Today we are going to scratch the surface with how to use filters. And no, I am not referring to Snapchat filters that turn you into a giraffe or a dog. We are going to go over what a UV, Polarizing, and Neutral Density filter do to your pictures. Now get your Snapchat filters off your mind because it’s time to go to work.
UV Filter:
UV filters are pretty self-explanatory. They deal with Ultra Violet rays of light. A UV filter is essentially for only one reason, it protects them from the element of your lens. And surprisingly I do not mean from UV rays. Today most cameras, if not all, have a UV filter built in front of the sensor on your camera body. Today a UV filter serves as a last line of defense to your lens. In the unfortunate event that you bump your lens into something or for heaven’s sake if you drop your lens, hopefully, the UV filter takes the brunt of that fall and protects your front element.
Polarizing Filter:
Polarizing filters are used to help fight back glare from reflective surfaces, saturate colors in your pictures and most importantly make your skies pop. They do that by deepening the blue skies and whitening the clouds. However, if you do not use them correctly they will block up to one and a half stops of light from getting to your sensor. So for that matter, a polarizing filter is not meant to stay on your lens at all times. Polarizing filters will have a rotating ring at the front of the filter to help you adjust your settings and achieve your desired results.
Neutral Density Filters (ND):
Neutral density filters block the amount of light that reaches the camera's sensor. Using these will allow you to set your exposure and aperture to settings that would normally result in an overexposed photograph. A neutral density filter will allow you to get those soft, flowing waterfall shots, or those beautiful wasps cloudy sunset shots. My favorite thing about an ND filter is for $50 you can get a tool that allows you to completely bring your photographs to the next level.
I hope this gives you a little insight into the three out common types of filters. I strongly encourage any photographer to add these filters to their camera bag tomorrow. They will come in handy.
Check out filters here.