Tips for taking weather snapshots for CTV News

Looking to send CTV News Windsor a weather snapshot? Here are some tips to be successful.

Calling all weather and photo savvy photographers!

Weather photos are wanted for our CTV News weather snapshot that is featured every evening during our 6 p.m. newscast.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when taking a weather photo:

• Take in your weather and surroundings, seeking to capture an image that tells a unique story, reveal an active weather event and/or is visually appealing. Remember – the focus is on weather and its effects on us and our environment.

• Remember to frame your shot for TV broadcast – that means horizontally. 
• Here’s an easy tip – look up. Clouds tell us a lot about the atmosphere and specifically the part of the atmosphere that produces active weather that affects us everyday on earth like rain, snow, wind – the troposphere. It’s the layer of the atmosphere where the constant movement, mixing and transformation of air, water vapour and energy (in the form of heat or lack thereof) occurs. 

• We can’t forget that most important star in our solar system and galaxy (important for life on our planet no doubt) – the sun.  The sun, the sky (clouds – in all their dynamic ever-changing glory et al.), the moon, the night sky in general are good places to point your camera to record images. If you have a conventional camera, use it and have fun with the process!

• Change your angles. Shoot high and low. Think about the time of day, too. The golden hour as at dawn and dusk can produce some fascinating colours especially under partly cloudy (mid-level clouds). After a thunderstorm, look out the sky for rainbow formations especially if the passing storm occurs during the late afternoon when the sun angle is low.

And remember – weather is the subject. Experiment! Be creative!

We are looking forward to seeing your images!