ND for a non newbie

L

LRMedia

Messages
12
Name
Lawrie
Edit My Images
No
Well I have done a few different themes since starting Photography back in 2001, but can someone explain to me the use of ND Filters and the basics of using them? Thanks ever so much. :)
 
They darken anything in front of the camera allowing you to use longer shutter speeds and/or wider apertures than you would normally.
Graduated filters, dark at the top, clear at the bottom, are used in landscape shots to controll/darken the exposure of the sky (and the sun,) to match the exposure of the ground.
 
ND filters just give you more control if you want a slower shutter speed without having to stop down your aperture too much out of your lens's sweet spot. They're great to use for daytime flowing water/tide shots for example, as you can get the nice smooth or cloudy effect of water, depending on what you're shooting.
 
ND means neutral density, basically neutral grey - makes the light darker.

ND Grads are dark at the top, fading to clear. Used for darkening skies in landscapes, available in different strengths and also with either soft or hard transitions from dark to clear.

Straight ND filters are dark all over, mainly used for making shutter speeds longer. Lighter ones, like 1, 2, 3 stops or so, typically for low f/numbers for shallow depth of field effects, particularly with flash in brighht sun when the shutter speed is capped at around 1/200sec by the x-sync ceiling.

Extremely dark ones, like 6-10 stops, are used to make shutter speeds much longer in daylight, typically several seconds or more, to blur anything that moves, like water or clouds.
 
Thanks to everyone that responded so quickly, now I know what they do fully, has anyone any direction for me to start with ? a basic, like rules of thirds :) Thanks in advance. Lawrie
 
Thanks Mark will take a look.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top