Need help with snow photos!

[Prinkster]

So it is snowing REALLY hard outside and I'd love to take some photographs of it! But I don't really know how.

The last time I tried, it was at night, and the snow just wouldn't show up without the flash. Now, I have no idea how it will work out but before I brave the elements I'd like to get an idea of how to set my camera. Is there anything special I need to do? What kind of white balance, exposure, etc should I use? I have a Nikon D50 if anyone is wondering.

[kirbinster]

If the shot is mostly snow (same applies to a beach where it is mostly sand) the light meter in the camera will tend to under-expose and make the snow look grey. This is because the camera assumes 18% grey (on average) and the snow is close to almost all white. One easy fix is to set the camera to +1.0 EV, this will give you a first start for compensation and should get you close. Try a few other values and let us know what works for you. This works well for both my D40 and D80.

[mysticeyesx]

a polarizer lens will help to.