of the image taken up by snow, OVERexpose your image by 1 to 2 f/stops. Use the exposure compensation button if you are shooting in the auto or semi-automatic exposure modes or simply open the lens to let more light in if shooting manual. Even with the modern exposure algorithms, most snow shots made following the camera’s meter will result in gray snow. The compensation I suggest will at least get you in the ball park. Thankfully, digital photography has allowed us to see our images immediately after exposure…allowing any changes to be made on the spot. Keep in mind here that you only need to compensate if you have a lot of snow in your photos. If you’re shooting a tight portrait out in the snow, you probably don’t need to compensate for the snow (the meter isn’t seeing it).

Try not to change lenses if the snow is flurrying around you. For some reason, changing lenses when snow is in the air can attract stray flakes onto your camera’s imaging sensor. Shooting in the cold is difficult enough and the last thing you want is a stray flake coming to rest on your sensor! So, if you do have to change a lens, bend over the camera and use your body to shield it as you make the change.

Keep your batteries warm! Cold batteries are less efficient than warm ones and will not last as long as a set that has been warming in a pocket close to the body. Don’t shoot with cold batteries, they’ll drain faster. Warm them first before inserting in your camera. Carry an extra battery pack and keep it warm in a pocket.

Another exposure tip for those using point-and-shoot cameras: if your camera has an auto setting for beach or snow, use it! That setting will do the exposure compensation I mentioned earlier for you. By the way, sand will give your camera the same exposure challenges as snow…both are bright lighting conditions that need similar exposure adjustments.

When finished with your shooting (and this is more important the longer you’ve been outside in the cold), but your cold camera and lenses into a large plastic ziploc bag BEFORE coming in where it’s warm. This will prevent moisture from collecting on the outside of your camera and potentially shorting out the camera’s electronic innards. The plastic bag will get cold and cause condensation on the outside of the bag instead. When the bag is warm, you can remove your camera.

Speaking as one who has fallen in the snow, don’t take more gear than you really need. A camera body and a couple lenses are easier to protect if you slip on an icy patch.

Take plenty of memory cards with you to keep from running out of storage space when things get interesting.

Rely on your histogram view to guide your exposure (if your camera allows you to view it). Remember, your histogram will tend to have less info in the middle and more on the left side and right since your snow shots will contain a lot of highlights (the snow!) and shadows. Look at a histogram of a well-exposed snow scene and us it as a guide for other similar scenes.

So, keep warm and try my tips the next time you have a chance to go play in the snow!

I’ve found that having a written or  ”shot list” for events is counter-productive to my creativity. That’s right, instead of being a helpful reference, I find it becomes a subconscious shopping list that hinders my creativity. For example, during a recent wedding I photographed, I had already made the “usual” pre-wedding shot of the couple’s rings. It was the standard stuff, sharp, cake in background, nicely composed…but boring. Had I been satisfied with this photo and checked it off my mental shot list, I wouldn’t have been looking for something better that presented itself later, during the reception.

By not checking this shot off that list, I kept looking for a way to improve upon it when the situation above presented itself for a few scant moments. I quickly moved in and snapped the photo above.  I think it’s much more creative and “different” for my clients. I liked it so much that I never showed them the earlier photos. So, be careful when using a shot list. Don’t let it become a checklist that squelches your creative process.

Water. That’s right, a bottle of the wet, clear stuff has saved my bacon on more occasions than I care to mention. Most recently, a well-chilled bottle of water revitalized me in the middle of a marathon wedding shoot on a sweltering, 90-degree Virginia summer day.

Too many shooters get caught up with packing all the photo gear needed for a shoot and completely forget about bringing along the supplies needed to maintain themselves during the event. Weddings have a tendency to last a long time. That means you’ll be working hard without a break for most of your day (at least, if you’re giving the sort of event coverage I’m known for) and that’s a recipe for failure unless you’ve planned ahead. Toss a couple energy/granola bars in your bag and a couple bottles of water into a waterproof bag (and I don’t need to explain WHY a waterproof bag, do I?) for a quick snack and hydration throughout the day.  It’s amazing how invigorating a bite of granola bar and a slug of water can be during a long afternoon of runnin’ and gunnin’…. a refreshing pause that’ll help you to maintain your focus and energy till the bridal party, like Elvis, leaves the building.

With graduation season upon us, it’s a good time to go over some photo tips for shooting these family milestones. If you’re like me, when one rolls around, you are responsible for capturing the moments…and you’d better not fail! Here’s some tips for getting great images from these fairly formal ceremonies…

• First, interrogation. Leave the waterboard behind. But do ask some questions of your graduate after he or she returns from the rehearsal. Most important, find out where they’ll be seated for the ceremony and the route of the processional.
• Next, grab a seat ON THE AISLE on the same side your target is sitting. An aisle seat will allow you to quickly move about without disturbing others. Being on the same side as your graduate will also save you some steps. Leave your camera bag here with your spouse or whoever accompanies you to allow you to move about without looking like a pack mule. If you aren’t allowed to move about (and some schools have a tendency to restrict this sort of thing), you’ll be in a great spot to get the photos that come after.
• Set your color balance, ISO and, in general, have your camera ready. A freshly-formatted memory card is a must.
• Concentrate on the action, not the speeches. Using the intel you gathered earlier, you will have an advantage over all the other mommies and daddies shooting the event. Shoot the processional, looking for your special person. No one will care about how great your photos are of the main speaker…except maybe his mom!
• Wide, medium, tight. The formula for making an interesting series of photos. Shoot a wide angle shot to show the crowd and act as a scene-setter for what’s to follow, then shoot medium shots of the action and zero in on your subject for a couple close-ups. My lens of choice for this is a zoom. It keeps lens-changes to a minimum and allows me to pack only two lenses: my 24-70mm f/2.8 and my 70-200mm f/2.8.
• Inside or out, add a pop of flash to brighten colors and freeze action. Digital images benefit from a pop of flash. It brightens the colors while helping you to stop action. Balance the flash with the background so that your flash is just adding a slight “kick” to the scene. You might want to practice on other folks’ kids before your “money shot” rolls walks across the stage.
• Remember your alphabet. Since every graduation I’ve ever attended marches the grads to their diplomas alphabetically, you have plenty of warning for when your grad will be taking the long walk to the stage. Be ready for it and position yourself in plenty of time to get the diploma hand-off. I usually spring into action when they start calling names a couple letters ahead of those I’m photographing.
• Get low and watch your line of sight. After you’ve found the spot where you want to shoot from, bend your knees and get down low. You do this for two reasons: you won’t be blocking the view of others and you’ll be able to use the sky or the ceiling as your background and not a distracting crowd of other graduates. I like to shoot at f/5.6 or wider to further blur my background…watch your focus point, though.
• Get the important shot but look for something better. Sure, the shot of the headmaster handing over the goodies is important, but don’t get so hung up on getting that shot that you miss better opportunities. A great expression is more important in the larger sceme of things.
• Don’t put the camera down after the ceremony! This is the time when the most memorable moments happen. Caps get thrown in the air, hugs are exchanged and the real memories happen. Slap your wide-angle lens on the camera and blaze away. Why a wide-angle? It forces you to get close to your subjects while making it harder for someone to walk in front of you. Believe me, the latter reason alone is reason enough!
• And finally, don’t wait to post and share your work… crank it out as soon as you can. Post your photos, e-mail your photos, print your photos to share these moments with friends and family. After all, that’s what’s most important!

Planning to be out and about for a day of shooting? Unless you’re doing this in the Sahara, plan for rain. Nothing ruins a day quicker than a sudden downpour. Rain and digital cameras don’t mix. Where film cameras could shrug off a shower with little, if any, negative consequences, the electronics in today’s digital cameras will short out when exposed to moisture. 

So, to preserve your investment, keep your camera DRY!

There are a lot of protective rain covers on the market that cost hundreds of dollars. My solution is a bit cheaper. I use a plastic trash bag! 

Don’t get me wrong, those expensive camera rain coats are worth the money when you have to shoot an event in bad weather. What I’m talking about here is bringing along a kitchen trash bag to throw over your gear if you’re caught outdoors and exposed to the elements. 

It’s cheap insurance that takes up little space in your bag and weighs, well, nothing. I squeeze my “emergency” cover in a pocket on the inside of my backpack. The trash bag is so inconspicuous that I forget I’m carrying it… unless it starts to rain!