How to take good photos in foggy weather?
Fog often appears in environments with high humidity and large air temperature differences, which usually occurs after sunset in spring and autumn. The fog can last until morning, until the sun rises and brings warmth to the earth. It's possible to find fog near water in the lowlands. The surface of the water is usually a little warmer than the surrounding air, which contributes to the formation of fog. Let’s take a look at some tips that can help you get a unique perspective when shooting in foggy conditions.
Taking pictures in fog is different from taking pictures on a clear day. The surrounding reality, buildings, trees and even people cannot be seen clearly, there are no clear outlines, and often the image has no color contrast and color saturation. This is exactly what you need to use in this beautiful "special effects" weather.
Essentially, fog can be compared to a large light-diffusing softbox that spreads light across a large surface.
The light is usually poorer in fog, requiring more exposure time. In addition, fog makes the air reflect brighter, and there is no doubt that fog misleads the camera's built-in exposure system, which will make the exposure lower than necessary. Just like shooting snow, shooting in fog requires front-facing exposure correction.
To avoid all these potential pitfalls, fog can be a useful tool for emphasizing object depth, and light and shape can be useful. Photos in mist can become mysterious, which undoubtedly makes them so popular among nominees for various photography competitions. Knowing how to use these unique characteristics of fog photography, it is easy to get... 1. Emphasis on depth
In foggy weather, the farther the object is from the camera, the worse the visibility and the smaller the contrast, sometimes Very obvious. This is both a good and a bad thing. Since the details of the image are more blurry and prone to bright perspectives, the overall image volume becomes larger in the background blur. But for this reason, there are difficulties in photographing background objects. As saturation, contrast and sharpness can drop off, not all settings are in the range the photographer needs.
While there are no set rules for photography in fog, it can be useful to use a close-up lens to approach objects in your composition. Such a position adds some tonal variety and creates a proper perception that that part of the photo will look lighter due to the fog. 2. Reflect light perfectly
Water droplets in the air will scatter the light. This softens the fog to a great extent and causes bands of light to appear from concentrated or directional light sources. A classic example is a photo in the forest early in the morning, taken in the direction of this beam of light.
Sometimes, just moving the camera is enough to make those sun rays give a different effect to the photo.
If you are close enough to the light source, the light will be brighter. This situation ensures diffuse lighting and clear sunlight that stands out against the background.
On the other hand, if the fog is very dense or the light source is very concentrated, the light will be clearly visible no matter which angle the photographer shoots from. 3. Highlight shapes and silhouettes
Fog can highlight the shape of an object because it reduces its texture and contrast. Often, there may even be an incomplete silhouette outline drawing.
It is necessary to pay special attention to the relative position of objects in the composition, otherwise one object or border outline may overlap another, causing confusion in the photo.
4. Take photos from the side
You may have seen photographers complaining about the difficulty of shooting in the forest. The difficulty is that it is difficult to "simply describe the presence of the tree" and you need to try to shoot directly outside the location area. Go out of the forest, over the border, and view the trees from the side.
From a distance, fog appears to be nothing more than a layer of low white clouds, but helps the transmission of light. 5. Synchronize photo shooting with changes in the natural environment
The fog is constantly changing positions. If the exposure time is not short enough, the fog will not maintain the texture of the surrounding space. Using a slower shutter speed, you can achieve a smooth flow of varying concentrations of white light from one point in the image to another. However, long exposures come in handy when the fog is moving slowly and steadily. 6. Pay attention to condensation of water droplets and protect photographic equipment
The main problem in photography technology is condensation of water droplets in the air. The same water droplets hanging in the air may also condense on the surface of the lens or inside the camera. If the camera is in an environment with the right temperature and the fog is not too thick, you may not notice the condensation at all. If the temperature of the camera is much higher than the temperature at which you are photographing the smoke, condensation will occur.
Before you leave a warm house, completely seal the camera in a plastic bag and do not open it directly outdoors until the camera and surrounding environment are warm.
Although you pay attention to some details and sometimes some water droplets appear, be sure to wipe the lens and camera with a dry cloth.