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FILTERS: An Introduction
Let's start out with a brief overview of what different filters can do, and then we'll get more into depth about the specifics concerning the most important photographic filters. Ok then, here we go:
One of the easiest creative techniques the beginner can tackle is producing special affects with filters. Filters are relatively inexpensive and easy to use: by simply attaching them to your camera lens, you can achieve spectacular effects. You will probably be using a screw-mount type of filter. These filters screw directly onto your camera lens barrel. Select filters that either have the same diameter as the lens you are using, or be sure to get an adapter (called either step-down rings, or step-up rings, depending upon the sizes of the filters and lenses).
In addition to basic filters, such as UV or skylight filters, you can purchase many other types of filters (or lens attachments) that add colors, rainbows, stars, multiple images, etc. Some filters will create an impression of movement in photos of stationary subjects. In this section, we will discuss diffusion, polarizing, single-color and dual-color, graduated, star, diffraction, and multiple-image filters, and tell you how to make your own filters.
Diffusion filters
Diffusion filters work by diffusing the light to create a soft image. They are especially flattering for people with obvious skin flaws, such as wrinkles or scars, but they also flatter all by making skin glow radiantly. You can buy three general types of diffusion filters: No. 1, 2, and 3. The weakest is the No. 1 filter, which is used primarily for portraits. The No. 2 and 3 filters, also called mist and fog filters, are most often used to create a romantic mood in scenic photographs. It is possible to purchase diffusion filters that have clear centers; these produce portraits that resemble old-fashioned cameos.
Polarizer filters
When you are photographing a scene that includes a lot of blue sky - or one in which light is reflected off the surface of water - a polarizing filter is one of the most useful accessories you can own. A polarizing filter (also called a polarizer) works in the same way as polarizing sunglasses. It blocks light rays vibrating at a certain angle to help eliminate glare and reveal intense, saturated colors, which can heighten the drama of a photo. Most polarizing filters contain two rings: one that remains fixed on the lens, and one that rotates. By rotating the outer ring, you can increase or lessen the polarizing effect. This effect of increasing and lessening is easy to see when you look through the filter. Using a polarizing filter is easy if you have a single-lens-reflex (SLR) camera. All you have to do is look through the lens as you adjust the outer ring for the effect you want. If you are using a rangefinder camera, getting the effect you want is a bit trickier. Look through the filter alone as you turn the ring; then attach it to your camera, making sure that the rings stay in their same position.
The most dramatic effect occurs when you photograph at a right angle to the sun when the sun is fairly low in the sky. Stand with your shoulder toward the sun, and look through the filter as you rotate it until you see exactly the type of effect you feel is most effective. To reduce or eliminate reflections from a nonmetallic surface such as a window, stand at an angle of approximately 35 degrees to the reflecting surface. Rotate the polarizing filter for maximum effect at that angle.
Single-color and dual-color filters
Single-color filters give an overall hue to a photo, or change the colors in a scene by filtering out certain colors of light. Color filters let you heighten the drama of your photographs. Use a red-orange filter for photos of the beach or desert to add to the impression of heat. Use a green filter to emphasize the fertility and tranquility of the forest. Most single-color filters are available in several gradations, or densities, so you can make subtle to dramatic changes to the overall color of a scene. For example, you can use a No. 6 light-yellow filter for a slight color shift, a No. 8 yellow filter for a moderate shift, or a No. 15 deep-yellow filter for an extreme shift. You can combine more than one filter to produce deeper color saturation or to create a different hue. However, each time you add another filter, you cut down on the amount of light that reaches the film. Therefore, you must increase your exposure to compensate for the loss by using either a larger aperture or a slower shutter speed.
Dual-color filters include two colors. If you hold these filters up to the light, you can easily see a line where the colors meet. To keep this line from being obvious in your photo, align it with a natural separation line or dark area in the scene. Also avoid using a small aperture with a wide-angle lens, or the dividing line may show as a fuzzy line in your photo. Not all subjects will look attractive with all filter colors. Experiment with different colors before you shoot.
Graduated filters. Graduated filters have a colored area that gradually changes in density and a clear area. Position the clear area over the part of the scene that you want to reproduce realistically, and use the colored part to add color to the rest of the scene. For example, you could use a blue graduated filter to add color to an unattractive gray sky. With graduated filters, as with dual-color filters, you can vary the position of the colored areas by rotating the filters and experimenting until you get the effect you want. Although the line where the color meets the clear part of the filter is less obvious than in a dual-color filter, you should still follow the advice given for dual-color filters.
Star filters
Star filters turn point sources of light and specular highlights into stars. The stars are created by cross-hatched lines engraved on the surface of the filter. Depending on how it is constructed, a star filter will create 2- to 16-pointed stars. The size of the star (or stars) depends on three things: the brightness of the light source in the scene, the distance from the source to your camera, and your aperture setting. Stars will be bigger when the light source is brighter and closer, and when you use a larger aperture.
Diffraction filters
A diffraction filter creates a rainbow-like burst around point light sources in a scene. The brighter the light source, the more pronounced the effect, particularly when the light source is against a dark background. When you start experimenting with a diffraction filter, select as dark a background as possible, or underexpose your photographs by one or two stops to produce the most extreme effects. Then experiment with more subtle effects by lightening the background.
Multiple-image filters
Although it is also possible to produce multiple images by making multiple exposures on the same frame of film, it is far easier to attach a multiple-image filter to your camera lens. Multiple-image filters come in a wide variety of types; many look like cut gemstones. Some produce images in a circular, radial, or linear pattern. The linear pattern can lend an impression of motion to a still subject. Look through your lens with the filter attached to see the effect it will produce in your photograph. Plan your images carefully to keep your picture from looking gimmicky.
Making your own filters
Any object you can see through is a potential filter. For example, glass with a carved or stippled surface may bend light or the image of your subject in an exciting and original manner. Try adding blobs of color to a piece of clear plastic with a felt-tip pen and then attaching it to a clear or UV filter to add texture and diffuse light in an interesting way. It's easy to make a diffusion filter. Just apply streaks of petroleum jelly to a clear or UV filter in a straight or circular pattern. You can also spray hair spray onto a UV filter to create a tranquil, impressionistic effect. Although reproducing the precisely graduated color in a graduated filter is difficult, you can easily make your own dual-color filters by placing gels of different colors on a UV filter. The results are sure to surprise and please you. As always, the key is to experiment, and learn by doing. You can make your own star filter by using a piece of common window screen. Hold it in front of your lens, attach it with an adapter ring, or cut it to fit inside a clear filter that screws onto your lens. Making your own filters will give you a great deal of pride and accomplishment, and experimenting will help you understand how filters work.
If you feel unsure about selecting filters, ask your photo
dealer for help. You can buy single filters to attach to your
lens individually or a comprehensive system with a holder that
allows you to use a number of filters at the same time. You can
even make your own special-effects filters. If you own a lot of
lenses, you may want to use an adapter ring (e.g., a step-down
ring) instead of buying a filter for every lens. This way, with
adapters, you can use the same filter on several different size
lenses. To avoid vignetting - cutting off the extreme outer edges
of the image when using a wide-angle lens - avoid using a filter
with a diameter that's much smaller than that of your lens. Usually,
if your lens is only a few millimeters larger than the filter,
you'll have few problems; but using a 36mm filter on a 67mm lens
will result in substantial vignetting in the final print. There's
never much of a problem using filters larger than your lens (with
a step-up ring, of course).
Diffusion filters soften images in pictures. Enchanting, ethereal, and dreamy are the words that describe their effects when used traditionally. Renderings of romanticism that include brides, mothers, lovers, flowers, and idyllic pastoral scenes like summer picnics beneath willows drooping over a burbling creek have long felt the caress of the diffusion filter.
You might say it's been used mostly to produce sentimentality in an effort to pluck a few chords of the heart. Surprisingly, these chords must be tireless as pictures taken with a diffusion filter seem to charm viewers time after time. Whether the charm results from the universal appeal of the subjects-moms, kids, and sweet hearts-or from the dreamlike softness it imparts to a scene is uncertain.
Many of the world's best portrait photographers consider a diffusion filter a necessity. In real life when talking to somebody we are seldom so rude as to closely inspect the face before us. Few of us really know or care to know of the details that make up a face. But in sharp portrait photographs such details are distressingly unavoidable. We see the wrinkles, pores, and skin blemishes and are uncomfortable, probably realizing our own faces look similar. A diffusion filter diminishes the wrinkles, pores, and skin blemishes. Individual hairs flow into a diaphanous sheen of color befitting a professional model.
Traditionally, the diffusion filter has been used more for portraits of women than men. In men, wrinkles and whiskers convey a certain toughness and virility. Other times, depending upon the planned use of the photograph, the male subject would seek to diminish the lines and wrinkles, too. Whether used for men or women, a diffusion filter flatters the face (and makes friends, family, and clients appreciate your skills and talent).
There's more to diffusion filters than romantic renderings of wrinkles or blemishes. Any time you want to soften the image or obscure detail, it is effective. In softening detail you often give greater emphasis to colors.
Commercial diffusion filters usually have an embossed pattern or small transparent particles scattered within the glass. Light refracted by the particles or embossed pattern softens the image. Yet the picture keeps a semblance of sharpness because clear areas of the filter pass light unhampered. The result is a blending of sharp and soft images. And yet another secret of the professional photographer is revealed. If you're taking pictures of people, especially women, you should own a diffusion filter.
I always take a few shots without a diffuser, and the rest of the roll with a diffuser, just to cover all bases, as well as to show how much better most people look when shot through a diffusion filter. Try this experiment: Take a few portrait shots without a diffuser, and then take several with a diffuser. Then, without saying anything about how the shots were made to your subject, show the subject several prints, side-by-side, some shot through the diffuser, and some without. Then ask him/her which shots he/she likes best. I'd be willing to bet that 90% of the men, and 99% of the women (even though they may not know why), pick the shots you took through the diffuser!
Similar to the Diffusion filter is the DUTO filter, which is made of colorless, transparent, optical glass, covered with fine concentric lines at approximately 2mm intervals (instead of the irregularly uneven surface of the Diffuser). The effect is almost exactly the same as that of the Diffuser, but a somewhat more sharply defined image core is obtained by using the Duto filter rather than the Diffuser. The Duto is especially suitable for portraits and high-key shots using backlighting, and in many circumstances a more creative choice than the diffuser. Usage of the Duto, is the same as for the Diffuser filter. Try taking a few shots with the Duto every time you're using a diffuser; this gives you more options, and it's always better to have more choices!
A polarizing filter is usually mounted in a two-ring holder. The threaded inner ring attaches to the lens while the outer ring holds the filter and can be fully rotated. Explaining and un derstanding how a polarizing filter works is a greal deal more difficult than using one. So first let's see what it can do and how to use it, and then we'll see how it works. A polarizing filter does three im portant things:
1. Darkens blue skies.
2. Removes or reduces reflections from nonmetallic surfaces
such as water and glass.
3. Increases the color saturation (intensity) of color
pictures.
Check out the Polarizer page for more details & comparison pictures.
Cloaked in gray, neutral density filters are your dimmer switches. With two or three of them in hand, you can lessen the amount of light reaching the film without changing the colors because they block all colors equally. The results of light reduction are both practical and creative.
They're practical in that if you're outside taking pictures of a brilliant subject on a sunny day with high speed film, you may get overexposure even with the fastest shutter speed and smallest aperture. A neutral density filter can save the day. It reduces the light so you can obtain correct exposure.
It's more likely, though, that you'll find ample opportunity to use them creatively. You can block enough light to use either a larger aperture or a slower shutter speed. A large aperture is especially effective in portraiture. You can give attention to your subject by making an out-of-focus background with shallow depth of field. Now that bewitching smile of your favorite subject won't have to compete for attention with the bicycles and trees in the background. The background will be out-of-focus. Portraits, flower studies, and many other subjects can benefit from an out-of-focus background.
Blur and Action
Anyone taking action photographs knows the benefit of slow shutter speeds. That benefit is blur. Blur means motion. In a still picture blur translates the flurry of wings, the stampede of hooves, and the charge of linemen. To create that blur you need a slow shutter speed. You also need the camera movements of panning and zooming, or holding the camera steady and letting the subject be the sole source of blur.
Panning creates a fairly sharp subject seen against blurred streaks in the background. Start out with a shutter speed approximating or doubling the speed in miles per hour of the subject (for example, 1/30 or 1/60 second shutter speed for a horse running at 30 mph). Since the results are somewhat unpredictable you should also bracket your shutter speeds (but more often, use a shutter speed one step faster). To pan, you simply track the moving subject in your viewfinder and while moving the camera snap the picture as the subject passes in front of you. Prefocus on the spot where the subject will pass.
Often the best blurs come only from the subject moving while the camera is held still. Picture yourself being photographed as a cat leaps onto your lap. If the photographer uses a slow shutter speed, the cat will be a leaping blur and you'll be sharp. The contrast between blur and sharpness can be startling. You can even make things disappear. With a time exposure of a minute or longer, you can make rush-hour traffic vanish (assuming, perhaps unwisely, that the cars are moving). The exposure is long enough that moving subjects don't show on the film. This is a handy technique for photographing architecture when you don't want any people to show in the picture. For shutter speeds slower than 1/30 second, mount the camera on a tripod.
An effective zoom shot requires shutter speeds 1/15 second
or slower. Of course you'll need a zoom lens and a tripod for
extra sharp zoom lines. To zoom, position the subject in the center
of the viewfinder and as you press the shutter release, pull or
rotate the zooming collar through the full range of focal lengths.
Neutral density filters are available in a variety of densities.
You can sandwich two of them to create the density you want.
Before you use a filter to correct colors or contrasts, you have to know that the colors will not appear normal on film. Colors do not appear normal on film when the color balance of the light source varies greatly from the color balance required by the film. Most color films are balanced for either tungsten light ("tungsten" light is light from regular incandescant lightbulbs like we all use in our homes; see Films) or daylight. The color sensitivities of these films match the amount of red, green, and blue light in the light source. Tungsten light radiates an abundance of yellow and red light. Tungsten-balanced film compensates by being less sensitive to the yellow and red light and more sensitive to the other colors. The result is pictures of normal coloration. Daylight films are balanced for the nearly white light of a sunny midday which contains roughly equal amounts of red, green, and blue light. Filters for black and white films control the contrasts, or levels of gray, in the subjects of the pictures.
LIGHT
BALANCING FILTERS (Chart below)
Daylight is fickle. Its color varies from dawn to dusk. To correct
a fickle light source you need a light balance filter. These filters
come in two series of colors ranging from a tinge to medium coloration.
The 82 series
is bluish; it counteracts excessive yellow light. The 81
series is yellowish; it counteracts excessive blue light. A typical
example of excessive yellowish or orangish light is outdoors in
early morning or late afternoon sun light. At these times, the
sun tinges everything with a warm, yellow light. Most people like
this tinge. Many even seek it for their pictures. But on those
occasions when you want to render colors as normal as possible,
you would have to filter out the yellowish tinge with one of the
bluish series 82 filters. To counteract the orangish light
of sunset, you need an even denser blue filter from the series
80 conversion
filters. Also see chart, below.
A more common problem is excessive bluishness from overcast
days and open shade. Pictures taken on slide film on an overcast
day usually show a slight blue tinge and a stronger blue if the
picture was taken in open shade on a clear day. A blue tinge may
not be objectionable unless a face is prominent in the picture.
Few people find blue-tinged faces appealing. With negative films,
there's little need for filtration as the photofinisher can eliminate
the bluishness during printing. With slide films, you can eliminate
the bluishness with one of the yellowish 81 series filters.
An 81A or an
81B filter is
a good all-around choice that works well both on over cast days
and in open shade. To eliminate the stronger bluishness of open
shade on very clear days, try an 81C filter. It will render
flesh tones nearly normal. A skylight filter is often recommended
to reduce bluishness, but it gives only a very slight improvement.
The yellowish 81 filters can also be used for landscape
photography on overcast days. However, don't be haphazard about
using them. Days of snow and rain really are bluish. Eliminate
that bluishness, and you risk reducing the moodiness of a storm
photograph. High altitudes and snow-covered fields are other locations
with an abundance of blue light. Shadows on snow look bluish when
unfiltered. To some people bluish shadows are appropriate in a
snow scene. To others it's just too much blue. Some electronic
flashes also discharge excessive blue light. Most flashes have
a built-in filter or a golden reflector to reduce any bluishness.
If your flash pictures appear too blue, fasten one of the 81
series filters to your lens during flash picture-taking. If you're
taking a picture of somebody standing under a leafy green tree,
the light filtering through the green leaves tints your subject
green. Show me the filters...
The simplest solution is to move the person to another area, but if you can't move the subject, a CCIOM or CC20M filter should counteract the green. Colored walls also reflect their colors onto subjects . Keep these things in mind when color balance is critical. When taking pictures on the beach or in the rain, you can use a skylight or ultraviolet filter to protect the lens from sand and water spray. If you're a bit rough on your equipment it might be a good idea to leave a skylight or UV filter on the lens at all times. In cost, a filter pales when compared with a lens. Purists might argue that any extra surface, including a skylight filter, risks slight (probably undetectable) changes in color and image quality. They're right. If you're a purist by all means don't use the skylight filter just to protect your lens when it's not needed. If you aren't, use it. It will save you hundreds of dollars, if you just need to replace a filter instead of replacing an expensive lens!
For tungsten films, you'll need to use the 85 series filters, and often use them in concert with the 81 series, see chart below. Whenever taking pictures indoors under tungsten lights, always use Tungsten balanced film; it will produce better pictures, and, after all, that's what we all want: better pictures!
CONVERSION FILTERS (Chart
below)
Filters that give a photograph proper colors when you use a film
with the wrong light source are called conversion filters. If
you shoot daylight film, such as KODACHROME 64, in tungsten lighting,
the pictures turn out yellow red. If you shoot tungsten film,
such as KODAK EKTACHROME 160T Film, in daylight, the pictures
turn out bluish. A conversion filter restores the proper colors.
It does so by changing the color balance of the light to the proportions
of rid, green, and blue needed by the film for correct color rendition.
In effect, a daylight con version filter changes tungsten light
into daylight, and a tungsten light conversion filter changes
daylight into tungsten light.
Conversion filters come in two series. Dark yellow, series 85 filters convert tungsten film for daylight use. Dark blue, series 80 filters convert daylight film for tungsten light. Each series contains several filters for controlling many color nuances. Some of the color nuances can be found in tungsten lighting. For in stance, a 75-watt tungsten bulb is slightly more yellow-red and a 100 watt bulb which is slightly more yellow-red than a photolamp. Usually you can get by with just two conversion filters: A No. 80A (dark blue) for using daylight film in tungsten light and a No. 85B (yellowish orange) for using tungsten film in daylight.
Conversion filters do a good job. What you can't see, but need
to know, is that, for example, the No. 80A filter for use with
daylight films under tungsten lighting requires a 2-stop increase
in exposure. That can be a problem. About the only place you'll
use this filter is in doors where the light is already dim. Subtract
that 2-stop loss from the dim light, and you'll probably have
an unacceptably slow shutter speed even with high-speed daylight
film. One solution is to use EKTACHROME 160T Film (Tungsten) which
can be rated at ISO (ASA) 160 or at ISO (ASA) 320 with push-processing.
Used indoors, it gives you the speed you need.
Used outdoors, with a No. 85B
filter, you lose only 2/3 of a stop to the filter factor. Ideally,
you should avoid mismatching film type and light source. Keep
a roll or two of EKTACHROME 160T Film (Tungsten) handy for when
you'll need it. The table shows the appropriate filters for Kodak
color films when used with tungsten or photolamp lighting. Should
you ever be caught without the correct film or filtration, use
a high-speed color negative film. They give better results under
tungsten lighting than slower-speed color negative films.
COLOR COMPENSATING FILTERS
When it comes to fluorescent lighting, color compensating (CC)
filters can improve the colors in your pictures. Although there's
a daylight film for daylight and a tungsten film for tungsten
light, there's no such thing as a fluorescent film for fluorescent
light. But there are filters. Filters are needed because fluorescent
lights do not give off equal amounts of red, green, and blue light.
Most are deficient in red light.
This means that pictures taken with daylight film will be greenish
and pictures taken with tungsten film will be bluish. Fortunately,
the remedy to these color casts is simple. Use a CC30M filter,
which is a color compensating filter. It serves as an all-purpose
fluorescent filter for color daylight film. It won't give perfect
results, but it will help. If you want the best color possible,
match the filtration to the type of tube. Also use daylight film.
With fluorescent lighting, it gives better colors than tungsten
film.
Once you determine the type of tube, select your filters. If color
balance is critical, first make trial pictures to see if the chosen
filtration suffices. The trial is necessary because color is affected
by many factors including voltage, tube age, diffusers, lenses,
and film emulsion.
Two screw-in filters also help correct daylight and tungsten film
for cool white fluorescent lights, the most widely used fluorescent
lights. The filter that corrects fluorescent light for daylight
film is typically designated FLD (fluorescent daylight).
The filter for tungsten film is an FLT or FLB (fluorescent
tungsten). Each of these filters requires a one-stop increase
in exposure. Should you be without the correct filtration, use
color-negative film. The colors in prints will be much closer
to normal than the color in slides. You can always have color
slides made from the negatives. Color compensating filters can
be used creatively as you'll see in the following section. They
are also good for underwater photography, where the color quality
of light underwater varies with depth, water quality, and incoming
light. General filter recommendations won't help much with so
many variables but for shallow, clear water a CC30R works best.
| Film Types | Light Source | Filter Required | Filters Recommended |
| Daylight | Daylight | None | UltraViolet, Skylight |
| Daylight | High Altitude, snow | 1A, 81A, 85C | Same |
| Daylight | Tungsten | 80A | Same |
| Daylight | Flourescent | FLD | Same |
| Tungsten | Tungsten | None | Same |
| Tungsten | Daylight | 85B | Same |
| Tungsten | Flourescent | FLB | Same |
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