kids+snow questions!

[doylie]

I'm shooting some family friends tomorrow. It's going to be partly cloudy and there are about 7 inches of fresh snow on the ground. What would be the best settings? I know people(beginners at least) have trouble sometimes with way overexposed pictures of snow. Any help?? thanks!

 

[Battou]

Don't worry about the snow and expose for the kid. You start thinking about compensating for the snow you could underexpose the kids and may not be able to salvage the shots.

Well that's my two cents atleast.

 

[LarryD]

Lots of options.. depends on how imiportant these shots are for you..

Spot meter on the kids (or your main subject) first and note the f-stop... Set to Av at that stop and let the shutter set itself (this is assuming that they are not sitting still for you to take your time,..), then if the photos are really important to you, bracket on both sides by a half stop or so..

 

[Big Mike]

Typically, you might end up with underexposed images because all the bright snow tricks the camera's light meter. As mentioned, I'd suggest metering off of the subjects. To do so, get close/zoom in and put the camera in manual mode. Adjust the settings so that the needle is on the --0-- (while the frame is filled with the subjects, not snow). Then leave the settings, back up and compose your shot.

This may make the snow overexposed in the image, but it should also expose your subjects properly, which is what you want right?