Taking photos in snow

A friend of mine recently asked me for some advice on taking photographs in the snow. I've listed some of the advice and tips that I have picked up:

When moving the camera between a warm place and the cold (or cold to warm) you should take care to avoid condensation as it can not only fog a lens but potentially the sensor itself. The trick is to let the camera acclimatize.. ideally in an air-tight zip-lock type back. This will prevent condensation. NOTE - Take the memory card out whilst out doors before sealing the camera in an air-tight bag go in-doors or you'll have to wait a couple of hours before you can get to your photos. Keeping the camera in a zipped up camera bag also helps in the event that you don't have an air-tight bag to hand.

When it is snowing it is a good idea to protect your gear as you would in rain... snow melts as soon as it hits the camera... unless the camera has been fully acclimatized i.e. left in outside overnight. Get a decent weather cover such as the excellent Kata E-702 GDC Element Cover

Get a Spare battery... batteries drain amazingly fast in cold weather...

Adjust exposure compentation to +1 stop (or even +2 stops in some circumstances)
Cameras are tuned to expose for mid-grey and they will sometimes get fooled by the white snow into under-exposing. Avoid letting the highlights 'blow out' (Keep the histogram set to blink when over-exposed and if you find this happening, dial back the exposure compensation)

Wrap up warm and don't take any unnecessary risks

Shooting for Stock - FAQ

I have put together a brief FAQ covering questions relating to shooting for Stock libraries.

Stock Photography FAQ

Should I sharpen Pictures before submitting to Stock?

In my experience photos taken in the RAW format should be sharpened prior to submission to

stock libraries.

JPG files straight from the camera are usually pre-sharpened and additional sharpening should be

avoided as thiscan result in 'artifacts' that may result in a rejection of the submission.

Do 'Portrait' format images sell better than Landscape?

As a general rule it is a good idea to shot a scene in both Landscape and portrait format for

stock submission.Design editors looking for photos like to have the option available. There certainly is a market

for photos formated in'portrait' as this is the general format of magazines etc.

NOTE: When submitting images to stock it is a very good idea to include the keyword phrases

'Portrait format', 'portrait composition', 'vertical' etc.to ensure that the image is picked up in searches.

Similarly it is also important to specify 'Copyspace' when it is appropriate.

Do I need a model release for shots that include people but with facial features hidden?

I would avoid submitting this type of image in an initial batch of photos as a new subscriber. The admins of the

stock sites can sometimes err on the side of rejection in these cases.

It is however worth a try if you are already an established contributor. I was rejected recently

with a shot that contained profiled and silhouettedfaces... but it does depend on the admin that reviews the shots

Stock Library Links

http://www.istockphoto.com/Chrisds 

http://submit.shutterstock.com/?ref=2644

http://www.dreamstime.com/resp41780-dreamtime