Welcome back to part two, of this article on filters. One of my favorites is the Polarizer.
This filter when used correctly can dramatically improve your pictures by darkening blue skies while still leaving the white clouds alone. This effect provides a lot of punch to your skies and really makes a photograph stand out. When I start shooting in the morning before the sun is up, I will start with my neutral density or graduated gray filters to allow proper exposure of the sky and foreground. Then as soon as the sun is up, I switch to my polarizer. One thing to know is that when the sun is low on the horizon, to get the effect of the filter, it needs to be at right angles to the sun for the effect to take place. One simple trick to find your proper angle is to point your index finger at the sun and cock your thumb, as if you were holding a gun. Now, swivel your thumb from side to side while keeping your index straight and when your thumb can no longer move any farther, you have the exact angle you need for your filter to be effective. Try it, it works. Once the sun is fully up then the angles are not so critical, but later as the sun is lower in the western horizon, this again becomes necessary to permit your polarizer to function normally. While using your filter, you can easily see the results by turning the filter in its holder. When you like the effect, take the shot. It is that simple. Another effect that it accomplishes is to reduce glare from any reflective surface. A good example of this is if you are outside shooting through a window at something that is inside. The glare on the surface will be quite apparent in the photo, but by using your filter and varying the amount of effect, you can eliminate the glare completely. This filter is also sold combining the effects of a warming filter or an enhancement filter. Depending on whether you prefer warm or cool shots, this can save money by allowing you to purchase just one filter to accomplish what it would take two to do.
What is a warming filter? As it’s name implies, it is a filter to warm up a photo. It accomplishes this by taking out the bluish tint that is often found in shady and overcast conditions. This is purely a matter of preference and it depends on your personal tastes as to whether you like your photos cool or warm. I use them and like the warmth that these filters provide. They are also good for people pictures and warm up the skin tones as well.
Enhancement filters usually exaggerate the warmer colors of the color spectrum, notably the reds, oranges and yellows. This can be highly useful for fall shoots. The colors of the foliage just pop and the results are superb fall shots.
Now, we’ll move on to my favorite filters. There is a group called graduated and like the one I mentioned earlier, these are filters that are colored at the top and gradually fade out as you get towards the middle until they become clear again. This enables us to use any amount of color we wish. These filters are found in many different hues ranging from mild pinks to fluorescent purples and depending on the effect you wish to achieve, you may add up to four of them at a time. There are green and yellow filters that are excellent for adding a tint to the cloud formations giving them the appearance of an approaching storm. Try the Tobacco color for fantastic sunset photos. The effects of these filters depend greatly upon the type of lighting that is available. Bright sunlight has a somewhat negative effect and bright, cloudy conditions will exaggerate them. It takes a little practice to learn all the subtle nuances that these filters provide but once mastered can dramatically improve dull, lifeless skies and make any photograph stand out.
One other filter that deserves mention is the #80A. This corrects the yellow-orange, color, cast, found in shooting under tungsten lights. It renders a more natural looking color as seen with the naked eye . It can also be used to simulate evening conditions and under-exposing by a couple of stops, you may be surprised at the results achieved.
Just remember that no amount of filtration will make a bad photograph good. By this, I mean that your picture should be well composed and properly exposed and then if you need some impact, a filter might just be the trick you need to make it outstanding.
Since I still haven’t finished with filters, I will come back to this at some point in a future column as there are many filters that deserve a comment, good or bad.
Next month, join me for an intro on interchangeable lenses.
