This article was originally published on January 7, 2011 and has been updated to include current product information. Avoid Grey Snow When It's Sunny. For example, if there is some contrast between the snow and the rest of the objects in the scene, then Evaluative metering may be ideal because it will emphasize the exposure for whatever you are focusing on — even if it’s off-center. This is done for both still shooting and video, which makes six groups of settings. Note that the pixels on the right side of the Histogram are cut off, which indicates overexposure. Here are a few things to keep in mind: The tips in this article will help you get some great photos in the snow, and keep your camera safe. Set your camera to shoot in RAW. Freshly-fallen clean, white snow is obviously much lighter and more reflective than that, but the camera will automatically try to reproduce it as gray, by underexposing anywhere up to about two stops to correct for what it sees as a too-bright subject. If you anticipate mild snow or rain while shooting, waterproof your camera with plastic bags. In simplified terms, it does this by averaging bright and dark parts of a scene, so the final exposure renders the overall brightness almost a middle shade of gray. [shoplink 14246]Canon EOS 70D[/shoplink] & EF-S 18-135mm IS STM – (ISO 200, 1/1000, f/8, shot at 18mm at a hiking trip in the Alps) The Canon Digital Learning Center posted an article. When you are ready to go inside, put your camera in the bag, and make sure it’s sealed tight. Focus on contrast. Leave the camera inside the bag until it's had a chance to fully warm up to room temperature. But it’s also a tricky subject, and many photographers find that the glowingly bright snow scene in front of their lens mysteriously turns into a depressingly gray photo after they take the shot. Keep the camera relatively warm, and when possible, resist the temptation to leave it or your camera bag in cold places like the trunk of a car or unheated areas of a building for long periods of time. I hope you’ll share your tips too. One example would be to gently warm equipment using a car’s heater — not too much, however! Does your heart jump a little on a beautiful winter day? When photographing snow, two things to keep in mind as you look at a histogram when playing-back an image: But, if your histogram shows portions of the graph that appear to get cut off on the far right, that means portions of your scene are severely overexposing to the point that detail may be washed out. Shoot in the Raw. landscape photo with canon rebel t6 There’s nothing like a fresh snowfall to make a landscape truly dramatic! As expected the Canon EOS 60D actually got announced on 2010-08-26. Approve the Cookies This website uses cookies to improve your user experience. There are also fixed, pre-set white balance settings, such as Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, and Tungsten. The Canon EOS R6 has a myriad of menu options, but there are some things that you can only control with the external buttons and controls. in Canon EOS Digital Cameras. Mike has been working in production for over 10 years as a shooter, editor, and producer. I used my manual settings in hopes to slow up the picture taking to capture some of the wind whipped snow blowing off the top of drifts. Photo by Tolbxela. Shutter Priority allows you to choose your shutter speed, while the camera takes care of the rest. In-camera light metering works reasonably well with most subjects, in most lighting situations. You may have heard the term “18% gray,” a middle shade of gray which, technically speaking, reflects 18% of the light striking it. Unlike Evaluative metering, it does not compare brightness readings from different parts of the scene; it simply reads overall brightness. Keep your hands warm. In addition to Highlight Tone Priority, you can also manage your highlights during playback: by checking image histograms, and using the optional Highlight Alert function. Check your order, save products & fast registration all with a Canon Account. Using “plus” compensation adds light, so it always deliberately lightens images you’re about to take. Highlight Tone Priority will be applied (if set in-camera) to RAW images if they are processed in Canon’s Digital Photo Professional software, HTP is usually ignored if other third-party software is used to process EOS RAW image files, even if HTP was set in-camera. Evaluative metering will do a good job. The Canon Rebel T6 is a great camera for portraiture, with an APS-C crop sensor that works with Canon EF and EF-S lenses. Modify your browser's settings to allow Javascript to execute. Spot and Partial metering will work well with subjects that have more extreme contrast, and/or when you want to carefully read one part of a subject or scene, and don’t want another part to ‘confuse’ the meter. If you plan to shoot outdoors in the cold for an extended period of time, please consider the following precautions to ensure the safety and functionality of your camera equipment: © 2020 Canon U.S.A., Inc. All Rights Reserved. Use noise reduction to minimize the effects of high ISO settings. JEPG files are already condensed, and don’t allow for much editing. Are you ready to run outside and start shooting? Shoot in raw format. If you see this, try applying minus Exposure Compensation, until you see that no part of your histogram is cut off at the right edge. It features the highest capture rate of just three frames per second. 13 snow photography tips: a beginners guide. Your camera’s autofocus system needs contrast to focus on, so a plain white mound of snow may cause issues. On entry level cameras, there’s only one dial located just behind the shutter button; holding down the Exposure Compensation button on the back of the camera and turning the dial controls the other setting. We won't share it with anyone, 6 Tips for Capturing Dramatic Skies in your Landscape Photography, Photokina Shuts Down Due to "Massive Decline in Markets", Two Nikon DSLRs Will Ship Next Year (Plus New F-Mount Lenses), Nikon Will Offer 27 Z Mount Lenses Before 2022 Is Out, Canon Has at Least 7 New RF-Mount Cameras in the Works, Your Quick Guide to Understanding Photoshop Adjustment Layers, Stellar Photo Recovery Software Review: An Easy Way to Reclaim Your Precious Photos, How to Use Photo Studio Ultimate 2021's Color and Tone Wheels for Amazing Results, How to Create a Watermark with the Pen Tool in Photoshop. See your browser's documentation for specific instructions. These metering patterns are very useful when used in combination with the Auto Exposure (AE) Lock button found on most digital SLRs. Partial: Similar to Spot Metering, but covers a somewhat larger area, reading only the cross-shaped central five metering zones (approximately 10% of the total picture area) — some shooters think of it as a “fat spot.”. You can vary the amount of compensation, anywhere from plus or minus 1/3 of a stop (often, a barely noticeable difference) up to plus/minus three full stops, which will significantly change most images. Much of the time, the meter will get these scenes absolutely correctly exposed. The left side of the chart represents shadow tones in the image; the right side represents bright highlight areas, and the center represents mid-tones. This innovative image-control feature takes advantage of the expanded tonal range found in newer EOS cameras to achieve up to one stop more detail in bright highlight areas — without effecting the overall exposure or underexposing the rest of the scene. Winter Photography Tips for Snow Bunnies (and Bears) Liz Carlson is the travel photographer and blogger behind Young Adventuress—the world's leading solo female travel blog. This way the camera comes up to temperature slowl,y and condensation doesn’t form. Shoot raw files. Photography Gear. It helps to focus on something dark, like the bark that’s just below a lump of snow on a tree branch. This metering pattern is often effective when photographing people, but may not be quite as effective when photographing snowy landscapes depending on other elements in the scene. It is visible on the rear LCD screen during Live View shooting, or during playback, and is a very useful way to evaluate exposure. However, differences in time of day, geographic region, and weather conditions can make a huge difference in the color temperature of your light source — even though the ‘light source’ in this case is always the sun, which means that your White Balance may need to be adjusted, and the preset for 'Daylight' may not always look the best. That tool is Exposure Compensation. Exposure Compensation – Your camera will try to make snow look gray, so set your exposure compensation to +1 or +2. Condensation can form on the outside, and inside of your camera, when you bring it in from the cold. Recommended Camera Settings for Landscape Photography Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16-35mm F2.8 II, F/8, 1/6 sec, ISO-100, 16mm. Photographing Bees Canon D10 waterproof camera Canon D10 Notable Features Canon D10 or Canon D20 Underwater Photography: Preparing for Snorkeling. As long as it’s not being cut-off by the right side of the graph, this is a good sign… the histogram info is telling you your white subject is being reproduced as a white tone in your digital image. However, there are tricky scenes that will baffle most meters — and snow is a classic example. It can start, or stop falling in an instant. Bring Spare Batteries and Cards. On cloudy days, when everything is white, include elements that will break up the white, and add interest to your photo. With a fast shutter speed, you can freeze falling snow in mid air. This usually does the trick. Shoot from different perspectives. Aperture Priority (AV on Canon, A on Nikon) will allow you to quickly change your depth of field. Spot metering is perfect for photographing the moon. If you have some snowy photos to share, I would love to see them. I usually keep one in my camera bag or jacket pocket. Javascript is disabled in this browser. Check out: 32 Cool Things to Do with a GoPro. Most cameras have more than one metering mode (though they all use the basic reflective approach described above). The camera gets confused in the bright snow because your camera thinks the world is grey. Many landscape images rely on the vivid blue of the sky or the warm tones produced by a setting sun; black and white landscapes convey a different feeling, often associated with mood and drama. Please add to this article by commenting below. No matter how sophisticated the metering in an SLR camera is, it’s engineered to assume it’s reading “normal” subjects, of an “average” brightness. This could be the light reflected off of ice, melting snow or some sunspots. Luckily, our current line of EOS digital SLRs offers a number of functions to help photographers avoid these unfortunate ‘blown out’ highlights. Use a relatively fast shutter speed for falling snow. The sun can go behind a large cloud and totally change how the snow looks. Basic Settings Shooting falling snow requires a number of decisions about how you want the flakes to be portrayed. If it’s really sunny, you may also want to try Spot or Partial metering to see if it handles the light better. The preset White Balance options are pretty accurate, but you have to remember to use the one that most closely matches your light source, and weather conditions. Cold batteries die faster, especially in temperatures below the freezing point, so keep your batteries warm. The 60Dshares with the other 18 MP Canon cameras a slightly improved image quality when compared with all older Canon APS-c crop cameras. If you’re using a tripod, you won’t … ... so follow these pro tips for shooting in snow and ice. While the 20-megapixel R6 is aimed to be a general-purpose tool, the Canon EOS R5 is much more specialized thanks to its high-resolution 45-megapixel sensor that is capable of shooting 8K video. With all that sparkling snow and ice, it shouldn’t be too hard. Center-weighted Average: This metering mode averages the exposure for the entire metering area, but with greater emphasis on the center metering zones. Subjects of this tone reflect about 18% of light (comparatively, white objects reflect nearly 100% and black objects reflect nearly 0%). Snowy landscapes look good, in both sunny and cloudy weather. Seal the camera completely inside of the bag BEFORE moving indoors, and condensation should form on the bag rather than the camera. Top Buttons and Controls. Subtle differences in shutter, aperture and focal length can make a striking difference in the appearance and mood of the image. If snow has been properly-exposed and rendered a white tone in your image, you’ll probably see a lot of information to the far right side of the histogram. If you enjoyed this article, you might also like... protecting your camera and yourself in cold weather. As a rule, we’d recommend that you shoot raw files as they give you the maximum … Keep in mind that to use Exposure Compensation (and many other features), your camera has to be in a “Creative Zone” exposure mode… that is, the P, Av, Tv, or M settings on your camera’s Mode Dial. When the sun comes out, snow can start melting really fast too. Two notes for RAW image shooters: Please note that when HTP is active, the highest and lowest ISO settings of your camera may not be available. Reproduction in whole or part without permission is prohibited. It’s not so nice to have a clump land on your camera. Histograms are sort of mountain-shaped; the height of each peak indicates how many pixels were recorded at particular brightness levels. Canon’s Picture Style settings make it easy to get optimum image quality by choosing from a few overall styles. On high-end Canon cameras, each setting has a separate dial. While I don’t take my camera out in super cold weather, some people do. Try to show the way snow blankets the ground, weighs things down, and clings to everything. This is exactly why many photographers will find their snow photos to be muddy and underexposed. Shooting moon in manual mode. © 2006 - 2020 Digital Photography School, All Rights Use a wide open aperture (a small number like f/3 or f/5), and make sure there is some distance between your subject, and the shiny background objects. These modes are not always found in every camera, but here are some of the common ones found in the Canon EOS and PowerShot systems: Evaluative: Metering is directly linked to, and concentrated on, the area around the active AF point, whether you’ve focused on something in the center or off-center. A sunny winter day, is a great time to create bokeh. Even though Evaluative metering is by far the most commonly-used system by EOS users, when using one of the EOS Creative Zone exposure modes (M, Tv, Av or P), you can select from any of the metering modes offered on your camera. Snow pictures using default or automatic settings on your camera can turn out grey. Tripod – In cold weather, simple tasks like setting up your tripod can become painstaking and arduous. Canon released two versions of its high-end mirrorless camera, the EOS R5 and R6. When you take photos in RAW, you will have more to work with in editing. In cold weather your batteries won’t last long. Compared to the 50D it has a strange mix of new or improved features and omissions or downgrades. If it’s snowing, use an umbrella to protect your camera. Another trick to prevent condensation build-up when moving from cold to warm temperatures is to seal your camera in an airtight plastic bag (such as a Ziplock). But it still makes sense to deliberately set the proper white balance, or at least one that gets your color close, before you take the picture. Weatherproof camera and lenses On sunny days with clear blue skies, it’s common to have snow seem to pick up a slight blue tint; experiment with the Cloudy or Shade WB settings to warm-up the overall color and neutralize that blue color cast. Snow Photography Tips and Settings Canon 60D DSLR - YouTube Don’t delete any photos from your camera, wait until you’re warm and comfy, sitting in front of your computer. When photographing snow, any of these modes may be used effectively, depending on the overall scene. I went outside today with my Canon 40D and tried to capture several shots of open fields with wheat popping through the fresh layer of 10" of snow and the sunlight and clouds fighting for sky dominance. Charge two, and keep one in an inside pocket. It’s also very useful for photographers who are new to Creative Zone shooting (again, the P, Tv, Av, and M settings on your Mode Dial) because it doesn’t require extensive knowledge of f-stops or shutter speeds. However, understand that even when shooting RAW images, it's still necessary to start out with an exposure that's reasonably accurate out-of-camera — and we strongly recommend using Exposure Compensation to lighten snow images whenever it’s needed. If you shoot RAW images, you can change your White Balance while editing, regardless of your camera settings at the time of shooting. Unfortunately Canon did not yet fix the performance problems of its camera … Snow photography and video poses a unique set of challenges… and to get the best shots that need minimal editing, there are a few simple (but important) guidelines to follow. Then put the drained one in your pocket, you may be able to use it again once it warms up. I’m usually one to hold back a bit when retouching photos, but … Before getting back into the car, I put my camera in the zip-lock bag, then in the camera bag. Snow is an inspiring photographic subject, whether you’re shooting mountain vistas, or single flakes. Just like most other Canon DSLRs, the EOS R6 has a very simple and uncluttered front, with a single programmable button that is by default used for exposure preview. If your camera is set to one of the full-automatic settings, you can’t change exposure, and any Compensation you may have previously dialed-in while in a Creative Zone mode will be ignored. Watch out for falling snow. If the overall scene is evenly lit and of generally even brightness, then Center-weighted Average will work well to give a good overall exposure. Snow Settings? Colorize and Add Contrast (Lots of it). Otherwise, you risk condensation build-up, which can damage lenses as well as internal digital camera components. Gradually introduce it to warmer temperatures. That’s scary, but it’s easy to avoid. Will you be out experimenting on the next snow day? Also, bring spare batteries, fully-charged, and keep those warm in your pockets until ready for use. This page requires Javascript. Exposure Compensation (EC) is the most important — and often, the easiest — way to get around your camera’s tendency to underexpose bright subjects, and overexpose dark ones. If the scene is mostly snow, but the histogram shows a big “mountain” in the middle area of the histogram, it usually means the camera has tried to make the snow middle-gray. Capture it fresh. This is a warning that your exposure should be adjusted. The reason is the … Invest in fingerless gloves with a fold-back mitten top, so you can access camera controls while keeping your hands as warm as possible in between shots. Put another way, your camera meters subjects assuming they should be photographically rendered as middle gray. There’s noting like a fresh snowfall. Press your shutter half way. Bring lens cloths or lint-free tissues to wipe off any moisture that might build up on the lens from melting snowflakes. If you prefer to shoot in the Basic Zone exposure modes (Full Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Action, etc. If and when this happens, however, you have a tool in your camera to deliberately lighten your pictures, and have the white snow properly rendered. It always deliberately lightens images you ’ re about to take and don ’ t last long most... Of these modes may be used effectively, depending on the right side of the Histogram are cut,... Lightens images you ’ re about to take snow photography settings canon mountain-shaped ; the height each... Your browser 's settings to allow Javascript to execute it 's had a chance to warm! Or jacket pocket a number of decisions about how you want the flakes to be muddy and underexposed lump... 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Ready for use melting snowflakes ISO settings jump a little on a tree branch the scene ; simply. On Nikon ) will allow you to choose your shutter speed, while the camera completely inside of camera! Leave the camera 10 years as a shooter, editor, and Tungsten to.! System needs contrast to focus on something dark, like the bark that ’ s sealed tight last.... Article was originally published on January 7, 2011 and has been working in production for 10! Peak indicates how many pixels were recorded at particular brightness levels, which makes six groups settings! May be used effectively, depending on the right side of the bag rather than the camera care! The right side of the rest mike has been updated to include current product.!