Photography News

The temperatures are slowly dropping which means it's a good time to start thinking about cold weather photography.

Photo by David Clapp - www.davidclapp.co.uk

 

What To Wear

Layers are key as lots of thinner layers will trap more warmth than a single thick coat, plus you can always take a layer off if you get too warm! Always wear a waterproof outer layer and don't forget your scarf and a hat that covers your ears. Even though they can be a bit annoying, gloves are a must too and if you don't want to spend time removing them every-time you want to adjust your camera, invest in a fingerless pair, or a set that have a mitten part you can pull over your fingers when not using your camera. If your gloves are made of wool or fleece, do note that they do get very wet easily and this can lead to your hands becoming cold rather quickly. Wear boots that are waterproof, warm and most importantly have a good grip. Carry spare socks too as having wet feet, particularly when it's cold, isn't a fun experience.

 

Carry Food And Drink

If you're planning on heading out in the cold for a few hours, always take some food and drink with you. A small flask of something warm such as tea, coffee or soup can be warming on particularly cold days.

 

Always Tell People

Make sure someone knows where you are heading and when possible, take someone with you. If you are heading out on your own always write down where you'll be as people have a habit of forgetting things if you just tell them verbally.

Do double-check you have your mobile phone with you (and that it's charged) before leaving the house as telling people where you're going won't be much use if they can't get in touch with you.

 

Your Gear

Even though modern gear copes rather well in all temperatures do still take spare batteries as they can lose their charge quicker in cold weather. Do remember that aluminium tripods become very cold to the touch in winter, so you may want to fasten it to your rucksack rather than carrying it in your hands.

Even if you're going to a location you know well it's still a good idea to pack a map and compass (even if you do have a smartphone!) and a remote shutter release will come in handy when you find yourself shivering. If you don't have a remote release consider using your camera's self-timer so shake doesn't spoil your shot. Increasing your ISO will also help keep shutter speeds higher.

 

Do Your Research

Don't push yourself too hard if you're planning on going for a walk and do try and find out what the terrain will be like at your chosen location for example,  is it muddy? Do surfaces become slippery after a cold night? Etc.

As days are shorter, do take drive times as well as how long it will take you to walk there and back (if you are) to your chosen photography spot into consideration as you don't really want to be walking back to your car in the dark! If you are planning on shooting a sunset, a head torch will be more useful than a hand-held one as it'll mean your hands are still free.

Check the weather regularly for a few days before your shoot as well as while you're out as weather, particularly up in mountainous areas, can go from fine to terrible quite rapidly.

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Photo by David Pritchard

 

Gear:

• Wide angle lens – overall atmospheric shots of the market
• Zoom lens – shots of people and produce
• Camera that works well at higher ISOs – Christmas markets look particularly good in the evening so a camera which gets good results at the higher end of the ISO spectrum would be handy to have
• Tripod – If you can squeeze one into the crowds it will make your life a lot easier

Technique:

Festive markets are bursting with Christmas colours so make sure you take advantage of this. Late afternoon or early evening are the best times to visit as the dark sky against the festive lights create a magical atmosphere. Christmas wares on colourful displays look great so take the time to stand back and use a small aperture to get a stall's full collection of produce in. You may have to wait until almost closing time if you don't want people in your shot but shoppers, particularly if they're interacting with stall holders, can add to your picture. Just remember to be polite, ask if it's OK to photograph them and their stall and don't get in the way – it's a business after all so if they ask you to move on politely do so.

If there's room to get close to the gifts on offer look out for baubles and other decorations dangling from the stalls. They can make great macro shots, particularly if they're glittering against a background you've thrown deliberately out of focus. Adding a little flash can help quicken the shutter speed which can be a big help when working in low light.

As your market will probably be outdoors, watch your exposure as it can alter drastically between the walkways and under the stalls which can cause your shots to be underexposed. Keep an eye on your white balance too as street lights can look rather orange. You'll probably find it's best to bracket most of your shots, taking a shot above and below the correct exposure. Try standing back and shooting enough shots to stitch together as a panorama to show people the whole scene.

There's no doubt that the market will be bustling so there will be ample chance to capture some shots of people wrapped up in their winter gear, carrying plenty of shopping bags filled with Christmas gifts. Try using a slower shutter speed to blur their movement as they walk through your frame. If any lights are swaying or there are fairground rides these will also work well blurred into colourful lines of light.   

 

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Bokeh Christmas light shots are popular and rightly so as this technique can help you create some really beautiful indoor portraits. It can take a little experimentation but as you don't need much kit or props, it's a technique everyone can have a go at and it's a lot of fun!

Any camera where you can control the aperture will be fine for this technique, however a camera with a bright aperture, say a f/1.4 - f/2.0 compact camera would be ideal. If you use a mirrorless or Digital SLR it should be easier to achieve the effect.

The brighter the lens you're using the more impressive the effect should be, making a lens and the larger the sensor the greater the effect will be too.

Your Christmas lights need to be placed on or against a dark background and you need to position your subject or model as far away from the background as possible, while still keeping the lights in the background.

To keep the black background as dark as possible, switch off your room lights and use a smaller, portable light to ensure your subject is correctly illuminated. We didn't use the studio flash for this, instead we just used the prop lighting, but any lighting should be suitable, and incandescent lighting will give the subject a warm feel.

 

Make sure you position the model light towards your subject at an angle, so as to not throw any light from this front light onto the background area.

Occasionally the lights in the background (if bright) can confuse the camera and cause it to under-expose the subject, so it's important to try and get the foreground lighting nicely balanced.

You may need to be careful with white balance settings, so shooting in RAW will help if you have any problems or you could use a grey card and manually set white balance based on the model's lighting. We used a white card to manually set the white balance, with the model holding the card in front of her face where the strongest lighting was.

You need to use your lens at its widest aperture to focus on the subject or model and keep the Christmas lights as far away as possible for increased blur / bokeh effect in the lights.

Keep the model or subject closer to the camera and adjust your framing depending on where you want the lights and the subject to be lined up / arranged. The closer the subject to the camera, the closer the focus distance is, and the more the camera and lens will throw the background out of focus (see the example below). â€‹

You can alter the shapes of the Christmas lights with Bokeh kits or you can use black card and a pair of scissors to change the shapes that appear. You need to decide on a shape, cut it out of the card then fasten the card around your lens like you would a lens hood.

Different lenses will give different effects as well, for example you could use an old lens with an adapter on an SLR to see what different lenses do.

   

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Photo Month Forum Competition  

 

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