Have you ever heard of a neutral density filter (often called an ND grad filter)? Neutral density means there is no coloration and the filter is a dark one. The grad simply means there is a gradation from a darker area transitioning a transparent area. Used carefully, in the landscape this can make a staggering difference to produce dark and dramatic skies and for other great effects. It can also be used to help balance out the intensity of light in your pictures that can be seen between the bright sky and the landscape, which is often a lot darker depending on the lighting conditions.
So imagine you intend to get a picture of a building using a neutral density grad filter. Usually you would want to balance the exposure. As already mentioned, this can be extremely useful if you have a very bright sky and a dark foreground. By putting the grad filter in the slot in the holder on your lens, you can slide the grey grad filter down over the horizon in the frame.
Let's imagine it's a bright sunny day, the house we are shooting would be illuminated by the sun and you would probably go for a subtler gradation. On a cloudy day if we have flat lighting it would look good if we accentuate the clouds and bring them out a little bit more.
The secret to using these is that you need to slide them down so that the gradation begins just above the level of the horizon. With a smaller aperture, that change will become more apparent because you have a much longer depth of field, meaning what's closer to the lens is going to be more in focus so the transition effect will become more obvious.
You can use an aperture priority or a shutter priority and the camera will calculate the other settings, you don't have to spend time worrying about all of the manual settings to use one.
When you buy a new lens filter, it usually comes with a holder so that you can slide it over the front of your lens and slide it up and down to get the perfect position.
If you're planning to start shooting with filters this is a great place to start because it isn't complex.
So imagine you intend to get a picture of a building using a neutral density grad filter. Usually you would want to balance the exposure. As already mentioned, this can be extremely useful if you have a very bright sky and a dark foreground. By putting the grad filter in the slot in the holder on your lens, you can slide the grey grad filter down over the horizon in the frame.
Let's imagine it's a bright sunny day, the house we are shooting would be illuminated by the sun and you would probably go for a subtler gradation. On a cloudy day if we have flat lighting it would look good if we accentuate the clouds and bring them out a little bit more.
The secret to using these is that you need to slide them down so that the gradation begins just above the level of the horizon. With a smaller aperture, that change will become more apparent because you have a much longer depth of field, meaning what's closer to the lens is going to be more in focus so the transition effect will become more obvious.
You can use an aperture priority or a shutter priority and the camera will calculate the other settings, you don't have to spend time worrying about all of the manual settings to use one.
When you buy a new lens filter, it usually comes with a holder so that you can slide it over the front of your lens and slide it up and down to get the perfect position.
If you're planning to start shooting with filters this is a great place to start because it isn't complex.
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