Photographing Fog – 3 Things to Remember

I was looking for images for a guest blog post about fall and came across pictures that I had taken on a foggy morning at the pumpkin patch last year. I had forgotten about them and then quickly remembered that they are some of my all-time favorite shots. I wasn’t sure how they would turn out because it was my first time shooting in such heavy fog, but I love the results! I thought I’d share with you some rules for photographing fog.

Rule #1. Bump Up Exposure. Fog is like a giant soft box in the sky. The light scatters everywhere and makes it nice and even. The only drawback is that you’ll have to compensate for a more dimly lit scene. You can either lower your shutter speed (watch out for blurry pics though), choose a wider aperture, or increase your ISO to allow more light in. If you are post processing your images, you might want to add in a little contrast and increase the saturation too. Fog can make things look flat. Adding in a subject like your darling children can add depth and some contrast.

Rule #2. Timing is Everything. Morning is best when photographing fog. It forms when water vapor is suspended in the air. It is also much more likely to form near the surface of water that is slightly warmer than the surrounding air. Fog usually forms late in the evening and can last until early the next morning. Fog moves and changes quickly so you  may have very different shots in a span of minutes.

Rule #3. Choose the Right Lens. I used a wide angle lens for these images and there is less compression. If I had used a longer lens, maybe my 85mm, there would have been a totally different effect. Essentially, more blur in the background.

Finally, if you are using your camera phone or a simple point and shoot, some of these rules will not apply because you can’t control your camera as much. In that case, use your creativity in a different way. Try to focus on composition and make your images more interesting by choosing a different perspective or angle. Grab a lot of details shots.

I hope you enjoyed these tips for photographing fog. I hope you get to practice this fall!