Photographing in snow presents unique challenges. The light is harsh, reflections are intense, and the cold can affect your equipment. But with the right techniques, you can transform a snowy scene into a beautifully lit portrait. This video focuses on using light direction, ambient light, and composition to elevate your snowy portraits, offering practical tips for handling these tricky conditions.
Coming to you from Jiggie Alejandrino, this educational video dives into how to work with natural light in a snowy environment and supplement it effectively. Alejandrino demonstrates how light direction impacts the subject’s face and why relying solely on ambient light can lead to unflattering results. He uses examples to show how subtle adjustments, like repositioning the subject or introducing supplemental flash, can make a significant difference in lighting quality.
The video also explains how to use the environment to your advantage. Snow reflects light in all directions, which can add depth to your scene but also create uneven highlights on your subject. Alejandrino teaches how to position your subject to maintain balance between the ambient light illuminating the background and the supplemental light enhancing the subject’s face. By aligning these elements, you can achieve portraits that feel cohesive and natural, even in challenging conditions.
One of the key lessons here is the importance of intentional positioning. Alejandrino adjusts the subject’s angle and steps back to refine the framing and lighting dynamically. This approach underscores how small tweaks to composition and light placement can dramatically change the feel of a shot. He also shows how to layer ambient and artificial light to create depth and dimension in your photos. Check out the video above for the full tutorial from Alejandrino.
If you would like to continue learning about how to light a portrait, be sure to check out “Illuminating The Face: Lighting for Headshots and Portraits With Peter Hurley!”