Winter is a superb time to get out with your camera. Misty mornings, buildings drenched in icicles, fields enveloped in snow… these all make for magical photo opportunities. Here are our top 6 tips for making the most of this season!
1. Overexpose snow scenes
If you’re lucky enough to see some snow this winter, a top tip is to overexpose your camera settings slightly to ensure the snow looks a crisp white and not a dingy grey. It’s also highly recommended that you shoot in RAW as this will capture more data in the highlights that you can recover in post-processing.
Try printing images with lots of white areas, such as snow, on a metallic paper like Titanium Gloss 300 for a creative end result. White areas and highlights use less ink, allowing light to reflect off the metallic base for a stunning result.
2. Plan for golden hour or blue hour
There are certain times of the day where the light is more interesting, namely ‘golden hour’ and ‘blue hour’. Golden hour occurs just after sunrise or before sunset, casting a lovely warm glow when the sun is low on the horizon. The lesser known blue hour occurs just before sunrise or after sunset, casting a cooler blue tone. These times of day can work well with winter landscapes, especially snow, as the light adds contrast and colour to an otherwise colourless scene.
3. Look for textures and details
During the winter season there are a plethora of details that can make for fantastic photos. Cracks in ice, frost covered leaves, or icicles on branches can all make interesting macro shots and add extra texture to landscapes.
Ice and water will look great printed on Titanium Gloss 300 as the metallic base and gloss surface will bring these subjects to life.
“The Duffy Archive were seeking a unique paper to launch their David Bowie Limited Edition Silver Print Collection and the PermaJet Titanium Gloss paper was the perfect solution. The luminosity and vibrancy gave our iconic images sharpness while not overpowering the image and we were thrilled with the result.” – Chris Duffy, Duffy Archive
4. Look for bright colours
Winter can be rather dreary and colourless, so keep an eye out for flashes of colour. Focusing on subjects that have vibrant colours will bring life to your images, adding contrast against a washed out background. Contrast in photography is key and can make your images stand out more.
5. Use negative space
Winter landscapes often consist of open, empty spaces with sparse trees and muted colours. Use these to your advantage by framing lone subjects, like trees, with empty space. This will give a subject for the eye to be drawn to whilst creating a feeling of isolation.
6. Keep your camera batteries warm
Cold weather drains battery life much faster, so always take spare camera batteries with you and keep them warm in your pocket. The last thing any photographer wants is to stumble upon a stunning winter scene with a dead camera!
