Steve Ingraham’s Point and Shoot Landscape

I’ve got Snow Scene Programed Mode!

A difficult exposure problem

It always amazes me how much resistance there is among advanced amature photographers to automation. The assumption seems to be that real photographers shoot manual (and RAW of course), figuring out every parameter of the exposure and and white balance themselves (presumably using a hand held spot meter). 

Most advanced Point and Shoots, and almost all consumer level Point and Shoots, come with pre-programed scene modes. Sunny beach, landscape, macro, fireworks, portrait, night scene, and, very often, snow.

Snowy scenes, especially in full sun, are next to impossible to expose properly, no matter how good or how experienced you are. If you expose for detail in the snow, then everything else is way too dark (and the snow is often gray instead of white).  If you expose for foreground subjects, especially people, then the snow is completely blown out…bright white beyond the ability of the sensor to record any detail at all.

And snow has an amazing amount of detail. It has texture. It has, especially when the wind has been playing with it, wonderful scupted forms. It covers the earth with a blanket that has a shape that both hides and reveals the basic contours of the land. 

All of that will be totally lost in snow shots unless you pay close attention to exposure.

Or, you could just set the camera to Snow Scene Mode, and let the camera figure out the correct exposure. Most Snow Modes are not simple exposure compensation routines. Most actually analyze the range of tones in the scene and their distribution with the frame, and then apply exposure compensation that has been tuned to the particular image. Sophisticated stuff. And, if my experience with the Sony DSC H50 is anything to go by, surprisingly effective!

The image above is a classic snow exposure problem. I wanted the texture of the snow. I wanted the delicacy of the shadowing. I wanted the full color and form of the isolated beach plum. Pre-programed Snow Scene Mode handled it amazingly well. The image required practically no adjustment in post-processing.

I took a series of photos that day, in a brief interval of sun between two storms, working fast, using the pre-programed Snow Scene Mode on them all.

expansive snow-scape

Even shots like this more expansive snow-scape, including 1/3rd sky, were rendered very accurately, with a good amount of detail in the snow. I used just a little Recovery in Lightroom, and some Vibrance to punch up the sky, but essentially the pre-programed Scene Mode did the job.

snow and wind make amazing forms

Even this most difficult shot…all light and white and shadow…was rendered close enough so that Lightroom could restore detailed texture in the snow drift. 

So, fear not Scene Mode. Give it a try. Chances are you will find the pre-programed exposure routine does a better job than you can in determining exposure…and lot easier too.

Of course, I would be remiss if I did not caution you to try your Scene Mode on something you are willing to lose…or to shoot back up shots using your best judgment for comparison until you determine if the Scene Modes in your camera are as effective as the Scene Modes in the Sony H5o. 

Still, I have a feeling you will be pleasantly surprised. Personally, I plan on using Snow when it snows. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Let it snow