4 Compensate for the snow
The way round this is to dial in some positive exposure
compensation using the +/- button, to brighten things
up. In very overcast conditions +1 should be sufficient,
but in bright sunlight you might need to go up to +1.5 to
ensure the snow (and your subject) are well exposed.5 Bump up the ISO
In shutter-priority mode, the shutter remains fixed at
your chosen value, so when you dial in positive exposure
compensation, the camera has to set a wider aperture. If
you’re already at your lens’s widest aperture, you’ll need
to up the ISO to 400 or 800, or set Auto ISO.3 Expose for the background
Next, you need to expose for the background. At 1/160
sec and ISO200, our D610 was suggesting an aperture
of f/3.5, but as mentioned in the intro, this resulted in an
image that was an average mid-tone, so the snow ended
up looking grey and Alex was completely under-exposed.6 Review your images
Once you’ve taken your shot, it ’s a good idea to check the
histogram. As the whites are the most common tone in
your snowy landscape, you want the bulk of the graph to
fall on the right hand side of the histogram, without falling
off the edge (as this would indicate detail has been lost).1 Focus tracking
Switch your camera to AF-C mode to enable continuous
autofocusing while you’re tracking your subject. Set the
autofocus to nine points to give more room for error at
speed. If you’ve got a clear background the 3D mode is
excellent, but it can get confused by busy backgrounds.2 Continuous shooting
Set your drive mode to Continuous, so you can capture
a rapid sequence of images as the action unfolds. Don’t
just ‘spray and pray’ though – anticipate the action, and
shoot in short bursts as the action reaches its peak (on a
skiing turn, say, or as a snowball is thrown).KEY SKILLS / Staying focused
Brighten
them up
Make sure that your
model is wearing bright
colours, to help them
stand out from the
background – orange
or red are ideal. Very
light colours will blend
in with the snow, while
very dark colours will
end up looking like
silhouettes. Most
outdoor clothing
is very colourful to
ensure that you can
easily be seen when
out in the hills, which
of course means you’ll
be easier to spot in
photographs, too.44 March 2016
NIKON SKILLS CAMERA TECHNIQUES
Watch the video online at bit.ly/NPhoto56