Photos in snow and ice landscapes: professional tips

Only when the sun is shining does a winter landscape unfold its full splendor. The sky appears bright blue, the snow glitters and colors come into their own. Here's how to take strong photos out of this mood.

Color temperature and choice of motif

• If you miss the typical winter color mood in the sky, you can help later on the computer. Mainly use the color temperature controller in your image editing.
• Another problem is photographs of deserted winter landscapes. In the long run, these seem very boring. For this reason, try to integrate people into the picture. If they move to it - so much the better.

The right exposure for winter photography

White, snow-covered landscapes confuse the automatic exposure of the camera. The paradoxical consequence: your pictures are underexposed, the actually white snow appears gray. The problem arises because the camera perceives the subject as very bright when measuring the exposure. Consequently, exposure is particularly short or the aperture is closed very far. Several approaches lead to better exposed pictures and thus white snow.

• The easiest for comfortable photographers: Use the »Snow« motif program. Ambitious photographers can also use exposure compensation. A recommended setting is +1 aperture.
• You are on the safe side if you shoot a whole series of exposures instead of a photo. Then you can select the best shot at home on the computer. However, this hardly works with moving motifs.
• The best color mood is in the morning, because even in winter the morning hour promises golden tint. So if you get up early, you benefit from soft and harmonious colors and long shadows. After a night full of fresh snow, the early hour also has the advantage that no footprints disturb the majesty of the motif.