How to Take Great Photos in Winter

Winter season is a little tricky for photography. First, the sky is grey most days and good lighting is difficult to find when it starts getting dark around 4 or 5 p.m. Great lighting is crucial for stunning photography. Second, the snow is not always available and taking photos outside when you can only see leafless treas isn't fun. Third, it’s usually freezing. As you can probably guess, winter isn’t my favorite season.

However, that being said there are still many opportunities for beautiful photography.

There’s a reason why Christmas photoshoots are so popular. Beautiful Christmas decorations, cozy lights, and festive colors. In this article, I will share some tips and tricks on how to turn grey and boring photos into vibrant and magical.

Hack #1: Choose the Right Outfit

Choosing the right clothes for a photoshoot is always important. However, this becomes 10 times more crucial in winter. You see, your photos will look pretty grey and boring if you will not have any colorful accents in your outfit. At the very least, you should hold a colorful cup or stand next to a Christmas tree. Now, when I say colorful, I don't mean that you need all the colors spectrum in the photo. It looks beautiful when for example you have pink tones accents. E.g. your hat, scarf, and Christmas tree decorations. 

Just take a look at this photo, pink pastel tones definitely enhance the whole look. On top of that. Lightroom Presets brighten the image and make the colors POP. 

Lightroom Presets: Winter's Tale

Hack #2: Wait for the Snow

Of course, you can take photos outside even if it's not snowing. However, that scenario is a little bit more tricky. That's why I strongly recommend to take those photos indoors and take the photos outside when it's snowing. Here's the deal, snow makes everything look better. 

Lightroom Presets: Let It Snow

Hack #3: Shoot in RAW

By shooting in RAW mode, you will be able to get highlight and shadow recovery. In other words, your Lightroom Presets will work much better. Even if you are just shooting with your mobile, most phones now have the RAW mode. Simply make sure that you have enough memory space because this kind of photos takes quite a bit of memory space. If you are not sure how to set RAW mode on your phone, I have shown that here. 

Hack #4: Find Cool Spots 

Location is important and can definitely shift your photography game immediately. When it is snowing, I highly recommend going to a forest. 

Simply stand in the middle of the road and have a nice frame of trees. That will also allow you to get some depth and bokeh in the background. If you are shooting with your phone, choose portrait mode. When shooting with a camera, choose the smallest possible aperture (at least an f/2.8 aperture. F/2, f/1.8 or f/1.4 would be ideal). 

Lightroom Presets: Winter's Tale

Other locations work as well. If you are shooting indoors, make sure that the lighting is right. Natural lighting from the window might not be enough, however, it is definitely worth testing out. If you add artificial lights, pay close attention to your subjects' faces, you don't want them to have weird shadows under their eyes.

Hack #5: Use Props 

Little Christmas lights, Christmas decorations, Christmas sweaters, cups for hot cocoa, snow sled, winter scarves, gloves, hats, and Christmas candy. The list could go on and on. Either way, these props are what make the photoshoot festive.

Lightroom Presets: Christmas Home 

BONUS HACK: Lightroom Presets 

We have created three Lightroom Presets specifically for winter photoshoots. These presets focus on making your photos lighter and more vibrant. Each of them are created for a different style. 

Winter's Tale

This preset is for those who love soft pink tones and dreamy feeling in their photos. We paid special attention to creating stunning skin tones. Forget orange tones, this preset will create a light and airy feel to your photography. Another cool feature of this preset is that it desaturates green color and makes it into a stylish dark green. Ideal for both indoors and outdoors photography. 

Christmas Home

Do you love warmer images? We do too! Christmas Home presets are all about capturing cozy family moments. Specifically created for indoors and to highlight vibrant red tones and dark greens. 

Let It Snow

Let It Snow presets are created for deep red color lovers. When using these presets, it's a good idea to have some red elements on you: cups, scarves, blankets, skirts or dresses. 

Take Your Photography to the Next Level Today. Check out our latest presets.