How to use filters in landscape photography?

To take excellent scenery photos, you don't need a lot of equipment, and you often have to walk a long way with your equipment on your back. Too much equipment is even more inconvenient. As long as the typing becomes worse, the most important thing is to use it well. Below, I collected how to use the landscape photography filter for you. Let's have a look.

Reducing agent * * * neutral density, ND***

Objective: To reduce the amount of light entering the lens.

Usage: Shoot waterfalls and rivers under strong light.

ND mirror can reduce the amount of light projected on the photosensitive element on average. When your camera's * * * aperture, shutter and ISO*** settings can't further reduce the amount of light entering the camera, or you want to get a slower shutter value or a larger aperture value under certain settings, the nd mirror comes in handy.

ND mirror is mainly used under the setting of slow shutter, such as: shooting silk-like running water in the sun to make it more dynamic; Make people, cars and other moving objects inconspicuous or even disappear in the image; Increase the dynamics of moving objects, etc.

Note that some poor quality neodymium mirrors will make the photos have color cast, and different manufacturers have different expressions on the dimming amount of neodymium mirrors, so pay attention when using them.

Gradient mirror * * * Gradient neutral density, GND***

Usage: control the intensity of light and control the light difference.

Purpose: to deal with the situation that the gap between light and shade is too large in landscape photography.

Gradient mirror can gradually reduce the brightness of a photo from a certain position in the photo, mostly from top to bottom. This filter is very suitable for some landscape photos with simple light difference, such as sunset photos, where the sky near the sun is brighter and the position near the ground is darker.

When digital photography is not popular, gradient lens is a necessity for every photographer. At present, many digital cameras have HDR function * * * to synthesize multiple photos with different exposures * * *, but the effect is not the same as that of gradient lens, so it cannot be completely replaced.

Polarizer * * * Polarizer * * *

Purpose: Filter reflected light.

Uses: Photographing water, shop windows, plants and the sky.

Polarizer plays a very important role in taking landscape photos. Its main purpose is to eliminate the reflection of different surfaces and make the blue sky bluer and the trees greener. In addition, it can also reduce reflections on water and windows.

To understand the principle of polarizer, we must first understand that light propagates in waveform, and the normal direction of light wave vibration is not limited to a single plane direction, but comes from all directions irregularly. But under special circumstances, that is, after reflection, the direction of light wave vibration will become a single direction.

Because the polarizer only allows light in a single vibration direction to pass through, the light waves in other vibration directions will be "filtered" after adjusting the angle of the polarizer. When the polarizer forms a certain angle with the reflected light, the reflected light is naturally eliminated, thus reducing the reflection.

There are several points to pay attention to when using a polarizer: because the polarizer only allows light in a single vibration direction to pass through, the intensity of light decreases accordingly. It means that a camera with a polarizer needs a long exposure under the same light source * * * Assuming that the aperture is constant * * *. In the case of hand-held camera shooting, the hand shock effect will be more obvious. If you use a polarizer in a super wide-angle lens, there will also be uneven light and dark.

Warm color mirror, cool color mirror * * heating up, cooling down * * *

Usage: Change the white balance of photos.

Uses: landscape photography, underwater photography, photography under special lighting.

Cold and warm lenses can change the color temperature of photos, which can be used to correct light or make photos show wonderful colors. For example, add some warm colors on cloudy days to make the photos look more like those taken at sunset.

Ultraviolet mirror * * ultraviolet light, smog * * *

Objective: To protect the lens.

Usage: Use at any time.

In the era of film machine, UV mirror mainly improves the contrast of photos by reducing the ultraviolet rays entering the film. Nowadays, in general digital cameras, the photosensitive element does not record ultraviolet rays, so it is no longer necessary to filter ultraviolet rays, which is mainly used to protect the lens.

Matters needing attention in using landscape photography filter

Polarizer: used for * * * super * * wide-angle lens.

Polarizers are very useful in landscape shooting, which can not only eliminate the reflection on water and green leaves, but also make the blue sky bluer. However, it should be noted that the blue sky turns blue in the other direction of the sun, otherwise it will have no effect. So if you use a wide-angle lens, especially a wider ultra-wide-angle lens, you will have the opportunity to extend the shooting range from one side of the sun to the other, resulting in one end of the photo being dark blue and the other end becoming white.

Pay attention to the position of the sun when using CPL on a wide-angle lens.

Polarizer: Do not reset after changing direction.

The polarizer needs to be adjusted before shooting. If you shoot from horizontal to vertical, you must readjust the polarizer to get the effect. Be careful!

Adjustable variable diameter mirror: black cross appears.

At present, many manufacturers have also introduced * * * variable ND filters * *. The advantage is that you can adjust the dimming degree at will according to the environment and needs, eliminating the trouble of carrying multiple nd dimmers. However, if the adjustment is too much, an ugly black cross will appear in the photo, so be careful not to exceed the adjustable range.

Excessive adjustment of the tunable ND filter may lead to a black cross.

Do not keep the filter clean.

Most filters are installed in front of the lens, which has a direct impact on imaging. If your filter is full of grease, dirt or dust, it may cause problems such as sharp photos or dust spots, so remember not to neglect cleaning the filter!

Use inferior filters

Many novices are also greedy for poor quality filters. In fact, a good filter can be used for many years and take thousands of photos of you. Most of the filters with poor quality are not ideal in workmanship, transparency and coating color, which makes the photos prone to color cast and reduced definition. Moreover, due to the lack of effective coating, cleaning is not easy. Therefore, it is suggested that students start with a better filter when the budget is enough!

Use the wrong size

Whether it is a circular or square filter, we also need to use it with different lens sizes. If the filter is too small, it may not cover enough. If the filter is too thick, black corners may appear when using a wide-angle lens. You should pay more attention before buying.

Gradient gray filter: incorrect gradient position

The gradient gray filter changes from dark to transparent, so that you can balance the light difference * * * For example, taking a photo containing the sky during the day * * *, when using the gradient gray filter, remember to check the gradient position frequently, especially after you change the angle or zoom in/out, otherwise the light and dark position of the photo will look strange!

Gradient Gray Filter: Gradient is too obvious

There are mainly two kinds of gradient gray filters, "hard transition" * * hard * * and "soft transition" * * * soft * * *. You can choose to use different types at different times. Hard filters are mainly used when shooting sunrise and sunset on the coast, and soft filters are usually used. However, when using two kinds of filters, we should also pay attention to whether the gradient is too obvious, so please use appropriate filters and types, and don't blindly pursue the number of filters or use too many blocks together.