BetterPhoto Q&A
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Brad Lambert		Outdoor family portrait in the snow. I will be taking some outdoor family portraits on Thanksgiving. There is a nice new blanket of snow and the weather report says it will be clear and cold for Thanksgiving day. What kind of film would be best? I've thought about portra 160 NC or 400 NC. Does anybody have any other recomendations? My equipment includes a Canon Elan 7, 28-135mm lens, and a 420 EX flash (probably will use as a fill flash if needed). Also any filter recomedations? To love this question, log in above November 26, 2003

Bob Cammarata		Brad, Clear sunny days with snow, usually result in high contrast conditions. If you are shooting in direct sunlight, try to position your subjects with the sun at your back and meter off their faces. If the scene is shaded, meter off the snow, and over-expose by a full stop. Either scenario should render the snow as white, and properly expose your subjects. It's also always to bracket a half-stop both ways. Any film recommended for outdoor use should work, and you should not require any filtration. Good luck! Bob To love this comment, log in above November 27, 2003

Bunny Snow		Brad, It's now after Thanksgiving, so this suggestion is something to try now, for the future. Firstly, I agree with Bob on most counts. One exception is, I would position the subjects with the sun at THEIR backs, rather than your back. You don't want the sun on their faces, making them squint. The reason is sun is very harsh on anyone's face, especially on a sunny beach or in the snow --both of which are reflectors. If the sun is behind the subject and thereby backlighting the subject, you still need to meter their faces, and you will still need to fill-in with your 420EX flash. I took an 8-week class in outdoor/studio portraiture by a local professional portrait/commercial photographer after having been a freelance outdoor portrait photographer for years, because I had some gaps in my knowledge, and because I wanted to learn classical lighting techniques. In the outdoor segment, we were told to meter for the background. Write in down. Meter our subject(s) face(s) at the nose. Write it down. Assuming there are more than two f/stops between the background and the subject, set the camera for the lighting of the background, and set your external flash for metered shaded faces in the foreground. The flash will act as a fill-in light and put catch-lights in the eyes. At the time, I shot with a manual camera and my flash did not talk to my camera, so I had to manually set both. I now also have an Élan 7E and a 420 EX flash. To do the same thing, I would change my creative settings to manual (M) mode. Re-read your instruction manual for backlighted subjects. It's always good to bracket. Let me know how both ways, Brad's and mine, worked for you. Good luck! Bunny Bunny@bunnysnow.us To love this comment, log in above February 01, 2005

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