Winter Photography Tips & Tricks

With the winter month’s approaching, a new season of nature begins! Snow and ice can be beautifully captured not only by our eyes but by our cameras too! In fact, our cameras can pick up details our eyes sometimes miss. 

SCUFI (Shoot Up Close For Impact) is one way to capture the little details of the snow. When we work with students during our workshops and camps, we encourage them to use SCUFI over and over. Each snowflake is different and capturing their unique features only adds to each photo. 

Light is another important element to think about when taking photos. It is especially important in the winter as snow and ice capture the light in a very interesting way! Changing the position of your camera can allow you to capture different perspectives using various angles of light. 

As well, tone is an important factor when being a winter nature photographer. We teach students the variations of tone and how the human eye is wired to gravitate towards lighter tones (i.e. white) before looking at the rest of the photo. This is important to think about as snow is white and often becomes the focus of the photo. When nature photographers understand tone, they can use it to capture their audience’s attention. 

Our last piece of advice when being a winter nature photographer is, bundle up! Being patient is key when taking pictures of nature as it takes a lot of thought and creativity. When our bodies are warm, it becomes easier to relax and enjoy what we are doing! 

Below are some amazing photos students have taken at our Focus on Nature workshops. Notice how they use SCUFI, lighting and tone to capture the true beauty of nature!