​Photography skills for different weather conditions

Whether we're shooting for a magazine, canvas prints document or a vacation, we want to be prepared for everything from shooting a football game to making a portrait of our grandfather on his 90th birthday. From photographing the Great Pyramid in Egypt to documenting a baby's first steps.

Photographers love dramatic weather. Rain, snow, fog, storm skies - Using the weather can brighten a photo and help you convey a mood or mood. The wet, neon-reflected streets look very different in the sun, canvas prints online and the fog-shrouded abandoned houses are more atmospheric than on a sunny day. Try photographing your neighborhood in different weather conditions and compare the mood of each image.

When shooting in the rain, find a covered area (like a porch). Use an umbrella or a plastic bag to simply wrap your camera and leave a hole in the lens, as water can damage your equipment. Keep an eye out for rain drops that fall on your lens or filter, extra large canvas prints and always wipe them clean.

To solidify raindrops in midair, use a shutter speed of 1/125 or higher. The drops elongate at 1/60 of a second and become more pronounced when you slow down the shutter speed. It's best to highlight raindrops against a dull background, but if that's not possible, try to include another clear object in the picture that indicates rain - for example, the person holding an umbrella or water dripping into a puddle.

Find out how rain affects your picture. The tree trunks, where the leaves are bright and windward, are dimmed by moisture, making the forest more dramatic. A farmer can stand smiling in a field watching a timely rain, but a businessman in a hurry may look unhappy.

Snow and ice, like sand, can trick light meters: bright white results in underexposure because - don't forget - the light meter gets a reading from 18 percent gray. The easiest way to compensate for this is to take the reading from the grey card or the color you know is in the middle of the scene. Make sure it is in the same light as your subject and that the meter does not take the reading from a bright background. If it's an important shot, use a surround exposure.

If you take many photos of the same scene, and you have determined how much your meter is underexposed, you can set the exposure compensation dial on the auto compensation. If your camera does not have such a dial, you can change the ISO value to "trick" the meter. For example, if you use an ISO 200 film photometer that reads F/16 in 1/250 seconds. Since the grey card you get an F/11 reading in 1/250 seconds. Simply change the ISO value to 100 to compensate for the first gear. (Remember, the amount of light needed to reach the film to double the ISO value by half.) Don't forget to switch back to the original Settings after shooting.

If it's sunny, come out early in the morning or dusk. The low Angle of the sun gives the snow more detail and texture than it does during the day. Avoid shooting with the sun directly behind you. The light that bounces directly into your lens from the snow usually gives you the effect of whiteness. If you're photographing an activity - a skier or a bobsledder - check out the details in the sports section to learn how to freeze the activity or capture it.

Under very cold conditions, try to keep the camera battery at the right temperature. I usually put the camera in my jacket, take it out when I'm shooting, and put it back when I'm moving down in a place. Also remember that skin can stick to extremely cold metal, so tape any contact surfaces beforehand. (Don't forget the point where your nose touches the camera.)

Don't forget the condensation when you go back inside on very cold days. Seal the camera in a plastic bag while you're still in the cold, then warm the camera before opening the bag when you return to your heated room. Look for the details that really mean "cold" : a small bird curled in feathers with only its eyes peeking out of a bright down coat, the breath in the air as two people talk, the ice on their whiskers.

A ship suspended in fog, a haze floating over a Lily pond - water vapor can create a very evocative image. Like snow, fog can fool your light meter and flash. Some fog may be perfectly grey in the middle or inconsequential in its thinness, while others may be near white. To ensure a correct exposure, get the exposure reading from the subject or, if you can get close, from the grey card. In a foggy environment, your flashing lights can be reflected by water particles and not reach your body, just as car headlights sometimes only illuminate the fog rather than the road.

If it's too foggy, simply wrap your camera in a clean plastic bag. Notice the fog condensing on the lens. When it's foggy outside, don't let the dim light scare you away - diffuse light is ideal for certain emotional types of photos.

When I see the dramatic storm sky, I run around trying to find some interest in its foreground. The dramatic sky creates a sense that you can't get from other scenes, as classical painters show.

If you take a few shots of sunlight piercing through the clouds, acrylic mounting online be careful not to take a meter reading from the light column because you want it to be bright. The same applies to the white foam that breaks off the rocks. Remember, if the sky is too cloudy, the meter will overshine.