I have a couple of Lee graduated neutral density filters in my camera bag. I don’t use them very much because I’m kind of an HDR guy. But the past couple of mornings we’ve had some very clear sunrises and given the location of our home in the Southern California foothills this turned out to be a good opportunity to play around with my grad ND filters.
I discovered a few very interesting things. I’m just going to provide a checklist here without any illustrations. Hopefully it will make sense.
- Hand hold the filter in front of your lens. Grad ND filters whether they are the large Lee filters like I have (4X5) or the smaller Cokin filters are rectangular in shape. You can purchase and use the holders that are available for them but with a little practice and a modicum of coordination it is easier and more effective actually to hand hold them.
- Make sure when you hand hold your filter that it is flush with the front of the lens barrel.
- Use a remote release. It is a lot easier to hold the filter in one hand and the release in the other than to try to press the shutter on the camera.
- Use Live View. Most if not all new dSLR cameras come with some form of live view. This is indispensable when hand holding a grad ND filter. You can move the filter up and down and see the effect it has without having to peer through the viewer.
- Shoot aperture priority. This is probably not a hard and fast requirement but most landscape photographers shoot aperture priority anyway. So for the rest of this discussion we assume we’re shooting aperture priority.
- Use the histogram to check your exposure. It shouldn’t be necessary to make this statement but many photographers on my workshops say the best tip they got from the workshop was how to use their histogram.
- Set your exposure compensation. Using a grad ND filter doesn’t guarantee that the overall image won’t be over or under exposed. You still need to check your histogram and adjust your exposure compensation accordingly. You want to set exposure compensation so you don’t get any highlight or shadow clipping – especially highlight.
- ‘Bracket’ the placement of your grad ND filter. Try to place the grad ND filter visually (preferably using Live View) to what appears to be the optimum placement. Then take a series of exposures with the gradation placed higher and lower in the frame.
- Don’t try to bracket visually. Your eye’s are not precise enough to do that. Here’s the trick. Use your shutter speed to bracket. “What is he talking about?” you ask. Here’s an example. Suppose you set the gradation where you think it ought to go and get an exposure of f/16 at 1/8 sec. Take a second exposure but this time adjust the filter by moving it up or down so that the exposure is 1/10 sec. Make another exposure at 1/12. Now make a couple of exposures going the other way – 1/6, 1/5, etc.
- Observe the histograms of your ‘bracketed’ exposures. You will notice that the dynamic range will vary from one exposure to the next. Choose the exposure with the histogram you like the best. I prefer histograms that are more compressed, that have a little breathing space on both the black and white ends of the scale. The other thing is, the histogram doesn’t lie. Trust it.
So that’s it, a ten-step program for using graduated neutral density filters.
Here’s your assignment. Go out and give it a try. And when you do, why don’t you come back here and add a comment to let me know how it worked for you.
I know I’m going to be using my grad ND filters a lot more, now that I understand them better.
To see more of my work click in http://RalphNordstromPhotography.com.
Our next workshop is in Death Valley on Feb 14-17, 2009. Join Jack Graham and me for three days of exciting photography, intensive personalized one-on-one training and the simple joy of just being out in nature. Register by the end of January and take a 10% early registration discount. For more information check out 2009 Death Valley Workshop.
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