Is the ND filter only working for landscapes?

But not every landscape photographer uses filters, and I know quite a few photographers who claim they never use them, believing that they degrade the image.

On the other hand, we can fake the function of the filter by pre-shooting and post-processing, especially the ND and the GND, the former can be faked by stack and the latter by overlay exposure mask synthesis.

For those of you who don't do landscape photography, do you think these filters apply only to landscape photography? Do you have any idea of how filters might be applied to other shooting scenarios?

First of all, let's talk about what is an ND filter?

The effect of the ND filter is to reduce the amount of light entering the lens. Using the different density to reduce the brightness of the light entering the lens. In this way, you can extend the exposure time or enlarge the aperture to get more creative shots.

For example to get a shallower depth of field, a slower shutter speed. Choose a filter with a different number of light-reducing stops to instantly enhance the charm of photography.

In landscape photography, ND filters are mostly used to capture clouds and water surfaces. For example, in this one, the only way I can capture the effect of moving clouds and mirror-like water in broad daylight is to use the ND filter.

This contrast shows you the difference between using ND and not using one. And this is now to answer the first question: Can we fake long exposures with post-processing? It's hard for this picture.

How to fake a long exposure? By stacking multiple images in a row, the shutter speed is high in this light, and by shooting in a row you often have to take hundreds or more to simulate a long exposure So to play with long exposures in broad daylight, it's better to use ND instead of the stack.

After the introduction of ND filters, let's talk about the types of nd filters.

below is the ND filter chart for your reference:

The first image was taken using the ND8. The second image was taken without a filter. We can see that the exposure time has increased from 0.8 seconds to 6 seconds, and the water surface is much smoother with an ND filter.

What about in the dark? In the first of the two images below, you can see that you can play with a long exposure without a filter when the light is dark, but compare the second image with ND1000, We found that when exposed to light for 30 seconds, the clouds flow more effectively and the water surface is smoother, which is what happens when you use an ND filter.

These four photos are all RAW LR solution of the original map, without any post-processing

After introducing the use of an ND filter in landscape photography, let's turn to the second question mentioned at the beginning: is the filter only applicable to landscape photography?

There are many filter articles, there are many filter tutorials, I found that they have a common problem, is the filter and landscape photography together, give us conventional thinking: Nd, GND , these filters are used to shoot landscape. In fact, it is not so, take the ND filter, portraits and humanities documentary may also use the ND filter. Isn't that amazing? Portraits of sun-blotted-out beaches and figures floating in ancient streets all require ND and are difficult to simulate in later stages.

1. Take a portrait with a moving background

Guess how this picture was taken? First of all, let's look at the people behind the model.  The exposure time for this photo is 1 / 3 of a second. Longer exposure time can capture the trace of the moving crowd. But it is difficult to take this kind of photo during the day because the light is harsh. The blurry background means that we can't use a small aperture. Besides, we also have to maintain a slower shutter speed at the same time. This is when an ND filter comes into play.

If you do not use a filter in this shooting, the effect as shown below. You can find that although the background people is kind of blurry, there is no dynamic effect.

It's best to use a tripod for this type of photoshoot and keep the model standing there. 

2. Take a blurry portrait in the sunlight with a wide aperture

The harsh light is not suitable for portrait photography. The sun light is harsh.  If you're shooting a girl in the hot sun with a large F1.4 aperture, even if you're shooting at 18000s of shutter speed, you'll need an ND filter!

This image is 18000s and the sky is overexposed. What if I use the ND8 Filter?

Isn't this a nice image with a parameter of 1500s F1.4?

So much for this article. Below are the final summaries:

1. The role of the ND filter is to reduce the amount of incoming light and thus increase the exposure time.

2, ND1.8 and ND3.0 filters are common, But ND8 filters are also worth buying.

3. ND can be used not only for landscape photography but also for portraits and documentary photography.

4. ND8 allows you to take portraits with a dynamic background.

5. ND8 can be used to take large aperture blurred portraits in the hot sun.