Snow exposure
Also known as: exposing for snow, grey snow
Bright snow fools a camera's meter into underexposing and gives dull grey footage; snow exposure means compensating so it stays white with detail.
Updated
What it means
Camera meters assume the average scene is a mid-tone. Point one at a slope of fresh snow and it sees far more light than average, so it darkens the image until the snow sits near middle grey. The result is the familiar dull, bluish ski footage where the white has gone flat.
Getting it right matters more than with most subjects. Snow fills much of the frame, it carries the texture of turns and tracks, and faces against it go dark when the camera underexposes. Push too far the other way and the brightest areas clip to pure white with no detail left.
How it works in practice
The usual fix is exposure compensation of roughly +0.7 to +1.3 stops on bright, sunny snow, and less under cloud. Check the result on the Histogram: the snow should sit high on the right without piling against the edge. Zebras, where a camera offers them, show the clipping point directly.
Alternatively, meter from something mid-toned, like a jacket or a face, and lock that reading. A Log profile buys extra highlight room, and an ND filter keeps the shutter sensible on bright days. Recheck whenever the light changes, because flat light needs different settings than blue sky.
What to watch out for
Leaving everything to Auto exposure is the root problem. The meter keeps correcting as the frame swings between snow, trees and sky, so consecutive clips do not match and brightness shifts mid-shot. A rider in dark clothes filling the frame makes the meter overcorrect the other way, brightening the snow behind them until it clips.
Overcorrecting is just as common. Snow that clips loses all its structure, and blown highlights cannot be pulled back in grading, while slightly dark snow often can. White balance needs attention too: shade on snow turns blue, so a fixed setting can look more natural than auto.
How RawClip handles it
RawClip does not adjust brightness or color, so grey snow in your clips stays grey in the highlight and blown snow stays blown. Expose on the mountain. Once the files are uploaded, the model focuses on turns, jumps, falls and reactions, ordered by recording time, and offers several lengths to pick from.