Snow

Hi,

I keep reading that if I take (nature) pictures where there is snow in
the picture I should select an exposure two stops below what the camera
suggests. I haven't tried taking only a few snow pictures, but last
winter I took one with mostly snow and some trees on. I tried to set the
camera both one and two stops below what it suggested, bot I found both
of these pictures gray, dull and dark.

So my question is - have I misunderstood it all or do the evaluative
metering in my camera (EOS 500N - aka Rebel G or Kiss) actually do this
for me when it evaluate the scene?

Martin

Martin wrote:
I keep reading that if I take (nature) pictures where there is snow in
the picture I should select an exposure two stops below what the camera
suggests. ...

The automatic metering in the camera "thinks" that everything is 18% gray, but
snow is much closer to pure white. If you take the standard meter exposure with
the camera, it will "make" the snow seem closer to 18% gray in the finished
image. Obviously, this is not your intended result. Try overexposing the snow
by 1.0 to 1.5 stops. Make it brighter.

I figure new snow with bright sun on it should be goosed up by 1.5 stops. Old
snow with sun maybe 1.0 stop. Very old dirty snow with sun maybe 0.5 stop.

---Bob Gross---

Hi,

Robertwgross wrote:
I keep reading that if I take (nature) pictures where there is snow in
the picture I should select an exposure two stops below what the camera
suggests. ...

The automatic metering in the camera "thinks" that everything is 18% gray, but
snow is much closer to pure white. If you take the standard meter exposure with
the camera, it will "make" the snow seem closer to 18% gray in the finished
image. Obviously, this is not your intended result. Try overexposing the snow
by 1.0 to 1.5 stops. Make it brighter.

Doh .. I know what I did wrong ... I turned it the wrong way!

I figure new snow with bright sun on it should be goosed up by 1.5 stops. Old
snow with sun maybe 1.0 stop. Very old dirty snow with sun maybe 0.5 stop.

Thank you for these tips.

Martin

On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 07:09:23 GMT, Martin Djernæs
wrote:

Hi,


Doh .. I know what I did wrong ... I turned it the wrong way!


Yup. Very common mistake. Make brigher = larger f/stop = SMALLER
number on the f/stop ring.



-- JC

"...
do the evaluative
metering in my camera (EOS 500N - aka Rebel G or Kiss) actually do this
for me when it evaluate the scene?
...."

No.

Use a hand-held (external, separate) incident exposure meter.





"Martin Djernæs" wrote in message
news:9_Xvb.282803$Fm2.291896@attbi_s04...
Hi,

I keep reading that if I take (nature) pictures where there is snow in
the picture I should select an exposure two stops below what the camera
suggests. I haven't tried taking only a few snow pictures, but last
winter I took one with mostly snow and some trees on. I tried to set the
camera both one and two stops below what it suggested, bot I found both
of these pictures gray, dull and dark.

So my question is - have I misunderstood it all or do the evaluative
metering in my camera (EOS 500N - aka Rebel G or Kiss) actually do this
for me when it evaluate the scene?

Martin

Martin Djernæs wrote ...
Robertwgross wrote:

The automatic metering in the camera "thinks" that everything is 18%
gray, but
snow is much closer to pure white. If you take the standard meter
exposure with
the camera, it will "make" the snow seem closer to 18% gray in the
finished
image. Obviously, this is not your intended result. Try overexposing the
snow
by 1.0 to 1.5 stops. Make it brighter.

Doh .. I know what I did wrong ... I turned it the wrong way!

I figure new snow with bright sun on it should be goosed up by 1.5
stops. Old
snow with sun maybe 1.0 stop. Very old dirty snow with sun maybe 0.5
stop.

Thank you for these tips.

Martin


I 'm a little confused by Bob's recommendation. They may well be okay, but
I've found that the need to overexpose is greatest when the weather is
cloudy and everything is grey. During a recent snowstorm I found I had to
compensate by +1..1.5 stops. As the weather cleared and the sun came out, I
had to reduce compensation all the way to the standard -0.5 stops that I use
to avoid blown highlights.

Based on this experience I'd recommend +1..2 stops when overcast, and 0..+1
stop when sunny, if the scene is dominated by snow.

By the way, in those conditions the benefits of the digital camera's
histogram diisplay really show up. Some trial and error may still be still
needed, but the result can be seen immediately and there are no wasted
exposures.
/N

J C wrote:
Yup. Very common mistake. Make brigher = larger f/stop = SMALLER
number on the f/stop ring.

Yes, there are several things in photography that have reciprocal
relationships. Often, the way that photographers speak of these is contrary to
what commonsense suggests.

For example, some speak of a shutter speed getting "bigger", like going from
1/100 second to 1/200 second. Of course, that is actually going to a smaller
shutter time period. Some speak of a "big" aperture, when in fact the number of
the aperture is getting smaller.

After practice, pro photographers have these relationships burned into their
brains so that they no longer have to think about it. They instinctively know
which way to turn the dial.

---Bob Gross---

Hi,

RSD99 wrote:
Use a hand-held (external, separate) incident exposure meter.

Thank you, but I will not make that investment. I will have to learn to
get the most out of that one ... and when I feel I get more sofisticated
I can see if I then need to invest in an incident exposure meter.

Martin

When sunny, go manual and use the "sunny 16" exposure rool. When cloudy, the
snow really does look gray, at least to me, so the camera auto settings only
need a little boost.

"Martin Djernæs" wrote in message
news:wndwb.289495$Fm2.304660@attbi_s04...
Hi,

RSD99 wrote:
Use a hand-held (external, separate) incident exposure meter.

Thank you, but I will not make that investment. I will have to learn to
get the most out of that one ... and when I feel I get more sofisticated
I can see if I then need to invest in an incident exposure meter.

Martin

Him

Lew wrote:

When sunny, go manual and use the "sunny 16" exposure rool. When cloudy, the
snow really does look gray, at least to me, so the camera auto settings only
need a little boost.

;-) I will use that as a starting point :-)

Martin