Stop the action

Much of the action in the snow in winter is of the skiing and snowboarding kind. These are fast paced sports and you’ll need to be ready to capture the action so your photos are crisp and sharp and not blurry. There are two handy techniques you can employ. One is to use the sports or action mode on your camera so the shutter speed will be very short and the shot will be taken very fast – sometimes in the order of 1/250 of a second or shorter. This is so quick that the action will be effectively frozen. Another method is to follow the subject with the camera as you take the shot. Stand still and brace the camera to your body as you follow the subject’s movement. Focus and take your shot while you are still moving and continue to move after the photo has been shot. This technique will result in the subject being sharply in focus against a deliciously blurry background.

Use the fill flash

When you're photographing a person in front of a snow scene on a sunny day the lightness of the snow in the background of the shot will fool the camera's automatic sensors into exposing incorrectly for the person who is standing in front of you. In a similar manner to taking photographs on the beach in the height of summer use the camera's fill or force flash when shooting in these circumstances. The flash will light the person in the foreground and you'll have both the person and their background nicely exposed.