There is an opinion that filters are rapidly becoming a thing of the past along with film cameras. Today, when any effect can be achieved using computer processing, light filters have indeed lost much of their relevance. But nevertheless, for some tasks even today, a light filter is the most reliable and convenient tool for work. Now it performs a different function - with the help of a light filter you can create the photographic material that you need for subsequent processing. It does not replace photo processing, but creates the base we need for processing.
And today we’ll talk about exactly this - about what kind of filters a modern digital photographer needs and why.
But first, let's talk about which filters really need to be consigned to the dustbin of time.
And it’s worth talking about them because the seller in the photo store can tell you for a long time and in a fascinating way how you need these filters and how you can’t live without them. It’s just that these filters have been lying around collecting dust in the store’s warehouse for a long time, and the seller needs to sell them to someone.
Color filters and filters that change color temperature
The RAW format gives us the ability to change colors, change color temperature, and do a lot of other cool things. And for this you don’t need to buy glass, which costs 100 times more than its cost.
Effective filters.
Asterisks. Rays. "Blur." All this was mega-cool until Photoshop was invented.
Let's say goodbye to these veterans and turn to those light filters that are of interest to us even in the 21st century.
Ultraviolet filter (UV)
The main task of this filter is to prevent the penetration of ultraviolet rays. If you are shooting in the highlands or on the ocean shore at the height of solar activity (when the influence of ultraviolet radiation on the picture is especially high), a UV filter will really make the colors in the photo more realistic and beautiful.
But such conditions are quite rare. In practice, the main function of a UV filter is different - a UV filter is great for protecting your lens from physical damage. It does not affect the picture in any way (and in some cases even improves it), but if the camera falls, it will take the blow. After all, it is much cheaper to buy a new filter than a new lens.
What is important is that it will also be the UV filter that gets dirty and scratched, not your lens. If you use expensive optics, be sure to buy a UV filter along with the lens.
Polarizing filters
I’m sure each of you has seen gorgeous photographs from tropical islands, where the sky is truly blue and the ocean is a beautiful, rich sea color. All these photographs were taken using a polarizing filter.
Photographer — Vasily Gureev
The main function of the polarizer is to eliminate reflections and glare on shiny non-metallic surfaces. It is thanks to this that the sky in the photographs turns out so blue - the polar explorer removed the sunlight re-reflected by the sky.
Photographer — Vasily Gureev
It’s the same with water - by removing glare from its surface, we get richer and more beautiful colors.
Photographer — Vasily Gureev
Another way to use a polarizer is to eliminate reflections in windows and windows. Let's say you need to photograph a person sitting outside the window in a cafe. But in the photograph we will get a lot of reflections in the glass of the store window. Use a polarizer and you will get the shot you want.
Of course, you can make the sky and water beautiful through processing. But, firstly, this is not possible in all cases, and secondly, using a polarizer you can make an even more beautiful picture during processing, because with a polarizer we will initially get a frame with the best colors - an excellent basis for subsequent processing.
In reportage photography, a polarizer is truly indispensable. Having taken 300-600 frames from an event, you will spend a lot of time beautifully processing the same sky. And with a polarizer, you will immediately get frames where general batch processing will be enough to produce excellent photographs.
Neutral Gray (ND) Filters
The effect that a neutral gray filter has is very difficult to recreate during processing. And even in those cases where this is possible, this becomes an extremely labor-intensive process. What does an ND filter do?
Have you seen photos of water flowing smoothly from a waterfall?
Beautiful shots. And they can only be removed using ND filters. The point is that if we set the exposure settings correctly, we will get a beautiful shot. But the water in the waterfall will freeze. There won't be the smoothness we wanted. Because to get this smoothness, you need to shoot at a long shutter speed - 1/2 second or more. But when shooting at such a shutter speed during the day, the frame, no matter how hard we try, will still end up overexposed. What to do? Put on the ND filter. The only function of an ND filter is to reduce the amount of light entering the camera sensor.
There are ND x2, x4, x8 and even x400 filters. These numbers in the filter markings indicate the coefficient of light transmission. We take, say, an NDx8 filter, put it on the lens and that’s it! Now the camera receives significantly less light and we can safely shoot at the shutter speed we need.
Gradient filters
Essentially, a gradient filter is just glass, one half of which is transparent and the other half is colored. There are two types of gradient filters - neutral gray and color. Color filters are used only when shooting on film, because... in digital photography, its effect can be created in Photoshop in a couple of clicks. This means that he is not at all interesting to us. But the neutral gray filter really deserves attention.
A gradient neutral gray filter has the same effect as a regular ND filter - it does not allow excess light to pass through. But in the case of a gradient filter, the ND coating only occupies half of the glass.
Why is such a filter needed? For example, let's say you're shooting a landscape. In the frame there is a field with wonderful flowers and beautiful clouds in the sky.
But the sky and the field differ in brightness. This means that either our sky will not be rich and contrasting enough, or the field will turn out to be too dark. And in such a situation, we just need to put on a gradient ND filter - one half of which is transparent (let’s turn the filter with this half on the field), and the other neutral gray (and its correspondingly on the sky). What did we get?
Now the sky in the frame will be darker than it actually is, which means we have equalized the brightness of our sky and field.
A similar effect, without using a filter, can only be achieved by taking several frames with different exposure settings, and then, during processing, merging them all into one photo. But it’s easier and more effective to just put on a filter and immediately take the shot you need.
In the shop
So, having decided which filter we needed, we came to the photo store. When purchasing a filter, it is important to know a few things:
— All filters are made to fit a specific lens thread size. For example, you won’t be able to put on a filter for a 50mm telephoto lens - it will simply be too big.
— Buy filters from trusted manufacturers. A low-quality filter will not last long and will quickly begin to spoil your photos. The fact is that cheap filters are made of low-quality materials, which after a while will begin to deteriorate, the components of the filter will begin to delaminate, distorting the picture in your photographs.
— You should not buy filters from branded photographic equipment manufacturers (Nikon, Canon, Minolta, etc.). Of course, these are high-quality and reliable filters. But the brand in their name is just a set of letters and nothing more. They are produced by completely different companies commissioned by Nikon or Canon. And as a result, you will overpay a decent amount just for a well-known brand.
— There are several companies that produce really high-quality professional-grade light filters for reasonable money:
Rodenstock
The Optische Werke G. Rodenstock company has been producing photo optics for over 100 years, and Rodenstock filters are rightfully considered one of the best in the world. Professional photographers around the world trust Rodenstock filters and this is perhaps the best recommendation.
If you need a really high-quality light filter, pay attention to Rodenstock filters.
HOYA
World leader in the production of light filters. In the production of filters, HOYA uses a number of unique technologies that make their filters very high quality and reliable. We are especially interested in the HOYA PRO1 Digital filter series - light filters created specifically for digital cameras.
Schneider B+W
The company is also known for the quality of its filters. In addition to producing an extensive range of filters, B+W pay special attention to the durability of their filter frames.
TIFFEN
Due to their quality, TIFFEN filters are used by professionals around the world. Unfortunately, it is much more difficult to find TIFFEN products on the Russian market than HOYA or B+W.
As we can see, filters are an integral part of the shooting process in modern photography. The success of a photographer today is the technical knowledge of photography and the ability to competently process photographs. And filters are exactly what will help you create a photo that you can process as efficiently as possible.
It is unknown what caused the sharp increase in the popularity of using filters at the post-processing stage (processing of ready-made images). It may not be the waning popularity of fashion Instagram or anything else, but the use of "electronic filters" is growing every day. It is now becoming the norm that a finished photo is not considered complete without adding some embellishment in post-processing. There is no doubt that software filters are convenient and play an important role in the filming process. However, you cannot limit yourself to only them.
There are many noteworthy reasons for using physical filters during the filming process. British photographer Jason Row, who has worked for Virgin Atlantic, Ethiad, Cunard and numerous magazines, explores the topic and has a lot to say. He travels constantly, posting his work on his Facebook page. We would like to introduce you to the expert’s advice on using filters before the post-production stage.
Why are physical filters good?
The most obvious reason to use them is image quality. Of course, any “obstacle” that is located between the front lens of the lens and the object being photographed slightly impairs the accuracy of transmitting all the nuances. ‒ is no exception, this must be admitted, no matter what some photographers say. But the important thing is that the quality deteriorates only once, and then they work with the image without transforming it during post-processing. The modified image that is recorded on the memory card will have better performance than a similar one processed by software.
Another clear example of the benefit of filters on a camera is filtering out the negative effects of the flash. Often photographers use physical devices to balance temperature and light levels when working with an external source. It is possible to correct blots and flaws using software, but this is a complex and slow procedure. There are effects that cannot be reproduced at all using post-production filters. For example, these are strong or similar LEE Big Stopper - also neutral, with increased density. These filters are used to create motion blur in the sky or water, allowing you to work with low shutter speeds.
There are other aspects that have advantages over post-processing. These are, for example, graduated filters - ND Grad. You can achieve the corresponding result with the help of quite good software tools. However, their “add gradation” function does not allow removing unwanted lighting effects, and the physical filter copes with the task quite well. It allows you to get the correct exposure throughout the entire image. With it, you don’t need to take several frames (separately for the foreground and sky, for example), combining them into one to preserve key moments of light and color rendering.
And finally, another positive, although not obvious, aspect of working with physical filters is that they force you to shoot a little slower, which allows the photographer to take a closer look at the entire scene, understand how to control the light, how it is distributed, and this ultimately increases the level of professionalism . Slowing down due to the need to install a filter will help you study the composition more deeply, think through issues related to focal length and depth of field. This cannot be done with a simple mouse click in post-processing. A photographer needs to know exactly which filters he should use in different situations and what he wants to get as a result. Will there be a lot of glare reflected from the surface of the water? Will the evening sky be overexposed if you set the camera parameters to the ground? How will the temperature of the light change if the flash light mixes with natural rays coming from the window? All such technical issues develop the photographer well, which undoubtedly benefits the creative process.
The main inconveniences associated with the use of filters at the post-processing stage
During post-processing, every action that is performed on a photograph degrades its quality, albeit slightly. This effect is cumulative, that is, the more the image changes, the worse its quality. By using physical filters made from good glass by reputable companies, losses can be minimized.
In post-production, there is always a great temptation to continue adding filters – more and more. It's very easy to do, and for inexperienced photographers, the results will only get better. However, the abundance of technical tools makes it difficult to take a step back to evaluate yourself objectively. Continuing to “adjust” images using software can achieve nothing, while working with physical filters reflects the final result as closely as possible and, if it is not good, it is immediately visible.
Finally, there are things that software simply cannot do. A striking example of this is polarization. It can only be reproduced through a physical means. A polarizing filter allows you to display the rich color of a blue sky, work with contrast, neutralize reflections from lake water or glare from smooth green foliage. There are also technical possibilities for this - but it is very difficult, sometimes completely impossible, and it is much easier to use physical devices.
There's nothing wrong with using digital filters in post-processing. In skillful hands, they allow you to create amazing, non-standard paintings and original images. However, physical means should not be neglected. With their help, you can do things that cannot be done with any newfangled software, learn to analyze the scene, camera parameters, lighting, and do things on your own that are inaccessible to even the most advanced computer.
General information
When working with large lists, it may be more convenient to display not the entire list, but only a part of it, called a subset of the list. A filter is used to select records that meet certain conditions and temporarily hide other records. The filter is used by entering filter conditions.
To set a filter, you need to click on any cell in the list with data and run the command Data / (Sort and Filter) Filter. After this, the list view will change. Each column will have an additional button, clicking which opens a list of filtering conditions for the corresponding field. These conditions are a list of field names in the corresponding column, as well as a number of general conditions: All, first 10, etc. By applying one of the conditions we will change the appearance of the list.
When using a filter, all records not included in the subset, i.e. those that do not meet the filter conditions are hidden. The program status bar displays the total number of records and the number of records that satisfy the condition.
When filtering, the line numbering does not change, and the numbers of the filtered records are highlighted in a different color. The button next to the column title also changes color to indicate that it is being used as a filter condition.
To cancel applying a filter, select All in the drop-down list. The program allows you to create quite complex filters using the condition item. The dialog that appears contains several drop-down lists. The top left list contains logical operations, such as: equal to, greater than, less than, etc., and a condition for searching for data: containing or not containing this text. There are two fields for the operation, and they are combined according to the rule AND or OR. The right lists contain the values of the conditions from the filtering list. After completing the condition formatting, click the button OK.
To finish working with the autofilter, you need to run the command again Data/(Sort and Filter)Filter.
Filtration
Let's create the following table to study filtering techniques.
1. Fill in the first row of the table in bold Arial 12 points.
2. Select the table and run the command Home/(Cells)Format/ Auto-select column width.
3. Select the table and set all borders. To do this, run the command: Home/(Font)/Borders/All borders.
Let's perform filtering for this document. We will select from the list only those students whose last name begins with the letter after IN, i.e. G; whose names begin with IN; middle name does not start with a letter R and does not contain a letter E and the house or apartment number of which is not equal 30 .
1. Place the cursor on a list cell containing data and execute the command
2. Click on the icon in the cell with the field name Surname and select more IN, then click OK.
3. Click on the icon in the cell with the field name Surname and select Text Filter/Custom Filter. Select a logical function in the upper left field of the dialog doesn't start with, and set the function value in the top right field: R; set the switch to AND, in the lower left field select: does not contain, and set the function value: E, then click OK.
4. Click on the icon in the cell with the field name Address and select Text Filter/Custom Filter. Select a logical function in the upper left field of the dialog does not contain, and set the function value in the top right field: 30
, then click OK. We get a list of the following type. 
Graphical representation of filtered data
Let's create a table of the following type.
1. Enter data into each cell.
2. To cell C10 let's introduce the formula =sum (C2:C9). Enter formulas into cells D10:H10. To do this, select the cell C10 and, by left-clicking on its lower right corner, move the mouse to H10.
3. Using the left mouse button, select all cells, using the right mouse button, select Cell Format.
4. In the tab Border choose external And internal.
5. In the tab Fill choose the desired color.
6. In the tab Font choose a style - bold, size 10 .
7. Select the first two columns of the table with the mouse and select from the menu Data/(Sort and Filter)Filter. In cells city And agent A button with an arrow will appear indicating the presence of the list.
8. Click on the arrow in the column City. A list of all the cities we entered will appear. Let's select a line "Moscow", only the results of the work of Moscow agents will be shown.
Let's create a chart for this table.
1. Select the cells A1:H10.
2. Choose a team Insert/(Chart)Histogram
3. In the pop-up window, select Histogram with grouping.
4. In the tab Layout/Captions let's choose Chart title. In the pop-up window, select above the diagram. Let’s enter the name: “number of parts sold.”
5. The chart can be stretched by placing the mouse in the corner of the chart area, left-clicking, holding it, stretching it so that its right and left borders coincide with the size of the table.
6. If you click the arrow button in the table (in the city cell) and select only one of the cities, then the diagram will show the results of only those cities that we have selected. In the same way, you can select only the purchase results of some individual customers.
7. For example, let's select only Moscow clients, we get the following diagram: 
Having returned the table to its original form (so that all rows are visible), we will add notes to row 10, in cells C10:H10. 
1. Select the cell with the left mouse button C10,.
2. Using the right mouse button, select Insert Note and enter a note.
3. Similarly, insert notes into the remaining cells of the tenth line.
The filter can be applied both to the layer as a whole and to a selected part of it. Before you apply a filter to a selected area, you can feather it so that it doesn't stand out too much in the image after filtering.
Some filters can be applied directly (by selecting the appropriate command from the submenu). Other filters can only be used by setting certain variable values in the dialog box.
Most filter dialogs have a preview window Preview(Preview). The image in such a window can be moved with the mouse.
Using the command Edit/Fade(Edit/Weaken) allows you to reduce the effect of applying the filter.
To enhance the filtering effect, select the menu command Image/Adjustments/Levels(Image/Adjustments/Levels) and in the dialog box that appears Levels(Levels) move the sliders as needed.
Correcting image sharpness. The entire picture or a selected part of it can be made sharper using the Filter/Sharpen filter.
Elimination of minor image defects. To eliminate small image errors, use the Filter/Noise/Dust & Scratches filter. When using a filter in the dialog box, the Radius field can be set to 1 pixel; this parameter determines the area in which deviations are detected. The larger the radius that is set, the larger the area that is averaged and processed by the filter. The Threshold field defines the range of deviation from the color values of the pixels.
An example of creating voluminous text. Let any text be written on a white background in a large font, for example 150 pt. You need to select the text by clicking on the text layer in the Layers palette, copy it to the clipboard, create a new layer and paste the contents of the clipboard. You can apply the Filter/Sketch/Plaster filter to the new layer by selecting the desired settings. To give the letters more volume, you need to apply the filter Filter / Sketch / Bas Relief (Filter / Sketch / Bas Relief) and create an internal shadow Layer / Layer Style / Inner Shadow (Layer / Layer Style / Inner Shadow). The text will look more impressive if you create a regular shadow for it: Layer/Layer Style/Drop Shadow (Layer/Layer Style/Shadow).
An example of edging a picture with a frame with torn edges. To create a texture that has a torn edge border, you can apply a filter Ripple(Ripple) Twirl(Twisting) or Zigzag(Zigzag). Initially, you need to create an image on a white canvas and set the border color in the field Background on the toolbar. To create the border itself, you should run the command Image/Canvas Size(Image/Canvas Size). In the command dialog Canvas Size check the radio button Relative(Relative) and set the width and height of the border in the fields Width And Heigth, for example 1.
Then you need to choose a tool Rectangular Marquee(Rectangular area). In the options bar of this tool, enter a value, for example, 8 in the field Feather(Feather) and draw a dotted outline around about three-quarters of the image (not including its borders). From the menu Select(Highlight) select command Inverse(Invert).
Execute menu command Filter/Distort/Ripple(Filter/Warp/Ripple), Move the image in the preview window so that the border of the image is visible, and select the desired look by changing the parameters with the slider. Then you can run the command Filter/Brush Strokes/Spatter(Filter/Brush Strokes/Splash).
An example of creating an “underwater” inscription. On a dark gray canvas using a light gray base color, create an image of water using the Filter/Render/Clouds and Filter/Sketch/Chrome filters. Select the parameter values so that the water image is as reliable as possible. Using the command Image/Adjust-ment/Color Balance (Image/Adjustments/Color Balance) colorize the water.
The choice of filters is a sore subject for many photographers. And for a landscape painter, this is one of the main tools. Why does a photographer need a filter anyway? Let's look at these questions in more detail.
Many are of the opinion that everything can be simulated in Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Lightroom, especially the effect of gradient filters.
I use filters mainly to control exposure. If I need to get a beautiful waveform or soften the flow of a river, ND filters will help me with this. And gradient ones will allow you to control the shutter speed and get the result in one frame.
Filter - ND16
Aperture - f/22
Shutter speed - 2, ISO 31
Focal length - 24 mm
Camera - Nikon D810
Let's consider the first plus - shooting in one frame. Without the gradient filter, I would have had to take two bracketed frames and stitch them together later in Photoshop or Lightroom. This adds work on gluing and waste of time in post-processing. In addition, after gluing, artifacts may appear: for example, an uneven border or banding. This especially applies to those scenes where there are trees against a light sky above the horizon. The leaves move, and it is very difficult to properly glue such bracketing. What happens if you shoot in one frame but underexpose to preserve the sky? Then you will have to pull the shadows - this will lead to noise.
The second advantage of gradient filters is that you immediately get a beautiful photo, well exposed in both highlights and shadows. As a perfectionist (and almost all landscape painters are like that), it’s important for me to be happy with the result. When you see a beautiful finished shot right on camera, it inspires you to take new shots and searches, which is very motivating. And not only me, but also my students in groups, when I show them such footage.
The third plus is for those who love competitions. In many of them, bracketing is prohibited, and the use of filters is not regulated.
And when you put a 150 mm gravity camera on the camera, the whole system will look like a space “pepelats”, destroying the conceit of surrounding photographers.
The latter, of course, is a joke, but, as you know, you will have to pay a large sum for “show-off”. Same with filters. If they are made of high-quality glass, then one 150 mm filter will cost about $200-300.
Aperture - f/20
Shutter speed - 2.5, ISO 50
Focal length - 14 mm
Camera - Nikon D500
How to decipher all these letters and numbers?
ND - Neutral Density - neutral gray filter. Dark glass that reduces light flow.
GND - Graduated Neutral Density - gradient neutral gray filter. Gives a smooth darkening from top to bottom from dark to transparent.
Filters from different systems and manufacturers also have different density designations. For example, ND8 shows that the filter reduces light by 8 times. 3 stop - for 3 stops of exposure. All these designations are comparable:
ND2 = 1 stop = 0.3 = 50% transmitted light
ND4 = 2 stop = 0.6 = 25%
ND8 = 3 stop = 0.9 = 12.5%
ND16 = 4 stop = 1.2 = 6.25%
ND32 = 5 stop = 1.5 = 3.125%
ND64 = 6 stop = 1.8 = 1.563%
ND128 = 7 stop = 2.1 = 0.781%
ND256 = 8 stop = 2.4 = 0.391%
Soft/Hard. If they write soft, this is a filter with a soft gradient border between the dark and light areas. In fact, I don’t use a filter with a hard border; it is intended for too narrow an application - for example, when there are no mountains on the horizon and the ground-sky line is perfectly flat. Also in this case, you can use the so-called reverse filter. Its density decreases towards the upper boundary from the horizon, where the density is maximum.
“Polarik”, also known as CPL (circular polarizer), removes reflections from water and glare and allows you to see, for example, underwater rocks. Or darken the sky.
Using a polarizer in this photo “revealed” the texture of the underwater rock.
Panorama from two vertical frames.
Aperture - f/14
Shutter speed - 15, ISO 100
Focal length - 24 mm
Camera - Nikon D810
Lens - AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
Round filters can also be gradient ones - but the border there cannot be changed in any way, so they are useless in my work. In no case do I recommend buying Vary-ND - neutral gray filters with variable density. They give a dark cross in the middle of the frame.
There are different types of holders for plate filters. For example, 100, 130, 150 or 165 mm. Different manufacturers also designate them differently. The 165 mm system, for example, can be used with an adapter even on 16-35 mm or 24-70 mm lenses. But if you only have these lenses in your arsenal, then it is wiser and cheaper to buy 100/130 mm systems - they usually fit any thread, you just need to order a separate adapter ring for the diameter of your lens.
My favorite lens for landscape photography is the AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED. Until recently there were no filter systems for it, so I used round filters for 24-70mm and shot panoramas for wider angle panoramic scenes. At the same time, additional difficulties arose when gluing waves, scattering clouds, etc. And now I use - and I want to focus your attention on this “killer” combination for a landscape masterpiece - a combination of AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED and 165 mm filters! With them you can capture the waveform in one frame, maintaining a single texture of water or sky.
A natural question: is it possible to do without filters?
The result of a neutral gray filter is almost impossible to imitate, because you change the shutter speed precisely thanks to its presence.
ND filters allow you to increase shutter speed and blur water or clouds. This does not mean that it will turn water into milk. I prefer to shoot water at shutter speeds of 1/20 sec - 1 sec depending on the speed of the water flow. I like it when the water is still divided into streams, and not like milk, but there are no distracting splashes. It all depends on the plot. Sometimes you want to show “live” water, splashes and explosions of waves.
Filter - CPL
Aperture - f/8
Shutter speed - 1/125, ISO 200
Focal length - 36 mm
Camera - Nikon D810
Lens - AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
You can say: so let's close the maximum aperture to 22 and set the ISO to minimum, then the shutter speed will increase. But in my experience, even a closed aperture at sunset is sometimes not enough to increase the shutter speed to 1 second. In addition, closing the aperture leads to loss of sharpness due to diffraction. Working apertures in landscape are usually from 8 to 16. I rarely use more.
Filter - ND16
Aperture - f/16
Shutter speed - 1, ISO 160
Focal length - 24 mm
Camera - Nikon D810
Lens - AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
Dividing water into streams – ND3 stop + GND 3 stop.
Aperture - f/14
Shutter speed - 1, ISO 100
Focal length - 24 mm
Camera - Nikon D810
Lens - AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
The wave is coming “at us”; shutter speeds shorter than one second are needed here. Panorama of 3 horizontal frames.
Aperture - f/14
Shutter speed - 1/2, ISO 200
Focal length - 24 mm
Camera - Nikon D810
Lens - AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
If you use the so-called big stoppers, that is, ND 10 stop filters, you can achieve the effect of ice and clouds scattering, even when shooting during the day. You can get exposures of 1-5 minutes.
ND 10 stop filter, shot taken during the day.
Aperture - f/13
Shutter speed - 206, ISO 31
Focal length - 42 mm
Camera - Nikon D810
Lens - AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
ND 6 stop filter, taken at dusk.
Aperture - f/16
Shutter speed - 30, ISO 31
Focal length - 14 mm
Camera - Nikon D810
Lens - AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED
The effect of clouds flying away during the day using ND 10 stop.
Panorama of two horizontal frames.
Aperture - f/11
Shutter speed - 60, ISO 100
Focal length - 24 mm
Camera - Nikon D810
Lens - AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
What about bracketing? Is it possible to use it to simulate gradient filters and then stitch together HDR in Adobe Lightroom? Yes, you can. I do this for static scenes where there are no moving objects - trees, water, etc. I also refuse filters when I need to act quickly, because such a large system as 165 mm still needs time to be assembled. The downside of filters is that they, of course, greatly limit the mobility and efficiency of the photographer.
This is where the tree sways in the wind, and bracketing cannot be used. Shot with an ND 10 stop filter.
Aperture - f/14
Shutter speed - 30, ISO 160
Focal length - 24 mm
Camera - Nikon D810
Lens - AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
The effect of a polarizing filter is also difficult to imitate. Yes, now there are polarizers even for a 14-24 mm lens, but they darken the sky in “circles”, so I only use it for water. For example, to see the underwater part of an iceberg by removing the reflection from the surface of the water.
The polarizer and the gradient work differently: the first will darken only the blue sky, leaving the clouds the same in brightness, that is, it will separate the clouds from the blue sky (mostly at an angle of 90 degrees to the sun), or the mountains from the blue sky. And the gradient darkens both the clouds and the mountains. Therefore, be careful with the gradient: in most cases you still have to correct the gradient boundary along the mountains, compensating for the underexposure at the very peaks.
Filters ND 6 stop + GND 3 stop with slight highlighting of the vertices.
Aperture - f/16
Shutter speed - 8, ISO 31
Focal length - 14 mm
Camera - Nikon D810
Lens - AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED
Adding drama to the scene. Such a frame can be simulated with a gradient in Adobe Lightroom, but the opportunity to get it straight from the camera motivates further creative searches.
Filters ND 6 stop + GND 3 stop soft + working with shutter speed.
Aperture - f/16
Shutter speed - 27, ISO 31
Focal length - 14 mm
Camera - Nikon D810
Lens - AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED
Here are the rules for using filters that I have developed over years of landscape practice in a variety of conditions:
2. Place the filter in the slot closest to the camera, especially ND. Otherwise, light will creep in here too.
3. Do not use more than 2 filters at a time. Because of this, I do not put a protective filter on the lenses. This gives better quality, less glare and less vignetting.
4. You don’t need to use filters to shoot evenly lit scenes without movement - the gradient and dramatic sky in cloudy weather in this case are well simulated in Adobe Lightroom.
5. To photograph water, use shutter speeds of about 1/10-1 second. This way its texture will be preserved and will not erode into milk. Remember that the shutter speed depends on the speed of the water flow.
6. Don't show the viewer the result of the gradient - it shouldn't be noticeable. Especially on mountains, trees above the horizon, etc.
7. If you don’t know where to start getting acquainted with filters, first buy the one most necessary for your tasks. For me, as a landscape photographer, this is ND16, and the most popular: ND8, ND16, GND 3 stop (GND8), CPL. Experiment with round filters first and then see if plates are what you need.
8. Do not use filters on open lens apertures. At open apertures, sharpness drops towards the edges anyway, plus filters usually also slightly reduce sharpness at the edges. Taken together, the defect gets worse.
9. In the rain, using filters is almost useless, since drops easily fall on the glass. Lucroit systems have, for example, rain curtains - sometimes they save the day.
10. Try not to use filters for shooting in backlight (when the sun is in the frame) - the filter will give extra flares, especially if it is a little dirty.
11. Filter plates are very fragile; for storage and transportation it is better to immediately get a hard case so as not to break them.