Screw on cpl

taff63

taff63

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Finally going out for few hrs tonight (been stuck indoors for 2 months ) and hoping to get a decent sunset now would you use a screw on polariser with a nd filter or not sorry for the stupid question but can never get a decent sunset shot

Mark
 
taff63 said:
Finally going out for few hrs tonight (been stuck indoors for 2 months ) and hoping to get a decent sunset now would you use a screw on polariser with a nd filter or not sorry for the stupid question but can never get a decent sunset shot

Mark
Click to expand...

I don't know what you have in mind, but I wouldn't think that a Polariser would be of much use for Sunsets. The Polarising effect works more when the light source is at 90 degrees to the subject. With the Sun behind or in front of you, you may not see any effect other than a reduction of light caused by the Polariser.

When you say ND filter, do mean an ND filter or a Graduated ND filter? If it is an ND filter, then unless you want longer exposures, to show cloud movement for example, an ND filter won't enhance a Sunset much it at all. A Graduated ND filter may be be of more use, in balancing the sky to the foreground better.
 
Maybe the CPL is being used to reduce reflections from water/foliage rather than change the appearance of the sky?
 
The implication in "sunset shot" seems to be that the sun will be in the frame (though this may not be what the OP meant), this would mean that the angle between the sun and the camera would render a CPL fairly useless in removing reflections.

(N.B. Though this can vary with different materials casting the reflections)
 
Use none of them just meter the sky and take your shot then meter the foreground and take your shot merge in software, saves a lot of time trying to get the filters in the right place.
JMO
Russ
 
russellsnr said:
Use none of them just meter the sky and take your shot then meter the foreground and take your shot merge in software, saves a lot of time trying to get the filters in the right place.
JMO
Russ
Click to expand...

that would negate the need for an NDG (even the exposure) , but not a CPL.
 
Uneducated_Rick said:
that would negate the need for an NDG (even the exposure) , but not a CPL.
Click to expand...

Hi, As stated before a CPL for Sunrise/Sunset really is not going to gain much a CPL is really only of use with the sun at 45 Deg or to remove reflections in Water/Metallic objects taking a Sunrise/Sunset photograph is another technique and needs a little more thought by the photographer especially as far as exposure is concerned.
Russ
 
Personally, any shots I take of sunsets (or sunrises these days!) are shot bareback - after all, the sun and the light around it are the main subject so (for me) there's no need for any grads and (as already said above) there's little point in using a pol when shooting straight into the sun - any reflections of the sunset are likely to add to the shot rather than detract. I usually dial in a stop or so of underexposure to boost the colours but I usually take an early shot then decide whether the later ones need it or not - it's a matter of personal taste.
 
Polarisers are all about angles.

For darkening blue skies, it is 90 degrees to the sun. Make a 'gun' with forefinger and thumb at right angles. Point at the sun and rotate your hand around the finger. Your thumb will scribe an arc in the sky indicating the zone of strongest polarisation. From this, it is clear that with a sunset, the polarised zone will be above and behind the camera.

The angle for reducing reflections is 30-40 degrees to the surface (Brewster's Angle). All reflections are polarised between these angles, though reflections from bare metals are not polarised at all (because of their electro-magnetic properties).

In all cases, the filter must be rotated for best effect.

Edit: one filter is made specifically for sunsets - reverse grad. It's darker in the middle, fading to clear at both top and bottom. Hitech here, see video link https://www.formatt-hitech.com/en/products/ND-Reverse-Grad~29.html
 
Last edited:
taff63 said:
Finally going out for few hrs tonight (been stuck indoors for 2 months ) and hoping to get a decent sunset now would you use a screw on polariser with a nd filter or not sorry for the stupid question but can never get a decent sunset shot

Mark
Click to expand...

you cant use a CPL while looking into the sun... you require ND grad filters to lower the light level in the sky to match that of the ground.

hope that helps mate
 
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