Top Tips For Taking Excellent Winter Photographs
Winter is one of the most fascinating times in the hunting season, with November and December being in the middle or near the end of the annual hunting season.
Because of this, many hunters will take to the grounds and fields to make the most of the season, leading to many opportunities for dynamic and impressive winter hunting photography.
Winter, particularly the often wet and chilly British winters many hunters feel right at home in, can provide a few challenges for the avid photographer, but by following these top tips, you can take some truly excellent, memorable pictures.
Watch Your Exposure
Most cameras that measure levels of exposure are calibrated to base their levels on grey or relatively neutral colours, given that the vast majority of photography will be taken on darker backdrops.
During winter, however, snowfall can trick the camera’s exposure settings, overcompensating and leading to dull, grey landscapes as opposed to a winter wonderland.
Adding positive compensation can fix this issue, as can using manual exposure settings and experimenting before taking the needed shots.
Use Manual Focus In Low Contrast Areas
When the snow is falling, as well as in fog and overcast settings, a camera may struggle to automatically focus, struggling to find a particular target and loudly adjusting itself repeatedly.
This is a very common source of blurry images where a single snowflake is in focus, and is a perfectly normal occurrence. Fixing it is a matter of relying on manual focus for the needed shot, getting a level of sharpness you like.
Experiment With Shutter Speed
When it comes to shutter speed during snowfall or heavy rain, there are no right or wrong answers necessarily, because the results at both extremes are not ideal if you want to convey the weather.
A slow speed will lead to blurry streaks of white snowflakes, whilst a fast shutter speed will stop the motion entirely, rendering the snow as a series of white dots. Both are beautiful in their own way, so experimentation will help you find the right result.
