To capture a really great snowmobiling photo doesn’t mean you have to lug an expensive DSLR around. It helps to have a decent camera, but technique is often more important than fancy equipment. So, with the help of Brendon Fidek—who is a professional photographer and a snowmobiler from Invermay, Saskatchewan—we came up with seven tips to help you take better snowmobiling photos this winter:
- Zoom in on your subject. This will compress the background and isolate the subject to make him or her pop out of the photo.
- Look for objects that will frame the subject and fill in the blank spaces of your photo. Tree branches may work.
- Look for lines and curves that will lead the eye into the photo.
- Put the sun in front of your subjects to brighten them up. Taking a photo with the sun behind will make the subject appear darker than the rest of the photo and you’ll have to do some post-production to brighten the photo.
- If it’s getting dark, don’t be afraid to use your flash to cast some artificial light on your subject. This technique creates a unique photo if there’s a sunset in the background.
- If it’s overcast, zoom in on your subject and/or look for some interesting objects in the background to replace the bland, grey snow in the photo. Also, change your camera’s setting to the cloudy mode.
- Discuss with your riding buddies what’s going on and make sure everyone is on board before you take the photo.
Now that you have some tips, it’s time to get out there and put them into practice. Have fun this winter and if you take some great snowmobiling photos, enter them in our Hotshots Contest. We’ll be giving away some great prizes throughout the season—plus, your photo may even appear in the print version of our magazine.
To learn more about how Brendon Fidek became a snowmobiler and photographer, see our story, Behind the Lens.
