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The Most Common
Types of Photography Filters Explained
Using filters to capture more interesting and
creative pictures is, for many, an integral part of a solid photography
workflow. Along with protecting your lens, filters also serve various purposes
in photography.
Whether the lighting conditions are extreme or the overall
environment is not favorable, you can use filters to capture stunning photos.Whether the lighting conditions are extreme or the overall
environment is not favorable, you can use filters to capture stunning photos. But using the right filter at the right time
can be tricky.
Today’s article will allow you to understand
different types of filters and what each of them does. Before getting into the
filter types, let’s first discuss filters in detail.
What are Photography Filters, and Why are
They Used?
Have you ever wondered why we wear sunglasses? They
are undoubtedly fashion accessories, but they also allow us to see better in
bright light.
The sun emits some harmful ultraviolet (UV) light
that can damage our eyes, and sunglasses help keep our eyes protected from UV
damage. Polarized sunglasses can help reduce glare and reflections and improve
contrast. Photographic filters can enhance colors, partially or fully reduce
the amount of light, protect our camera lenses, and reduce reflections while
capturing photos.
Using filters is not as simple as it sounds, though,
since they can easily decrease the quality of your photos if you don’t use them
properly. It’s crucial to know the types of filters and which type you should
use in certain shooting scenarios.
Different Types of Lens Filters
Lens filters come in various forms and shapes. A very
common type of lens filter is the circular filter. You can mount circular or
screw-on filters onto your lens. On the other hand, square filters require a
mounting bracket or filter holder, but they aim to achieve the same results.
1. Screw-On Filters
As mentioned, screw-on filters, also known as
circular filters, can be easily screwed or mounted onto your camera lens from
the outside. A range of filters can be made into circular filters, such as
color filters, ND filters, polarizers, etc. They come with variable thicknesses
and diameters.
2. Square Filters
Image by pulaw
A square filter is a very popular type of lens filter
among landscape photographers. The great thing about square
filters is that you can stack multiple square filters to achieve different
results. For example, you can stack multiple Neutral Density filters if
you need to reduce the light entering your lens.
They are used with a filter holder directly attached
to the front of your camera lens. The most commonly used sizes of square filters
are 4 x 4 and 3 x 3 varieties.
3. Drop-In
Filters
Drop-in filters usually come with larger front
elements. That’s why they are mainly used with telephoto lenses, and
you can’t always use them with your circular filter. As the name suggests, this
type of filter is directly inserted into a small, specialized port at the back
end of your lens.
ND FILTER IMAGE RECTANGULAR
4. Rectangular
Filters
The rectangular filter is another popular choice that
landscape photographers use. Just like square filters, you also need to mount
them with a filter holder. It provides you with more space without the risks of
uneven spots to move around the subject matter. The most popular size of
rectangular filters is 4 x 6. They are perfect for vertical landscapes where
you want to capture both the foreground and the sky.
Types of Lens Filters Explained
Here are some of the most common and useful types of
lens filters. Read on to learn more about the effects that each filter type
produces.
1. Macro Filters
These filters are more commonly known as close-up filters as they’re similar to lenses in that
they magnify your subject. However, you still need to attach them to your lens
like regular filters, and that’s why they’re commonly referred to as filters.
They usually look like a CPL (circular
polarizing filter) or ND (neutral density) filter.
Like many other filter types, you can also screw-on macro filters and affix
them to your lens. Of course, you always need to match the size.
There are two common types of macro filters on the market; the single-element and
the double-element macro filters. As the name suggests, the single-element
macro lens comes with just one piece of glass. On the other hand, the
double-element has a few pieces of glass.
The main difference between the two types is that a
single-element macro filter is a lot less expensive than a double-element. It’s
also more prone to distortions, blur, and chromatic aberration.
2. Skylight and UV Filters
Image by Cheon Fong
Liew
UV and skylight filters are
usually used to protect your camera lens from scratches, dirt, and moisture.
These properties make these filters a perfect solution to capture photos in
muddy, dusty, and wet environments.
Moreover, UV filters have
also been used to keep photographic film safe from UV light that can cause
fogging and haze.
On the other hand, a skylight filter is the best
option while capturing photos under a clear and bright blue sky. Not only can
they keep the skin tones from getting washed out by the light, but they can also
reduce the blue cast that can sometimes appear when shooting outdoors.
Keep in mind that these filters can reduce the
quality of your photos slightly. It’s often a balancing act between more
sharpness and contrast or better protection.
3. Polarizing Filters
Polarizing filters are usually either linear and
circular. A circular polarizing filter is a linear polarizer but
with an additional attached glass element at the back.
When you align two elements at the right angle with
the sun also at the right angle, you will have photos with higher overall
contrast, fewer reflections, bluer skies, and more saturated colors.
4. ND (Neutral Density Filter)
The main purpose of an ND (neutral density) filter is
to reduce the amount of light hitting the camera sensor. Therefore, it can help
increase the exposure time and decrease the shutter speed.
ND filters can be used to capture long exposure
images, even in broad daylight.
This type of filter also comes in handy in flash
photography. You would most probably end up having an overexposed subject
matter if you’re shooting with a flash on a sunny day.
To produce dramatic effects with 1/250 shutter speed
at f/2.8 aperture, the sync speed of flash limits you to increase your camera’s
shutter speed. So, in cases like this, you can only stop down your aperture to
a significantly large number, such as f/8 or f/11. That means you won’t be able
to isolate the subject matter from the background. Using an ND filter will save
you from all the lighting trouble in capturing the desired photo.
You can find several types of ND filters that you can
use in different situations, and here are some of the most important ones.
- GND (Graduated Neutral Density) Filter
- Soft edge GND
- Reverse GND
ND filters can be either rectangular or circular. I
personally prefer circular ND filters for their convenience, but rectangular ND
filters are also great – and you can even stack them for even more
light-stopping power.
Pro tip: Avoid
stacking neutral density filters with wide-angle lenses because they can easily
create unwanted vignetting.
5. Color Filters
Color filters allow you to create cooling or warming
effects. They are most commonly used to change the white balance of your
camera. There are a couple of color filter types
available on the market, which are:
- Color subtraction
- Color correction
The color subtraction filter is generally used to
absorb a single color and allows the rest to pass through, and the color
correction filter is used to correct the white balance.
The color filters were once very popular in the film
industry, and they are not very commonly used in digital photography. That’s
because post-processing tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, and others allow you to adjust white
balance after the fact easily.
6. Special Effect Filters
Just like color filters, the same is the case
with special effect filters. The functionality that these
filters offer can easily be achieved using post-processing tools.
But still, there are some special effect filters that
can’t be easily replicated in post. For example, a Bokeh filter can’t be
produced using post-processing tools because it’s not as easy to change the
highlights.
Bokeh filters are essentially lens caps with a shape
cut out in the middle. When shooting with a large aperture such as f/1.4, it
turns the highlights in the background in that cut-out shape, making for very
creative photographs.
Other filters such as colored streak filters can
yield interesting results under the right conditions.
Final Word
There you have it. These are some of the most common
filter types. We hope that this guide will help you to improve your overall
photography skills in different lighting situations.
source: https://contrastly.com/the-most-common-types-of-photography-filters-explained/