22.09.2023

How to photograph fog at night. How to shoot a foggy landscape? Watching for condensation

Fog plays a special role in landscape photography. He can easily turn an ordinary photo into something extraordinary, filled with mystery and mystery. But achieving the right atmosphere is not so easy. You need to create a composition in such conditions carefully, carefully monitoring all the details. The wrong approach can make the frame look flat, and the subject may simply get lost in the fog.

When and where to photograph fog

Fog is observed at all times of the year, but most often it appears in autumn. It is in autumn that there are strong temperature changes between day and night. This leads to the formation of small droplets of water in the air.

Fog most often appears early in the morning, so in order to photograph this phenomenon, you need to plan a shooting location in advance and get there as early as possible. The fog clears quite quickly. but haze may remain throughout the day in calm and cloudy weather. Valleys of rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea coast are best suited for photographing fog. Fog also often forms around high places and over wet ground. An elevated location with a view of the fog below is ideal as a shooting location. It can hide elements of the terrain or forest and emphasize some details. Excellent shots are obtained when shooting in the thick of the fog itself. The main subject will be clearly visible, and all other elements will be absorbed by fog, and they will not be so significant.

Light intensity

It's no secret that fog impairs visibility. It acts like a huge softbox, softening the light passing through it.

In such conditions, all colors become less saturated, and the detailing of objects is less intense. You might think that this is bad for photography, but with the right approach, such conditions can be used to your advantage. Photos taken in fog look more monotonous and more graceful. Fog allows you to create simple compositions, highlighting only strong figures and muting less significant ones that are in the background. Foggy lighting conditions often cause the camera to misdetermine exposure. Photos may turn out too dark. In this case, you should use manual settings or exposure compensation. You can use the histogram to adjust your exposure correctly. It should shift to the right edge, but you should carefully monitor the appearance of overexposure. They shouldn't exist.

To get more effect from fog photography, you should follow some rules:

Keep an eye on the weather forecast. It is worth noticing the moments when a warm day gives way to a cold night or vice versa. Temperature contrast and humidity are the main factors influencing the appearance of fog. To catch the fog and have time to take plenty of photographs, you should get up before sunrise.

Use a tripod. In the fog, the lighting is not very intense, so you will have to take pictures with a long shutter speed. This is why you will have to use a tripod to get sharp shots.

Correct exposure. To photograph fog, use Av or M modes. Exposure compensation should be set to +1. To ensure that the frame is properly exposed, you can use exposure bracketing with values 0, +1, +2.

Various lenses. Depending on the shooting conditions, the lens suitable for this type of photography will be determined. Wide-angle lenses are great for long shots, while a telephoto lens will allow you to capture specific details in fog.

Early shooting. Most often, the fog dissipates with the appearance of the sun. Therefore, you need to start shooting as early as possible in the morning, before sunrise. Excellent photographs are taken when the fog subsides, when the sun begins to flood the surroundings with its light, and the fog recedes, revealing elements of the landscape.

Moving after the fog. Fog can move, so be prepared to move to a new location. If the haze is too thick, it is better to photograph from a hill, or find a place where the fog ends and walk along the ridge, looking for a suitable place to shoot.

Moisture condensation. It should be constantly. When shooting in dense fog, water droplets may form on the optics. They should be wiped with a paper napkin or a special cloth. You should also take care of the surface of the filters.

Sunrise and fog

By photographing from the direction of the rising sun, you can give the fog an orange highlight and a little drama. In order to capture how the first rays of the sun illuminate drops of water frozen in the air, the fog should not be too thick.

To create such a photograph, you should find a place to shoot on a hill and start photographing immediately after the first rays illuminate the fog. The most intense color lasts for ten minutes after sunrise. If you spot an interesting element in the fog, you can photograph it close-up, using exposure compensation other than -2 or -3 to create a silhouette.

More examples of fog photos

Photos taken by professional photographers in foggy weather always amaze with their unusual atmosphere, expressiveness, mystery and depth. At the same time, novice photography enthusiasts quite often encounter the fact that images taken in such unfavorable weather conditions lose contrast and color saturation, objects in the frame cease to be clearly visible, and the pictures themselves become somehow faded and lifeless.

This is because shooting in foggy weather has its own specifics. In order to turn your photographs into something that will emanate mystery and an enchanting atmosphere, a novice photographer needs to take into account various nuances. Shooting in fog requires a special approach to composition and other aspects of photography, otherwise the frame may turn out flat and uninteresting.

The effect of fog on photography

As you know, fog usually occurs in the evening near water and, under certain circumstances, can last until the morning of the next day. Fog forms near bodies of water, the water in which should be warmer than the surrounding air. This natural phenomenon can most often be observed in the fall, when strong temperature changes occur between night and daytime, as a result of which microscopic droplets of water form in the air.

You need to understand that when shooting in fog, you are dealing with a completely different aerial perspective and slightly different conditions than on a regular clear day. Due to the microscopic droplets of water contained in the air, light scatters, that is, fog interferes with the passage of the light flux. In fog, simple objects around us can take on a much less familiar appearance; they have only vague outlines, and the background, depending on the density of the fog, can disappear altogether. As in any atmospheric haze, in fog we see objects in the distance dimmer than near. Foggy weather acts as a natural softbox.

However, the influence of fog on the final photographic images is not limited to this. Firstly, fog significantly reduces the contrast of a photograph. In this regard, photographers often have to resort to exposure compensation in order to make their life easier when further processing foggy frames in a graphics editor. Here, most often, some positive compensation of the composition is required. In foggy conditions, the built-in exposure meter of a digital camera is often wrong.

The fog somewhat mutes the colors, and it does so differently. For example, blue and cyan colors are scattered to a greater extent than yellow or orange. In addition, the degree of muting of each color also depends on the size of the droplets and microparticles contained in the fog. Secondly, fog affects the depth of the image, increasing it and thereby changing the overall atmosphere of the image. Extra details in the frame are hidden, and you have to approach creating a composition more carefully and carefully than on a clear, fine day.

Actually, the whole trick to photographing in fog is to take into account these specific features and not ruin the photo. Fog is a kind of tool with which a photographer can give a photo more volume, make it more interesting and create a certain mood. Photos taken in foggy weather often have something that is elusive, but at the same time very valuable in fine art photography.

Catching the fog

To shoot in foggy weather, you need to first select a location and the optimal time. It is best to photograph fog in spring and autumn, since these seasons are characterized by contrasting temperatures, which leads to the formation of atmospheric haze near the earth's surface. In particular, the most optimal period for shooting in foggy weather is considered to be the end of September - beginning of October. Fog forms on the coasts of seas and oceans, near smaller bodies of water, in mountains and forests. An interesting place to photograph fog can be a simple hill that offers a wonderful view of the foggy curtain spreading across the ground.

It is recommended to go for shooting early in the morning. In the morning hours, the fog can dissipate quite quickly, or it can remain in the form of a haze above the surface for quite a long time. Those who are going to shoot in the fog need to decide in advance on the location of photography, get up early and take with them not only a digital camera, but also a tripod, as well as a set of optics. A tripod is required due to the fact that fog does seriously reduce the illumination of the scene. Increasing the ISO sensitivity can result in a rather noisy photographic image. By getting up as early as possible, you increase your chances of capturing a fantastically beautiful foggy landscape in your photos.

It should be noted that fog as a suburban phenomenon is quite unpredictable. Depending on the time of day, temperature and other factors, it can be very thick or, conversely, like a thin blanket that quickly dissipates. The fog mass itself can shift and change in density over time. This or that type of fog has its own effect on the characteristics of lighting, but these changes can be quite difficult to notice when shooting outdoors, since the human eye quickly adapts to changes in contrast.

Selecting exposure when shooting in fog

As with other adverse weather conditions, the choice of exposure becomes of utmost importance. In foggy weather, exposure may be reduced due to objective factors, resulting in darker and less natural photographs. Therefore, when shooting in fog, they usually increase positive exposure compensation by about 0.5 - 2 EV.

To maintain the effectiveness of the presence of fog in the frame, you need to take care of the white balance settings. For example, using the Tungsten mode you can make foggy shots appear cooler. Fast shutter speeds allow the fog texture to remain visible in the frame, but using a short exposure can result in more noise appearing in photographic images. When the fog is dense and moving quite slowly, long shutter speeds are more suitable.

In general, when setting the exposure time, you should take into account the density of the fog and what exactly you want to get in the frame. Use a histogram to help you understand exactly what the resulting photo image will be like. It is recommended to shoot in RAW format, which will give you more options for post-processing your photos.

Depth and aerial perspective

Remember that by moving away from your subject in foggy conditions, you make it blurrier, smaller in size and less contrast in the frame. However, sometimes this may correspond to the author's intention, but in most cases it will simply lead to distortion of the frame. In this regard, it is important to select at least one object that would be located close to the camera. It will have sufficient contrast and color saturation, thus harmonizing with other objects in the frame or the background (if there is one). Thanks to this, the background and foreground will contrast nicely with each other.

This is especially important given that fog reduces contrast to an almost unpleasant monotony, resulting in a faded, dull, and uninteresting frame. To change the aerial perspective, you can not only make the foreground more contrasting and sharper than the background, but sometimes simply greatly weaken the latter. As a result, the photograph acquires the required depth and volume. Weakening the background in a graphics editor is important when the foreground in the photograph plays a key role. At the same time, you should not get too carried away with this technique, so that the main part of the photo does not turn out too faded and uninteresting.

Lighting

As we have already found out, microscopic droplets of water contained in fog scatter and significantly soften the light. At the same time, rays from direct light sources become more visible in the frame, such as light coming from an open window in a house. In order to capture these rays of light in the frame, you need to choose the right shooting point. It is better to position yourself in close proximity to the point where the light source is visible, but at the same time not in it itself. This is shooting as if “from around the corner” in order to make the diffused light brighter and clearly visible in the frame.

True, if the light is bright enough and the fog has a dense structure, then the light rays can be visible from almost any point. The light emanating from lanterns and spotlights will be mostly “eaten up” by the fog, resulting in soft, enveloping lighting. On the other hand, morning sunlight can be very clearly visible in the frame; the main thing, again, is to choose the right shooting point.

Shapes and silhouettes of objects

In general, in foggy weather, when atmospheric haze hides the background and individual objects, all the flaws in the composition become very noticeable. Therefore, it is important to competently approach the construction of the composition of the photo, which can, for example, be aimed at emphasizing the shape of objects. Since fog significantly reduces the contrast and texture of the objects being photographed, in the picture they can simply turn into silhouettes, which can sometimes be very interesting and attractive.

In order for a black object to turn into a silhouette, it is only necessary to expose not to the object, but to the fog. You can also try setting negative exposure compensation to reduce the brightness of the subject. In this case, it is important to pay attention to the location of individual objects in the frame so that their contours do not overlap or intersect with each other. It is the fog that provides the photographer with the opportunity to play with the shapes and silhouettes of any objects in different ways, which, of course, must be used.

Don't forget about condensation

Finally, we need to mention such an important point when shooting in foggy weather as condensation. In foggy conditions, with a sharp temperature change, water droplets condense in the air. This means that condensation may form on the surface of your digital camera lens or even inside it. There is no need to explain what this can lead to. The risk of condensation increases when you have just left a warm room outside, and the camera and optics have been in warm, home conditions for a long time.

To avoid such an unpleasant effect, you can put your camera in a sealed plastic bag before going outside. Then you just have to wait a little until the temperature in the bag equals the air temperature outside, after which you can open the bag to take out the camera and start shooting. In any case, it is recommended to always carry a lens case and a soft cloth with you to wipe and remove moisture from the front lens.

Adverse weather conditions, including fog, can often delight the photographer with very interesting and unusual photographs. Foggy weather is notable for the fact that it introduces some of its own uncertainty into photography. Moreover, what exactly this uncertainty consists of cannot be said in advance, but it helps create an amazing atmosphere and mood in the pictures. The main thing when shooting fog is to choose the right exposure, carefully and thoughtfully build your composition, and also not be afraid to experiment in order to be able to get truly unexpected results.

Many photographers dream of adding beautiful photographs of foggy haze to their portfolio. But how to photograph nebulae correctly? This is a complex and multifaceted issue that we will try to understand.

Photos with fog always attract viewers' attention, and for good reason. They look impressive, fascinate with their depth and mystery, attracting curious glances for a long time. However, taking a good photo of the nebula is not so easy. Often, after shooting, a photographer is disappointed to discover that the shots turned out blurry and flat. A big problem is also the loss of saturation and contrast when fog “eats” bright colors and objects in the photo.

All this happens because photographing a nebula is itself very specific and requires thorough preparation. In order for the smoky landscape in the photo to enchant with its depth and texture, the photographer must be very careful in building the composition and other important working moments.

How does fog appear?

We can observe this beautiful phenomenon in late spring, summer and autumn. Haze usually appears near the water in the evening, and under good conditions it can last until the morning. Fog forms near bodies of water, the water in which has a higher temperature than the air around it. This is most often observed in the fall. Then, as night approaches, a sharp drop in temperature occurs, which leads to the appearance of microscopic droplets of water in the air.

How does fog affect your footage?

One thing to keep in mind is that when shooting in fog, you are working with a completely different aerial perspective and state of the world around you than on a bright, clear day. Microscopic water droplets in the air scatter light. Thus, fog prevents the passage of light rays and makes the appearance of the objects that surround us less distinct. And the perspective, depending on the density of the fog, may disappear completely. In such a situation, objects that are far away appear dimmer to us, and the further an object is from us, the more colors it loses.

However, this is not all the difficulties of photography in the fog. A smoky curtain causes a lot of trouble, destroying the natural contrast of photographs. In this regard, photographers often have to use exposure compensation in order to simplify their task in the future when processing a photo in a photo editor. Here, in most cases, it is necessary to apply positive composition compensation. Keep in mind that in foggy conditions, the exposure meter that is built into a digital camera often makes mistakes.

Fog does not mute all colors equally. For example, cyan and blue scatter much more than orange and yellow. Moreover, the degree to which colored particles are muted depends on the size of the microdroplets contained in the air. Fog not only affects the color, but also the depth of the image, increasing it, which changes the atmosphere of the photo. Unnecessary details disappear, and you have to create a composition more carefully and carefully than on a clear day.

So, the main feature of photography in fog is to take into account all the nuances of weather conditions and take advantage of them, because if you work on the image correctly, fog can give it additional volume, make it more interesting and become the “highlight” of the image.

Where to look for fog

Before photographing fog, you need to choose the right place and time for the process. The best period for photographing foggy haze is considered to be the end of September - beginning of October. Fog appears not only near the shores of reservoirs, but also in mountains and forests. A fresh and interesting solution for shooting would be an unusual view from a hill onto a foggy veil that spreads along the ground.
It's best to go shooting early(!) in the morning. The weather is unpredictable, and morning fog can easily dissipate in a couple of hours, but it can also remain above the surface for quite a long time, gradually losing its thickness.

Monitor the weather forecast.
Notice the moments when a warm day turns into a cold night, and vice versa. The contrast in temperature will give you the desired foggy veil.

Use a tripod.
In order to bring home good shots, just a camera will not be enough. Be sure to take a tripod and a set of optics with you when shooting. In foggy conditions, the lighting will not be very good and you will have to take long exposures. To keep your photos sharp in these conditions, you'll need to use a tripod. Shoot your subject with your aperture stopped down to f/8 for the sharpest possible shot.

Maintain correct exposure.
In the question of how to photograph fog efficiently, equipment settings play a big role. Prepare your camera for the process. Use the Av or M modes. The “Tungsten” mode will help give your photos a cooler tint. Set exposure compensation to +1. To ensure that the frame is accurately illuminated, you can use exposure bracketing in the values 0, +1, +2.
It will help to achieve maximum sharpness of the photo. Adjust the shutter speed depending on the density of the fog and the result you want to see in the end. It is recommended to create images in RAW format, which will provide more options for further processing of photos.

Change lenses.
The choice of lens will be determined by the shooting conditions and the result you want to achieve. Wide-angle lenses are good for shooting general plans; they will open up a lot of possibilities for you when photographing landscapes, and a telephoto lens will give you the opportunity to capture individual details in the frame. Change lenses and shooting plans to get as many original photos as possible.

Follow the fog.
He can move, so be prepared to quickly move after him. If the haze is very thick, try to find a place where the fog ends and walk along this line in search of a beautiful place for photography.

Use sunrise.
By choosing an angle from the direction of the rising sun, you can add an orange highlight to the fog and make the composition a little dramatic.

Aerial perspective

How to photograph fog without losing other parts of the composition in it? As mentioned earlier, moving away from a subject in conditions of strong fog, you make it less distinct and bright in the photo, and reduce in size. Because of this, it is important to identify at least one object that you will place close to the camera. It will stand out with its saturation and contrast against the general background, forming a single picture with other objects and harmoniously fitting into the landscape. Thanks to this solution, the foreground and background will harmoniously contrast with each other.
This is really important, because the fog smooths out the contrast almost to complete monotony.

In order to change the aerial perspective, you can not only make the foreground brighter and more contrasting than the background, but also simply greatly weaken the background. As a result of this technique, the image will receive the desired volume and depth. Weakening the background in the editor is used in cases where the foreground in the photo is key, and it is on it that you need to create additional emphasis. At the same time, you shouldn’t get too carried away with “weakening”, otherwise you risk completely losing the background in the picture, which will make it too boring.

Lighting

Fog significantly softens the light by scattering it. It makes rays from direct light sources, such as a flashlight, more visible. In order to capture these rays in the picture, you need to choose the shooting point wisely. It is better to stop at a place where the light source is visible, but do not get too close to it. This will help you capture brighter, more clearly visible light in your frame.

Focus on silhouettes

The composition of the photo can be more aimed at highlighting and emphasizing the shape of the subject. Since fog significantly reduces the texture of an object, in a photograph it can turn into an intricate silhouette, which sometimes turns out to be a rather interesting and original solution.

In order to turn a black object into a silhouette, you just need to adjust the exponential not by color, but by fog. You can also apply negative exposure compensation to reduce the brightness of a subject. In this case, you need to carefully monitor the location of individual objects in the photograph. Their contours should not overlap each other or intersect, otherwise the picture will not be entirely clear.

Watching for condensation

When there is a temperature difference, water droplets condense in the air. This leads to condensation periodically forming on the glass and inside the lens of your camera. All this will significantly complicate the filming process, and, in the worst case, may even put the equipment out of working order. The danger of condensation appears in cases where, for example, you suddenly left a warm room into a cold street, and the camera still retained heat.

To prevent such troubles, place the equipment in a sealed plastic bag before leaving. So, when exposed to different temperatures, condensation cannot appear on your camera, because the bag does not allow moisture to pass through. Wait until the temperature in the bag is equal to the outside temperature and open. But always have a lens case and soft paper napkins with you; they will save you if drops of water appear during the shooting process.

Fog is an amazing natural phenomenon that brings its charm and originality to completely ordinary landscapes. The hunt for the desired pictures can be long and may not even be limited to one attempt. But don't give up! If you want to add spectacular photographs with natural haze to your portfolio, look for new, interesting and unexplored places, discover new angles, try different lenses and filters, in a word, experiment in everything. But don’t forget about the main rules for shooting in bad weather. And then, very soon you will achieve the desired result, and spectacular photographs will decorate your collection.

* Recommended to upload a 720*312 image as the cover image

Article Description

Despite the fact that the topic raised is quite specific, I hope that it will be interesting. To begin with, don’t be too lazy to grab a tripod and protect your equipment from condensation. A tripod will come in handy if you want to take pictures with long exposures (we'll talk about this later) or if the equipment you have is very sensitive to lack of lighting. The latter will be especially true for smartphones two or three years old, where the light sensitivity is lower than that of modern flagships and devices in the mid-price segment. As for condensation, it will inevitably arise and if the smartphone does not have at least minimal moisture protection, this can become a problem. But in addition to your smartphone, you will most likely have a compact flash or a remote control for releasing the shutter, but they do not have protection from dust and moisture at all. To avoid problems, just follow a simple rule: when moving any equipment from cold to warm, just do not turn on the device immediately, take at least a couple of minutes to adapt. You can also wrap the equipment in a plastic bag in advance and take it out only when the temperature is equal. Also stock up on napkins - they will help get rid of unwanted droplets of moisture already during the shooting process. Camera settings First of all, you will have to constantly monitor the exposure and even artificially increase this value. In automatic mode, your camera may “make a mistake” due to the high reflective properties of the fog. There may also be problems with focusing: the low contrast of the scene being shot can mislead the automation, so adjust the focus manually. Experiment with shutter speed: short values will help convey the “torn” ”haze structure, while a long one will create the feeling of a continuous veil. If you opt for shorter settings, be sure to increase your ISO to help compensate for the lack of light. Composition What about shooting in fog when there's nothing but a blanket of white around you? Look for bright objects that you can place in the foreground. These can be silhouettes of people, flowers in a flowerbed, you can even take your favorite toy from home. In addition, the morning haze can give the photographer many mysterious silhouettes, be it trees or buildings. Even the most hackneyed objects, to which your gaze does not cling at all, are able to sparkle with new colors in the fog. Haze will minimize the features of background objects, as if distancing them, while focusing the viewer’s attention on the main subject of the photo. An interesting compositional solution could be to emerge from the fog and try to look at it from the outside. This will require elevation, because, as we know, fog always spreads over the ground. Another reliable plot is sheaves of light breaking through the fog. This effect is manifested due to the smallest particles of water dispersed in the air. To capture this effect, you need a close light source (you can take a flashlight with you). Also, in search of sheaves of light, it would be useful to take a walk to the nearest park: the sun’s rays do not need additional lighting and always beautifully break through the branches of trees. Here you don’t even have to think much about the composition. Post-processing Mobile photography has long outgrown the hackneyed “walked by, took out the phone, clicked.” Now it is a full-fledged art, with its own heroes and awards. Reasonable image processing is not considered something shameful; you just need to learn how to use the capabilities of the editor available on your smartphone. First of all, do not forget about the composition and, if necessary, cut off what does not fit into the desired plot. Next, pay attention to the colors of the existing picture. They may seem dull to you. In order not to lose the charm of a foggy morning, increase the saturation of the foreground, leaving the background cloudy and dim. If you wanted to photograph silhouettes, increase the contrast of the image. It also makes sense to play with the white balance: going to a cold or, conversely, warm color palette will help the photo sparkle with new colors The main rule is moderation. If you overdo it, you will not only lose the atmosphere of the photo, but also get digital noise. This was clearly not your goal. As you can see, all the tips are easy to follow and do not require the use of any complex equipment. I hope they were helpful. source PDA Life

When taking regular photos with your smartphone in order to capture some events as a memory, you don’t really want to end up with blurry photos! And if something like this happened, then, knowing and remembering the true capabilities of the camera of your device, indignation at the current situation can drive you crazy - the moment is lost, and only low-quality images are from your memories. This is really unpleasant! The moment, of course, cannot be returned, but the smartphone camera is not lost yet. Simple cleaning of the camera will allow you to use it again, getting high-quality pictures at the time you need!

In the vast majority of cases, blurry photos from a smartphone camera are not an obsolescence of technology. This is a banal entry of dust into the body of the device. This is what causes the quality of photography to deteriorate. Therefore, turn your smartphone with the camera towards you and carefully examine whether there are dust particles there. If yes, then feel free to start cleaning. Believe me, the result will surprise you.

Why is there dust in the smartphone camera?

The answer is banal to the point of impossible! All due to the loss of the seal of the housing! And we shouldn’t blame smartphone manufacturers for this. They do everything wisely. The ingress of dust into the body of a new phone from the counter is practically zero. Deterioration of tightness appears during the operation of the equipment. More precisely, as a result of mechanical effects on the device:

falls, blows;
frequent opening of the case;
And so on.

These factors serve as the primary source of cracks through which dust particles can get inside the smartphone. Including the camera.

Cleaning the camera from dust

Let's look at the Lenovo P780 as an example. At one time, this phone fell into the water and was completely disassembled to dry completely. Subsequent assembly of the device was completed with defects. And after about six months, the smartphone camera was simply depressing with the quality of its pictures. The image below is a blurry photo from a smartphone camera.

To work you will need screwdrivers, cotton swabs and alcohol. Alcohol wipes, which are sold in every pharmacy, may also come in handy.