Photo Central

Digital Photography Tutorials – Filters?

For those of you interested in digital photography, tutorials are going to be a great way to get yourself familiarized with the tricks of the trade. Let’s start off by learning some things about digital cameras.

Filters, where once an essential part of photography but are they still required in digital photography?

Filters are basically made from plastic or glass and are placed in front of the lens to prevent some light waves from reaching the sensor. And although a majority of the filters are manufactured for DSLR cameras, generic filters can also be purchased to be used with digital cameras.

The first most common type of filter being used is the UV filter. Often a UV filter is placed on the lens to not only filter UV rays but also to protect the surface of the lens. Far better to scratch the replaceable filter than your lens itself!

The next is the ND Grad, or Neutral Density Graduation filter. This filter is separated into two sections, with one region being significantly darker than the other. The ND filter is used for landscape photography when there is too much contrast in a scene to hold both hilites and shadows i.e Sky and the land. What is does is to darken the sky and balance the exposure stops between the two, i.e. sky and land. The brightness range problem is also significantly solved with this filter. Another must have recommended in all digital photography tutorials. However this is one case where I personally very rarely use Grads as I prefer to take several exposures and combine them in Photoshop.

Another filter worthy of a mention is a polarizer which cannot be completely replaced by digital post production techniques. A polarizer allows you to adjust specific light rays that should pass through the lens onto the sensor. This filter is best used to compensate for the excessive reflections from a surface like a lake or similar surfaces but also can help saturate colours.

As you can see from just mentioning these few filters above some are no longer a must have in your camera bag while others still a place.

My advice is if you need to use filters in your photography and you can afford it buy the better quality glass filters as you’d be surprised how much cheaper filters can spoil the quality of your images.

About the Author

John Hussain is a renowned digital photographer. He has travelled across 3 continents on photography assignments, and is currently a prominent authority on digital photography. For More Information Visit digital photography tutorials.

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