The Making of a Winter Wonderland Commercial Composite Photograph

Photography Tips

Think you need to live somewhere cold and snowy to get pictures of a winter wonderland? See how Erik Almas created an icy urban scene for Trondheim Torg Shopping Center without a single snowflake:

To begin the process, Almas used a medium-format camera to shoot frames of a cloudy, snowless day in front of the shopping center in his home town of Trondheim, Norway.

Next, he traveled to a London studio to take pictures of ice sculpture replicas of the shopping center and a model. When shooting the model, he used an assortment of Profoto softboxes to replicate the soft light produced by an overcast sky and snowy landscape.

With the results of his three photo shoots, Almas created a composite of several images that resulted in a magical winter scene.

The final image includes many eye-catching details, such as glowing street lamps, believable shadows, and a textured, snowy sky. It’s hard to believe that the photo began with a plain photo of the shopping center on a dry, grey day.