© Jared Lloyd Photography | Canon systems are a bit different. The pro-model Canon cameras come with the spot meter linked as well. The other bodies howev-er have the spot meter set

© Jared Lloyd Photography | www.jaredlloydphoto.com


SnowYou know, I cannot think of a situation that confuses more people (aside from flash) than photographing in the snow. Snow is one of those things where its inclu-sion in a photograph can catapult your images to new heights. It turns the mundane into the exciting. It adds a distinct mood and feel that speaks to us on a deep level. But, if not approached correctly, if not exposed

for properly, snow can be your worst exposure nightmare. One minute you are underexposed, the next, 3 full stops over ex-posed. Sound familiar?

Photographing in the snow does not have to be such a chal-lenge for you. It’s all really quite simple actually. The key to suc-cessfully conquering the white stuff though, lies within a sol-id understanding of how your metering system works.

So before we get into how to get dead on accurate exposures for snow every time, we must first start with how your cam-era meters light to begin with.

18% GreyToday, the phrase “check your histogram” is something of a mantra that we all repeat to ourselves a few hun-dred times a day while in the field. However, there was a time when this word didn’t exist in the lexicon of


photography. Moving back to a time when dinosaurs still walked amongst us, when we recorded our photo-graphs on a medium that was only a slightly improved form of etching into stone, you know, that stuff we call film, there was a different sort of mantra. In those days before digital technology had completely revolution-ized art and media as we know it, we all spoke of “18% grey” or “mid-tone.”

The phrase 18% grey was thrown around just like the word histogram is today. Ironically though, our meter-ing systems are still in fact based upon this 18% grey scale. Histograms just allow us to actually read this scale. So a big problem lies within the fact that if we do not understand the concept of 18% grey, we are not ful-ly going to understand the use of the histogram.

In a world filled with a seemingly unlimited pallet of colors and tones of light, your camera has to make a predictable decision on what to suggest for the expo-sure. The key word here is predictable. You cannot have variation. If you cannot accurately predict yourself, that your camera will suggest a base exposure that fits with-in certain rules, then all photography would be worse than using a disposable camera.

Our metering systems have to make a decision between some 255 different tones of light and settle on one base

exposure. And it has to do it the same way every time.

This base exposure is 18% grey.

Basically 18% grey is the perfect mid tones. It is the mid tones, mid tone. It’s a fence sitting, neither white, nor black, kind of right smack dab in the middle sort of mid tone.

This means that your camera system is always going to suggest an exposure that makes the dominant tonality, or the reflective light coming from what you actually metered off of, 18% grey.

Now, 18% grey is based on a grey scale. This of course can be applied to any color out there. It’s just that when we are speaking in terms of light and our cameras, it is easier for use to speak in grey scale because that is how our cameras are ultimately reading the light. You camera is not seeing canary yellow or candy apple red. Everything is simply black and white. Which is how it should be in terms of recording light.

So if our metering system always set a base exposure of 18% grey, then we immediately know that we have some adjustments to make in order to render black as black or white as white (or yellow as canary yellow for that matter). But, by predictably basing the exposure



off of this mid tone, we always know exactly what our cameras are going to do. This allows us to approach set-ting an exposure with deadly accuracy.

With this whole notion of 18% grey then, we know that if we have a predominantly black scene – say a black bear filling the frame – this black bear is going to be rendered as grey. Likewise, if we have a predominantly white scene – such as when photographing in the snow – then our snow is going to be rendered as 18% grey. In order to make that black bear black, we must underex-pose. In order to make that snow white, we must over expose.

Metering PatternNow that you understand how and why your camera’s metering system works the way it does, the next step is to understand that you must actually tell your camera where and what to meter off of.

Nikon and Canon have really come a long ways with their broad spectrum metering patterns. By this, I mean 3D matrix (Nikon) and evaluative (Canon). These metering patterns size up the entire scene and make a decision based on all the different tones of light given. These are getting more and more accurate with

each new generation of cameras. However, by their very nature, they will always fall flat on their face when it comes to tricky lighting scenarios. It is for this rea-son that your camera still comes with other options for metering, such as “spot” and “center-weighted.” Pho-tographing in the snow happens to be one of those sit-uations where your camera is going to fail repeatedly in matrix or evaluative metering modes and a different approach is usually required.

Now if your matrix or evaluative meters are taking a reading from the entire scene, your spot meter on the other hand is only taking a reading from an area about the size of your sensor point in the viewfinder. Spot


metering allows us to be much more precise in telling our cameras what the most important part of the composition is in terms of getting the exposure right. Therefore, spot metering is the meter-ing mode you want to use when photo-graphing in the snow, or in ANY high contrast scene.

All Nikon cameras come out of the box with the spot meter linked with your sensor point. This means that when I move my sensor point around inside of my viewfinder via the thumb pad or little joystick, where my camera is me-tering will move with it.

Canon systems are a bit different. The pro-model Canon cameras come with the spot meter linked as well. The other bodies howev-er have the spot meter set right smack dab in the center of the viewfinder. You can go in and link this through custom functions in the newer models though – which I highly recommend doing.

Where to Meter

OK. So now we know that our cameras are always going to take the middle road in their exposure sug-gestions, putting what it actually exposes for at a mid-tone. We also now know that in tricky lighting, in high contrast lighting, and when photographing in the snow, it is best not to leave the decision as to what to meter completely up to our cameras, and instead take over the responsibility ourselves. The best tool for this, be-ing our spot meter option.


But now we must know where exactly to stick that spot meter. What part of the scene should we be metering off of?

In 99% of all situations you are going to encounter, the most important part of the exposure equation is mak-ing sure you get the highlights right. This means that the brightest areas of your composition will almost always be the part that you need to be the most con-cerned about. We all know what it is to overexpose our photographs to the point of blowing out the whites or bright areas. When this occurs, the photographs are typically useless and quickly find their way into the trash.

In most situations, when photographing snow, it is easiest to stick your spot meter on the brightest area of snow that will fall in your composition. From here, remember that what we meter off of will come out as a mid-tone. So we know that we will need to increase our exposure from what our camera recommends.

Really though, this isn’t even a recommendation by your camera. When the little meter inside of your viewfinder is zeroed out in the middle, this is not so much as a suggestion as it is a simple statement. A statement saying that at this point what you are me-tering will be a perfect mid-tone. So if it is snow you

are metering off of, when the light meter is set to the middle, the snow will be rendered as grey. If you want it lighter than grey, if you want it white, you will need to increase your exposure by adding light – for which you will see a corresponding change on the meter in your viewfinder. This can be done by using a smaller f/stop, a longer shutter speed, or a higher ISO. Each click you feel when rotating the dial you are using to adjust one of these settings, will correspond in a 1/3 of a stop change in your exposure. So if you need to add 1 full stop of light, rotate the dial until you feel three clicks. Likewise, if you need 2 full stops, rotate until you feel 6 clicks.

The other method of doing this is to actually find a mid-tone object that is in the same light, take a me-ter reading from this, set your exposure exactly as the camera suggests for 18% grey, re-compose, and shoot. The problem with this when photographing in the snow, and when photographing wildlife, is that it some-times takes too long to try and find this perfect mid-tone object. Though I do use this technique (the flank of an elk is just about perfect with most individuals), more often I side with what is the easiest and quickest to get my exposure right, and that is to simply meter off the brightest part of the snow, adjust my exposure accordingly, take a test shot, check the histogram, and then go to work.




Keeping you Exposure SetOne thing that often confuses folks on my Winter Yel-lowstone workshops is that when they spot meter off the brightest part of the snow, then recompose – every-thing changes.

The reason that your exposure changes is because your camera is constantly metering off of whatever your spot meter is pointing at. This means that if I aim it at the snow, then recompose for my bobcat, the spot meter is now hitting something in different light and is trying to expose for that now.

In order for you to keep that exposure where you want it, you must do one of two things. You can shoot in manual – which is by far the easiest way of photo-graphing when using the spot meter. Or, you can use an exposure lock button which is typically labeled as AE-L or AE. You may need to read over the manual to your camera to figure this one out as not all cameras come with a designated AE-L button and this must be assigned to a button through your custom menu.

Let’s face it though. Hands down, it’s just easier to shoot in manual in snow. You point your spot meter at the brightest spot of the composition and adjust from there. Now, as long as the lighting scenario does not change dramatically, you will nail the exposure with every shot.

All too often I encounter folks on my workshops who are nervous about shooting in manual. It’s really sim-ple. If you are shooting wildlife then you are probably shooting in aperture priority (if not manual already). This means you are familiar with setting your f/stop based upon the amount of depth of field that you want. Now when you adjust your exposure compensation while shooting in aperture priority, you are actually just adjusting your shutter speed. And when your shutter speed is too low, you are probably used to just chang-ing your ISO to get that shutter speed up to where you need it.

Its exactly the same thing in manual. Set your aperture for the depth of field you want. Meter off of the high-lights and adjust your shutter speed accordingly (just like in aperture priority) to get the exposure you want. If the shutter speed is too low for what you need, in-crease your ISO and re-adjust your shutter speed again. That’s it! Simple.


The only thing, is that you have to remember to change all of this when the lighting changes. Where as in aper-ture priority, it makes those changes for you.

I am not one of those photographers who thinks the only right way to photograph is in manual. I shoot in aperture priority about 70% of the time. The other times, I’m shooting in manual mode. It is not 1967. So there is no reason to assume you have to shoot like it’s 1967 – when everything was manual and spot meter-ing. But, with that said, sometimes spot metering and manually adjusting the exposure is the best way to han-dle a situation. As a photographer, you need to learn how to do that, and when those situations are. And as you have seen from this article, snow just so happens to be one of those situations.

Conclusion Snow does not have to be difficult to photograph in. As long as you understand how your metering system works, what you should be metering off of, and how to lock in that exposure, you will have no trouble with snow at all.

I firmly believe that photographing in snow will make you significantly more proficient at the technical side of

photography. Snow forces you to learn the ins and outs of your camera system. It forces you to understand me-tering systems, histograms, 18% grey, spot metering vs matrix / evaluative, and become more efficient at put-ting it all together in the camera.

Documents

© Jared Lloyd Photography | Canon systems are a bit different. The pro-model Canon cameras come with the spot meter linked as well. The other bodies howev-er have the spot meter set