How to Use Filters in Color Photography

Neutral-density, color-graduated, color-compensating, enhancing, polarizer, soft-focus and specialty filters are used in color photography. Experiment and play with various filters to create your unique, personalized style.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Camera Bags
• Camera Filters
• Camera Polarizer Filters
• Cameras
• Film

1. Study the scene you wish to photograph. Look for any extreme contrast in light. In a sunset or sunrise, the foreground is darker than the sky.

2. Use a graduated filter to compensate for these differences in contrast. A graduated filter is half clear glass and half neutral or a color. It allows the foreground to absorb more light and make the contrast between the sky and foreground less extreme.

3. Use a polarizer to prevent glare from the surface of water or from bright sunlight. A polarizer will deepen the blue of your sky.

4. Create richer colors or a mood with an enhancing filter. Fall colors such as red, orange and yellow will really snap with color when you use an enhancing filter.

5. Try a blue or cooling filter such as the 80A or a FL-D to counter the greenish hue your photograph may have when shooting under tungsten or fluorescent lights. A good place to try this filter is in basketball gymnasiums, where photos can take on a green tint.

6. Use a warming filter such as 81B when taking pictures on an overcast day or in open shade. It will add a golden glow such as the late afternoon sun emits to your photograph.

7. Play with some of the specialty filters such as the soft focus for portraits or a filter to give the lights of a city a "star" effect.

8. Choose the filter to fit the lens you wish to use or use an adapter ring to fit filters to various lenses.

Tips & Warnings

• Filters are expensive. There are several good starter kits you can purchase to help you get started in the wild world of filters.

• Carry and store your filters in a special filter case for easy access. Label each pouch with the filter enclosed for quick reference.

• You can stack your filters to create different effects.

• Colored filters are classed by a number and a letter. The number represents the color and the letter is the density, with A being the least dense.

• Check the filter factor and adjust the aperture to compensate for the light blocked by the filter.