Six Ways to Get Perfect Ski Pictures

Colorado Photos: Winter Scenes

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One of the biggest problems you face when taking pictures on the slopes—whether of your favorite skier or snow boarder—is how to meter the scene to get a well-exposed skin tone. The problem is that your camera's built-in meter will often be fooled by the white snow and bright sky into converting your subject into a silhouette.

Here are six ways you can solve this problem according to Don Sheff, director of the world's largest photography school, the New York Institute of Photography.

First, get next to the skier before the shot, and take a closeup reading of his or her face with your camera's built-in meter. Set your exposure accordingly.

Second, if you can't get a closeup reading, take a substitute reading on your own skin provided it's similar in tone.

Third, take an incident reading with a separate light meter. An incident reading will place the whiteness of the snow, the brightness of the sky, and the skin tone of the skier exactly where you want them.

Fourth, take a reading of a gray card with either your built-in meter or a separate meter. The result will be the same as you would get with an incident reading.

Fifth, as a last resort, use the blacklight button on your camera. The backlight button usually "opens up" the exposure about one-and-a-half stops. Unfortunately, you'll probably have to open up even more to get good exposure in bright snow.

Sixth, use fill flash. But realize the limitations of your camera's built-in strobe. It probably has a range of ten to fifteen feet. Don't expect it to light up the mountain. The one thing NYI does not advise is to rely on your built-in meter.

Reprinted with permission from a monthly edition of the New York Institute of Photography's Web site.