Winter wedding in the snow

Vickster · January 4, 2008

New to the site, just uploaded my first gallery today so I'm not quite up and running but thought this would be a good place to ask this question:
I am shooting a wedding in February, outdoors and in the snow. Would love to hear from anyone else that has done this. My biggest concern will probably my WB and trying to meter this so that skintones don't wash out. Of course don't know yet if it will be sunny or cloudy ( I live in Washington State so most likely cloudy, LOL) but again, would love to hear from others that have shot a wedding in the snow. Thanks,
Vicki

Vickster · January 6, 2008

94 folks look at this posting and no one has any advice???? YIKES!
Did I post in the wrong section or the wrong site?

hgernhardtjr · January 6, 2008

Hey, Vicki .. welcome. Don't give up on us. I think you posted in the correct section (and site) ... but I wonder just how many people have shot weddings in the snow. I bet it is an unusual scenario for most of us. I know even while living for several years in bush Alaska, I never shot a wedding outside in the snow, so ...

Perhaps someone else has and can help you.

Vickster · January 6, 2008

Thanks Henry for reply . . . I guess it doesn't have to be a wedding per se but perhaps other outdoor , in the snow events would be helpful too. I'm not too worried about what to do with the Bride/Groom just want to be sure that I use the light and possible snow/light reflections to the best of my ability. Wonder if I should use a polarizer? Hmmmm.....

pathfinder · January 6, 2008

Vicki,

Welcome to dgrin.

I suspect one of the reasons no one has answered yet is the very broad nature of your question, or the fact that none of us has ever really shot a wedding in the snow. Also, you have not filled out your profile, so none of us have any idea of your understanding of photography ( including exposure settings in Manual Mode), your experience in shooting weddings, or what equipment you plan on using.

If you are an experienced wedding shooter, our answers will be quite different, than if you just agreed to shoot a wedding for a friend and you just got a new camera that you want to try to use. I am going to assume you know your way around a camera and a flash and a wedding.

First of all, I am not a wedding shooter, ( except for one niece ) and that was on a very green golf course. But I have shot some in snow fields.

Shooting in snow requires a careful understanding of light metering with a reflective meter like the ones that come in your camera. Reflective meters assume a gray target, and give an exposure to create a gray image of that gray target with out + or - Exposure Compensation. Snow fields typically require about 1.5 to 2 stops of + EC, depending on how and what you meter. What, precisely, to meter is always the issue with a reflective meter, snow, white dress, black tuxedo, gray necktie, etc.

Access to an incident meter will be a great help. I would strongly recommend you consider using an incident meter for your exposure settings, set those settings in your camera in Manual Mode, and not change them unless the lighting changes. This will keep the exposure consistent from frame to frame.

You can shoot in RAW with AWB, but might find it worthwhile to shoot a known gray card to help with white balance later in processing. I, actually, sometimes prefer to shoot in Shade or Overcast for sunlight snow scenes - I know it sounds strange, but it helps with all the blue cast you can see sometimes - don't try this at a wedding unless you know what you are doing though.

You will get a lot of reflection from the snow, and the color of the reflection will vary with the height of the sun. This can be an advantage, or a disadvantage. Will you be shooting in the shade, or sunlight, or modified sunight? Do you have access to a large scrim? Will you be using flash for fill?

Answer a few of these questions and you will probably get a few more answers. An interesting topic, with lots of things to think about.

gpphotos · January 6, 2008

i THINK it was Andy who posted something on shooting effectively around snow. i can't seem to find the thread though. not sure if it was a thread on the forum or something he posted elsewhere on the site. if it wasn't andy, then it was one of the other folks here with a high post count

ian408 · January 6, 2008

The biggest challenge shooting in the snow is getting the exposure
right. Typically, snow (and any other very bright subject) causes your
camera under expose the shot by as much as a full stop.

I agree that (M)anual is the way to shoot this event. Either use the
camera's spot meter or your light meter (you do have one, right?).
Don't forget the gray card.

Other challenges you will face include the cold. Besides making sure
you're warm, you will need to keep your spare batteries warm as
well. You may need to plan on having more spares than you would
normally carry simply because the cold has such a detrimental effect
on battery performance. If that weren't enough, when you take your
gear out into the cold, you will want to let it "acclimate" for a few
minutes--condensate can form on the surfaces.

I would recommend you find some snow and give winter photography
a twirl before the big event.

Good luck with your shoot and let us know how it turns out

P.S. Here's that link for more winter photography tips.

Scott_Quier · January 6, 2008

I am a wedding photographer and have shot in the snow (but not a wedding). I have to agree with what PF had to say. In addition, here's what I would recommend:

Get and use an incident light meter.
Shoot in manual mode, varying the settings as the light changes. Again, use the light meter to make it right.
Shoot in RAW. You can shoot in RAW + JPG if you like, but you need to have the RAW files. They provide a huge insurance buffer, just in case.
Shoot a known gray (neutral) for WB processing later. I usually shoot both the gray card and make sure I get a gentleman's white collar - white cotton shirt collars are a wonderful second opinion.
Practice in the snow. A wedding is no place to experiment. There's just too much riding on it to make a mistake.
A CP filter may not be a bad thing to test out - remember what I said about experimenting? One thing for sure, you'll have plenty of light, so the CP won't be a problem that way. It will help to reduce the intensity of reflections off the scene and help in many other ways as well.

Vickster · January 6, 2008

You all ROCK ROCK ROCK ....
Sorry about not posting a profile and I promise to do so as soon as I can. I cannot thank you enough for what you have offered. I am comfortable with my manual settings and agree that would be the best way. I'll be sure to bring my gray card but loved the idea of the white shirt too.
As for flash, I have a 580 speed light and 2 430 slaves if needed. I shoot with a Canon 30D and have a nice selection of glass.
REALLY loved the reminder about acclimating my camera, would have forgot that and it will be important. I will make a check list with all the suggestions you all have offered and that will be a big big HUGE help so that I don't have to struggle.
I am definitely going to have a practice shoot and will do that soon so that I can work out the kinks of various conditions.
I will keep an eye on this thread. . . you all have helped tremendously. I'll be more confident that day with a good list and plan! And yes, RAW, gotta be RAW and maybe RAW/Jpeg . . .
I'll let you know how the practice goes! I'll post some shots and you can advise!
Thanks AGAIN!
Vicki

ian408 · January 6, 2008

RAW+JPG doesn't really buy you anything. Except maybe a way to get a low
res jpeg "instant gratification" kind of thing. I used to be a "both" shooter.
I can view RAW in most applications these days which (for me) has eliminated
the need for both.

Scott_Quier · January 7, 2008

ian408 wrote:

RAW+JPG doesn't really buy you anything. Except maybe a way to get a low res jpeg "instant gratification" kind of thing. I used to be a "both" shooter. I can view RAW in most applications these days which (for me) has eliminated the need for both.

- but some people are timid about jumping into the deep end of the pool.

evoryware · January 7, 2008

gpphotos wrote:

i THINK it was Andy who posted something on shooting effectively around snow. i can't seem to find the thread though. not sure if it was a thread on the forum or something he posted elsewhere on the site. if it wasn't andy, then it was one of the other folks here with a high post count

http://www.digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=3167&highlight=snow

http://www.digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=57481&highlight=snow

Probably a dumb question; I was wondering, can't you just shoot a picture of white snow to attain a white balance shot? If you can shoot a picture of the shirt I would think this would make as much sense.

pathfinder · January 7, 2008

I think that if you shoot snow in the shade, you want to be very careful assuming it is white, it might be blue.....

In very late afternoon sunlight, snow may actually be pink to red.

Snow reflects the dominant light color, it has no intrinsic color of its own.

evoryware · January 7, 2008

cool thanks.

Winter wedding in the snow

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