BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: Camera Filters

How Are Filters Used?

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July 18, 2004

Personally, I try not to use ANY filters unless they are prerequisite to what I'm attempting to achieve. The one I use most often is an 80-A corrective filter when doing small product photography, still lifes, or other studio shots with outdoor film. This filter balances the lights from my floods (or copy stand), and eliminates the yellow cast associated with using daylight-balanced film indoors.
A warming filter - such as an 81-A or 81-B - can be beneficial if you shoot a lot in the early morning ... before sunrise, or for shooting ice formations in winter when they are in deep shade. In both these scenarios, the light is "cold" and will lean more toward the blue side on film. A warming filter can help to balance this a bit, and make the scene look more like your eyes and brain perceived it.

A gradual neutral-density filter may also come in handy for situations when exposure values within the scene you are shooting exceed the limits of your film's exposure latitude ... such as dark foreground subjects against a bright sky. Without filtration, your sky will wash out and overexpose, or your foreground will darken and silhouette. A grad. ND filter will usually allow you to darken the sky enough to bring out the detail of your foreground objects - to balance the exposure throughout the scene.

Also, to reduce or eliminate reflected glare, you can usually get away without a polarizing filter by adjusting your position and shooting perpendicular to the sun: Hold your thumb and forefinger into an "L" shaped right-angle. Point your thumb at the sun, and shoot in the direction your forefinger is pointing. Reflected glare will be at its least from this direction. Hope this helps.

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July 18, 2004

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July 20, 2004