Making Snow in a Houston Studio for Our Christmas Card
How a snow machine, a fogger and a four-light setup turned a plain gray backdrop into a mountain whiteout for our Christmas card.
I got a lot of great feedback on this year's Christmas card photos, so here's a look behind the scenes at the thought process and how much of it was done in camera.
The idea sparked about a year earlier, when I watched Joey L do a similar shoot for his portfolio in a creativeLive course. Growing up in Iowa and loving snow, I immediately wanted to do something like it that would complement the sports and athlete work I like to do. We settled on a "winter is coming" theme, kept it a little darker, and let it double as a promo and Christmas card.
The lighting
The execution took some study, since I had to work with the gear I owned and whatever I could get cheaply. I wanted a plain gray studio background, so to give it depth I put reflective umbrellas on two of my older Alien Bees, one at slightly different power from the other, to vary the light across the backdrop.
Next, I needed a backlight that was still soft but would make the snow and haze pop. I put a beauty dish on one of my Einsteins behind the subject, about 7–8 feet up and angled down a bit, to act as our "sun" in the background. Finally, the main light was a 69" Elinchrom octabox at camera left, close to the subject, about 7 feet up, angled slightly down and feathered off the subject. It was very similar to Joey's setup, adapted to the lights and the flat gray backdrop I had.
Snow and fog, in camera
With the lights sorted, I went looking for a snow machine and a fog machine that wouldn't cost much and would get the job done. I try to get as much done in camera as possible. I'm not a Photoshop guru by any means, and I believe in-camera effects always look a little more realistic than post-processing. Buying both machines, plus extra fluid, cost less than renting either one for four days, and both worked perfectly for our small set. Now I own a snow machine and a fogger if the need ever arises again!
We brought back our good buddy Lain, along with my good friend Cody (who also took the behind-the-scenes photos), to run the snow and fog so we could concentrate on the lights and the shooting. Lain stood on a ladder, shooting the snow up into the air so it would fall, and Cody ran the fogger by remote to add enough haze for depth, so it felt like a foggy day or a whiteout on the mountain. Without a real backdrop in Colorado, it gave us exactly the set we were hoping for.
The shoot
We rented The Houston Studio again for a good working space and shot with the Canon 5D Mark III tethered into Capture One for capture and preview. I love shooting this way because I can add small effects as we go and know my lighting and capture are as spot-on in camera as I can get them.
Sam and I suited up in our snow gear, used my snowboard as a prop, and had a blast photographing each other. It's good to feel what it's like in front of the camera every once in a while, and I'm already looking forward to what we come up with next year.
Details
- Camera and lens: Canon 5D Mark III, 50mm f/1.2L
- Lights: Paul C. Buff Einsteins and Alien Bees
- Modifiers: two reflective umbrellas, a silver beauty dish with sock, a 69" Elinchrom Rotalux octabox
- Effects: snow machine and fog machine
- Post: RAW processing in Capture One, color grading in Photoshop
- Thanks: Lain Grant and Cody Hampshire
Originally published on the Ruddock Visuals blog, December 2014. Lightly edited in 2026.