 Estella Aguilar |
special filters what are they used for?are thy for over exposure?
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robert G. Fately |
Estella, filters are not used to correct overexposure issues (except for one case I'll describe in a minute) but rather to enhance an image. Of course, they can end up making things less appealing, but that's an artistic decision. There are many kinds of filters, but they can be divided into a few categories. Colored filters are usually used with B&W film to enhance contrast - for example, a yellow or orange filter will cause a blue sky to record more darkly and thus make the white clouds in that sky really "pop". Special effects filters (kaleidascopic, starburst, etc.) make obvious alterations to the image - I don't see them used much nowadays for being a bit too "gimmicky". Polarizing filters can be very useful, as you cannot replicate their effect with post processing in photo editing software. A polarizer can deepen the blue of a sky, or remove glare from reflective surfaces, or sometimes punch up colors, depending on the lighting conditions. Close-up filters are actually clear lenses designed to screw onto the front of a lens for the purpose of allowing a much closer focusing distance - a nice way to start getting into so-called "macro" shooting. Finally, neutral-density filters are uncolored "sunglasses" - these are used when you purposefully want to use a wide aperture or a slow shutter speed but there is simply too much light to do that without overexposing the shot. By putting a ND filter on the lens, you can effectively cut out 1/4 or 1/2 or more of the light, to allow for the use of the desired slower shutter speeds. I hope that at least helps you understand the kinds of filters out there...whole books have been written on the topic and I don't want to create one here...
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BetterPhoto Member |
Hi Estella; Continuing with what Bob said, There are hundreds of filters for hundreds of purposes. While doing portraits, I've found a very valuable filter to be the soft focus filter. I use these (I own a Tiffen #1, #2, and #3) to help with such things as simple zits to severe acne. If you view my gallery, you will see the effects of some filters. Closeup lenses are very useful if you like to shoot macro without the budget for a macro lens. Polarizing filters are especially great for things like rainbows. As Bob said, but elaborate further, this filter will help to remove reflections, as long as the reflections are on things like glass or painted surfaces. They have no effect on reflections from metal surfaces. Some special effects filters that can be fun are filters like speed filters (will blur half the frame, thus causing the effect of fast motion-great for parked sports cars), fog effect (makes a frame look like it was shot through anything from a light haze to near zero visibility), star effect (accentuates lights) and warming filters (this filter is tinted with orange dye of varying degrees-great for anything from black and white to colorless sunsets-we've all wanted more color in a sunset once in a while). Have fun and keep shooting,
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