Picture perfection in snow and other high key subjects

Photographing high key subjects like snow scene needs extra attention in exposure. First thing to remember is that your camera's metering measures everything as middle grey (18% reflectance). When you frame your view with white, the camera gives you a middle grey, thus your photo turns out a "dirty grey snow" (as in picture 1. below left).

There are details on the snow, but it lacks the brightness you experienced in the actual scene.

With editing softwares, it is easy to correct the fault simply by using auto level or brightness/contrast adjustment. However, without correct exposure, auto level may cause a slight color shift.

Just like shooting in color slides (positive film), an over-exposure of about 1/3 to ½ stop should overcome the problem (below right). It will also give a correct exposure to other elements in the picture, especially the face of any human subject.

For compact camera users, there are two options. In "Scene" mode, select the "Beach/Snow" mode. This mode will favor some overexposure. But be careful. Check the histogram to ensure that there is no excess washout highlights. (Too much over-exposure causes the brightest area in the scene to be recorded as pure white, without any details.)

If this happen, you may want to consider using the second option, if available on your compacts: exposure compensation. You are free to select how much over-expose you want, normally in 1/3 stop increments. You will need to check the exposure on the display if the exposure if just right. However, you must take note that the LCD display screen on the camera may not give you the most accurate display. Some comparison between actual print-out and result against screen
display must be done beforehand.

You can now have better controls on the exposure. This feature is more helpful if the scene is split 50/50 with high key and low key subjects (below and to the right).

This article was contributed by Victor, a veteran of the Photographic Club. Do you have a passion for photography? If you are so in2 photography that you pride yourself on having a 8megapixel handphone camera, then you probably are. Check us out here or chat with us on the forum!

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