Photographic filters

Clear and ultraviolet

Clear filters, also known as window glass filters or optical flats, are
completely transparent, and (ideally) perform no filtering of incoming
light at all. The only use of a clear filter is to protect the front of a lens.

UV filters are used to reduce haziness created by ultraviolet light. A UV filter is mostly transparent to
visible light, and can be left on the lens for nearly all shots. UV filters are often used for lens protection,
much like clear filters. A strong UV filter, such as a Haze-2A or UV17, cuts off some visible light in the
violet part of the spectrum, and so has a pale yellow color; these strong filters are more effective at cutting
haze, and can reduce purple fringing in digital cameras. Strong UV filters are also sometimes used for
warming color photos taken in shade with daylight-type film

Color correction

A major use is to compensate for the effects of lighting not balanced for the film stock's rated color
temperature e.g., the 80A blue filter used with daylight film corrects the orange/reddish cast of household
Grey Filter

Color subtraction filters work by absorbing certain colors of light, letting the remaining colors through.
They can be used to demonstrate the primary colors that make up an image. They are perhaps most
frequently used in the printing industry for color separations, and again, use has diminished as digital
solutions have become more advanced and abundant.

Contrast enhancement

Filters are commonly used in black and white photography to manipulate contrast. For example a yellow
filter will enhance the contrast between clouds and sky by darkening the latter. Orange and red filters will
have a stronger effect. A deep green filter will darken the sky too but will lighten green foliage and will
make it stand out against the sky.

POLARIZING FILTERS:

Usage

Light reflected from a non-metallic surface becomes polarized; this effect is maximum at Brewster's angle,
about 56° from the vertical (light reflected from metal is not polarized, due to the electromagnetic nature of
light). A polarizer rotated to pass only light polarized in the direction perpendicular to the reflected light will
absorb much of it. This absorption allows glare reflected from, for example, a body of water or a road to be
much reduced. Reflections from shiny surfaces of vegetation are also reduced. Reflections from a window
into a dark interior can be much reduced, allowing it to be seen through. (The same effects are available for
vision by using polarizing sunglasses.)

Use of a polarizing filter, in the correct direction, will filter out the polarized component of skylight,
darkening the sky; the landscape below it, and clouds, will be less affected, giving a photograph with a
darker and more dramatic sky, and emphasizing the clouds.

Neutral density

A neutral density filter (ND filter) is a filter of uniform density which attenuates light of all colors equally.
It is used to allow a longer exposure (to create blur) or larger aperture (for selective focus) than required for
correct exposure in the prevailing light conditions, without changing the tonal balance of the photograph.

A graduated neutral density filter is a neutral density filter with different attenuation at different points,
typically clear in one half shading into a higher density in the other. It can be used, for example, to
photograph a scene with part in deep shadow and part brightly lit, where otherwise either the shadows would
have no detail or the highlights burnt out.
Diffusion

An example of a photograph of a person taken using a diffusion filter.

A diffusion filter (also called a softening filter) softens subjects and generates a dreamy haze. This is most
often used for portraits. It also has the effect of reducing contrast,

Both effects can be achieved in software, the "look" may be noticeably different. If there is too much
contrast in a scene, the dynamic range of the digital image sensor or film may be exceeded, which post-
processing cannot compensate for, so contrast reduction at the time of image capture may be called for.

Transparent diffusion

Zeiss manufactures a widely noted Softer diffusion filter which is made of many tiny globs of acrylic
deposited on one surface which act as micro lenses to diffuse the light. In some versions the globs are on the
inside of the filter (facing the photographer) while on others they face outwards (towards the subject). They
are from approximately 97 to 150 globs each 1 mm to 3 mm wide.

Grid or netting

Various widths, colors (often black or white), and grid shapes (typically diamonds or squares) and spacing’s
of netting, usually made from nylon, are used to provide diffusion effects. These are used both for the
"dreamy" look and for contrast reduction. The homebrew approach to this sort of effect is generally to
stretch a piece of pantyhose material in front of the lens.

Close-up and split diopter lenses

A close-up lens is a single or two-element converging lens used for close-up and macro photography, and
works in the same way as spectacles used for reading. The insertion of a converging lens in front of the
taking lens reduces the focal length of the combination.

Close-up lenses are usually specified by their optical power, the reciprocal of the focal length in meters.
Several close-up lenses may be used in combination; the optical power of the combination is the sum of the
optical powers of the component lenses; a set of lenses of +1, +2, and +4 diopters can be combined to
provide a range from +1 to +7 in steps of 1.

A split diopter has just a semicircular half of a close-up lens in a normal filter holder. It can be used to
photograph a close object and a much more distant background, with everything in sharp focus; with any
non-split lens the depth of field would be far too shallow