What to consider when photographing in winter and snow!
Happy New Year!
I am sure I am not the only one to hope 2023 is the year of open borders, travel, family and all things pre-Covid life. My year started off on the other side of the planet, in Sweden, with my whole family.
It has been incredible to celebrate Christmas in the snow and introduce my kids to the life I used to live. Few things compare to waking up in the morning to frosty windows and snow falling outside. My kids have handled the cold so well and even the layer upon layer it takes to get dressed in just to go outside. They LOVE the snow!
Being back as an adult I have also realised everything tastes and smells so differently in the snow. Coffee, smoke from the fire, the air, everything! It is so much better and fresher over here.
Let’s be real though, it is not all rainbows and butterflies.. What I won’t miss is scraping ice of car windows every time you try to leave the house. Or the plus degrees when everything melts in to a big brown, dirty slushy mush. I am also not a fan of having to wear all the clothes. Chucking on a dress and some thongs before leaving home is something I will appreciate at bit more when coming home.
Now, I have learnt a thing or two when photographing over here as well! In Australia I am used to popping my clients on the grass or sand, kids climbing trees and rocks, asking them to search for and holding object that can be found on the ground.
Things work slightly differently in the snow and I learnt that the hard way! Here’s my personal advice on planning and working through a photography session in winter and snow. Enjoy :)
Bring a rug! Or anything to sit on. Without any props that allows sitting down you will have to get creative with poses.
Check temperatures on the day. There were days when it was -2 degrees one day and -15 the next and this makes a huge difference. Especially if working with families. It is definitely not impossible but it would totally change the amount of time I could spend with them outdoors and also their clothing choices.
I made sure to be flexible with rescheduling to a “warmer” day or communicating clearly in terms of expectations.
Get creative with activites! There is so much to do in the snow and getting families to get active not only brought some very fun (and funny) images but it also kept the kids happy and warm.
Get the sleds out, organise horseriding or chuck some ice skates on!
Get yourself some cool presets.
I think the taboo of using presets as a photographer is long gone with the amount of them out there, but just in case you feel weird about it: Don’t.
One of the best things I ever did was purchasing some high quality presets. I use Nina Goks presets Milk & Earth on most of my work. Skintones stay true while creating a super earthy feel to my images.
Working in the snow does not always guarantee falling snow and snow flakes though. I found Archipelago Presets a while ago and on their Quest program (which by the way is not only amazing but cheap too) there is an EXTREMELY cool snowfall AI toolset. It is the only one I have seen that makes the snowfall look realistic. I’d highly recommend checking them out!
Please note these are not paid recommendations but something I truly love using.
There is so much I could tell you about photographing in winter and snow but these are my top tips. Feel free to send me an email if you’ve got any questions, I’d love to hear from you.
Otherwise, check out some of my winter work in my portfolio for some ideas! I hope you love it :)
Until next time,
Stay safe, work smart and I hope to see you in 2023.
x Michaela