Gradient filter: description and application

For beginners in photography to understand what will be discussed, most likely, you will need to define the definition. What exactly is a gradient filter? It is a transparent plate made of optical plastic or glass, on which a smooth, soft, monochromatic gradient is applied. If you are not familiar with the gradient tool in graphic editors, you need to explain. In the image, it plays the role of a transition from one color to another, and the filter uses a simple darkening gradient from gray to transparent.

Why you need this filter

Gradient, mainly used by landscape photographers. Very often when shooting a landscape, a problem arises in the uneven exposure of the upper (sky) and lower (ground) parts. Simply put, the sky almost always looks much brighter than the earth, which creates an imbalance. For example, when shooting a sunset, any photographer ever encountered this - in the photo there are only dark contours of objects on the ground. In this situation, it is the gradient filter that corrects the unenviable position of the bottom of the photograph.

Also, there are color filters for lenses, suitable for giving the photo unusual effects and bizarre color variations. Usually, the transition from the transparent part of the filter to the shade corresponds to 1-3 stages of exposure, so it is easy to select the necessary shooting parameters for it.

Types of gradient filters

Gradient filters are round - with a thread for screwing on the lens, as well as rectangular filters - installed in a holder fixed to the lens.

1. Round filter on the lens is good in that it is made of optical glass, often with multi-layered coating. But its main drawback - the inability to move the point of separation of the dark and light sides. Nevertheless, due to the compactness, it is easy to carry around and transport.
2. The rectangle is made of plastic (as it is used separately from the frame and is more susceptible to mechanical damage) and has no clearing, but it can not only rotate, but also move up and down, which greatly expands the possibilities of the landscape painter. To remove a landscape using such a gradient filter, it is necessary with the use of a tripod, since the plastic plate adds two extra interfaces to the lens (plastic-air), which causes sharpness to drop and it is necessary to increase the shutter speed by about half.

The benefit of using a gradient filter

A gradient filter is traditional for photographers using film cameras, since the film has a limited range of photosensitivity. Previously, they had to either use a gradient, or reconcile with significant losses in detail. But many modern photographers refuse to use it, arguing that in a graphics editor it's easy to apply the same gradient when processing a photo.

Nevertheless, practical experience suggests that the use of a gradient filter is also worth on digital cameras, since it saves a lot of time, and also avoids unnecessary work with programs that not all, even very good photographers can accomplish.