Advise on shooting snowy landscapes...

[martial76]

So, here is the deal... Weather forcast is calling for the possibility of snow in las vegas this comming Monday! I was born and raised in vegas and in my 32 years here I have only seen snow stick on the ground a hand full of times. Red rock covered in snow is a truely beautiful sight! This will be the first time that I have a dslr to capture this rare treat!

So, please... Please... All you cold weather folk.... Give me some tips! I am imagining that shooting red rock landscape shots in snow will be MUCH different than what I'm used to! What kind of metering do you guys reccomend for this? Avg? Center? Should I meter for the brightest spot?? I'm clueless here... Please help, if I don't get some good shots this time around, I will probably have to wait another 4 or 5 years to get another chance :-(

Thanks to all in advance!
J

[BigStig]

I'm a noob but here is what I have been dooing
just left it in evaluateive meetering and I have metered from from different points for a given subject
first few shots I will just line up on AV mode with the app I want and let the camera do the rest then I will over expose up to 1 stop to get the snow a whiter colour.
I then do a few shots by metering on the snow only then re compose for the shot and take a pic. then I sometimes overexpose again.
Also try a few diferrent white balance seetings either sunny or cludy usually for me. and if you are ccomforatble shoot in Raw plus Jpeg then you can tweek some back on the pc after in PP.
Just remeber I think you will after over expose to get the snow to look white.

Good luck mate Cheers

[martial76]

Thanks... I will keep all that in mind! Another question... Polarizing filter to reduce glare... Yes or no?

[Duff]

When you meter snow, the meter will overcompensate. Find something neutral to meter... or shoot in manual mode and watch the histogram.

As for the filter, it only gives good results when the light is perpendicular to the shot and you CAN over do it. Since you are shooting snow, I would be more concerned about blowing out the whites than anything else. You should be fine without it, but it really depends on what you are after. If you choose to use the filter, you can get some VERY dark skies if you like. One thing the filter may help with is glare form the snow. I don't have a lot of experience with this, but I can see how it may cut unwanted reflection.

[argyle]

In snow scenes that are fairly bright, meter the scene as you normally would, then adjust your exposure compensation dial to add in about 1 to 1.5 stops more light...this will ensure that your snow is white while still showing some of the texture. Too much EC, and the snow becomes too bright and loses its texture; not enough EC and you'll end up with snow in some shade of gray. That's about all you need to do (bracket your shots also).

[jbdavies]

What about using a ND filter? How would that work, or would it work at all? I'm headed up to take pictures of the snow this Friday. :D