A Short Guide to Enhancing your Photos Using Filters

If we remember that photography is first and foremost about light, it comes as no surprise that all the methods of changing the look of a photograph involve changing how light interacts with the film (or sensor in the case of digital photography). One way to do this is to use filters on your lenses. Filters work their magic by changing the color, quantity or quality of light entering the camera. Some older cameras required a special adapter to attach filters but now most are attached by threading them onto the end of the lens. To ensure that they fit, look for filters matching the diameter of your lens - common sizes are 52mm or 58mm (NOT the same thing as the focal length of the lens, which is also expressed in millimeters.)

Ultraviolet (UV) and Polarizing filters are good general use filters - meaning they can be used with all film types. UV filters, while capable of being used for both black & white and color applications, are only useful in daylight photography. Polarizing filters can be used for both black & white and color and are useful in all lighting situations as well.

Ultraviolet filters as their name suggests absorb ultraviolet rays. Why is this important to the photographer? Under certain circumstances, ultraviolet radiation will distort photographic images. This is most true in highly reflective situations such as in snow, over water or even when the sky is overcast. This distortion will not be visible to the naked eye but will show up in your image as a blueish cast when shooting color film. For black & white shots, the effect of UV radiation is a somewhat hazy look. Utlizing a UV filter will prevent these distortions in your final product.

Regular users of polarized sunglasses will immediately realize the impact of using a polarized filter. Just as sunglasses reduce or eliminate glare to the eye, a polarized filter reduces or eliminates glare to the camera. For a polarized filter to work best, the camera should be positioned at a 90 degree angle to the light source. Polarized filters are not effective when facing directly towards or away from the light source. When using color film, a polarized filter will also increase the intensity of the colors in your image.

Beyond the filters mentioned above, there tinted filters specifically used in color photography to achieve or eliminate certain effects. Here are a few:

• Light Amber (A2) - used to avoid a blue tint when photographing in the shade or when the sky is overcast.
• Light Blue (B2) - used to reduce the red/yellow tint when photographing just before or after sunrise.
• Medium Blue (B8) - used to reduce the red/yellow tint when photographing with a flash while using a daylight rated film.

The numbers in parenthesis after the descriptions are the standard designations for the filters across all manufacturers. Since "light blue" or "medium blue" can be in the eye of the beholder, its best to ask for a filter by number.

The world of black & white photography has its own set of tinted filters for special effect. In fact, tinted filters have more applications for black and white photography than they do for color. Here are some you may want to try:

• Light Yellow (Y44) - Helps achieve more natural skin tone when shooting portraits outside in natural light.
• Medium Yellow (Y48) - Darkens the sky and makes clouds "pop".
• Orange (O56) - Accents yellow, orange or red objects in your shot. Helps accent detail in things like statues, stonework, etc.
• Red (R60) - Used to dramatically increase contrast and bring out the details of objects in the distance. Accents any red or orange objects.