Shooting in the Cold

Resource

Sep 25

Note: This blog post was a school assignment so there may be typos. I wanted to keep it as is.

How to capture colour and emotions

Canadian weather can be quite unpredictable where one moment it can be a beautiful, clear, and bright day to bitterly cold, gloomy and dim the next. The thing is you can get just as beautiful images in the colder seasons of Fall and Winter as you can in Spring and Summer. These following tips can help your images get a boost of colour and emotions.

1. Overcast Days Can Be Your Friend

Sometimes during the day, the actual sunlight can be really harsh and cause some shadows. Overcast days can give pictures certain moods and can make colours stand out more.

2. The Use of Polarizing Filters

Polarizing filters can help with the saturation to bring out colours more. They can also help cut down glare and reflections that can happen without the filter. Be sure to up the aperture because these filters are equivalent to using sunglasses. “The difference that you’ll need to account for is 1-2 stops. It’s for this reason that you won’t want to use a polarizing filter at night,” says Darren Rouse from Digital Photography School.

3. Play Around With White Balance

By reflex, people tend to keep the White Balance to auto but this can be where you can have fun with it. If you try different White Balances that your camera has to offer, it can change the mood and gives you more creative control. “If you set your camera on AWB (Auto White Balance), most cameras want to make the colour neutral,” noted on Image Maven. “The camera doesn’t know what type of light you are shooting in, it just sees orange. So when AWB is active, it tries to correct that “bad” colour, and the result is that the orange gets neutralized, and lost.” So have fun and play!

4. Use the Sun as Back Lighting or Side Lighting

Lighting is always essential when it comes to photography. When using the sun to your advantage, using it as a back lighting or side lighting can help highlight and accentuate colours and make your object stand out more.

5. Make Use of Golden Hour

What is Golden Hour? “The golden hour refers to the period just after sunrise or just before sunset, and its length depends on where you are, what time of year it is, and the weather conditions. The golden hour actually has a definition based on the measurable angle of the sun to the horizon, whereas magic hour is a broader term that sometimes incorporates both the golden hour and the blue hour — another measurable time based on the sun’s angle to the horizon,” defined by Rachel Grozaniak from Digital Trends. Using this method can give you such a warmer and bolder look. Particularly in the fall because it makes the fall colours look more bold. The temperature of the light is a lot lower which is how it makes a rich yellow colour that can’t be replicated by studio or by editing. It also helps when you are taking an image of a person outside. You will be able to have a great lighting on them without them squinting because the lighting at this time is diffused and not harsh on them.