Much of the Northern Hemisphere is covered in snow this week, even places like Las Vegas that normally never see the white, icy stuff have experienced falling snow. We’ve written previously about how to create and use artificial snow but now that the real thing is right outside the window, what can you do to maximize the impact of snowy images?
It’s tempting to limit winter images to simple landscapes, especially early in the day after a night of falling snow. The scenery is beautiful and peaceful but unfortunately everyone else has the same plans. One simple idea: add something red to the shot or angle to catch red berries or a person in a red parka walking in the scene. It rarely snows on Bainbridge Island but we have had snow falling and staying on the ground for days perhaps as much as 8 or 9 inches over the past five days. Driving into town this morning, I noticed that in a sea of frozen white, what really pops out is red: red berries, mailboxes, doors, a red barn, a hip snowboard kid wearing a red parka, a grandmother in a red coat, a red scarf on a snowman and red sleds everywhere.
To go beyond predictable snow scenes add humor or a wacky point of view: a golfer playing golf on a snow-covered course; people putting the final touches on a very funny snowman. A snowball fight. Don’t neglect the negative sides of a blizzard: cars in a ditch, someone falling on ice or shoveling snow from a walkway…something that someone I live with is attempting to do with a dustpan as no one seems to have a snow shovel for sale or to borrow in the midst of this unusual set of storms.
Show snowplows on the road and slow moving traffic i with heavy snow falling. You'll notice a blotch of red in a white scene as you travel on the road...that would be a stop sign or other warning sign. Signs are sometimes used in a metaphorical fashion. Such as "skating on thin ice' to mean that a person is perhaps taking too big a risk in business or personal matters. When the sign is shot in the snow, everyday distractions are avoided and since stop signs are almost always in red: the impact is great.
One of the best illustrations this season that I’ve seen is a snowman making a snow angel.
Snowy Day Shoot Ideas:
Traffic tangled in storm
Snowplows at work
Working with a snow blower
Cross country skiing on a city street
Putting on chains
Shoot from inside showing a fire blazing in the fireplace and snow covered trees outside
Sledding
Making snow angels
Building snowman-don’t forget to prop with a red scarf
Shoveling snow
Car in ditch
Fido in a red winter coat-the dogs around here dress better than some people!
Red red red
