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ND Filters – How to Use Them

A Neutral Density, commonly known as an ND filter, is a welcome addition to any photographer’s bag and allows for additional creativity in many different situations by helping to control light. I have used many brands in the past and was excited to try Manfrotto’s line of ND filters which come in a number of aperture sizes to fit different lenses and in a variety of different strengths or f stops… more to come on this later.

The filters each come in their own robust individual plastic cases offering plenty of protection from dust, accidental damage or scratches. I would always recommend keeping the filters in these cases when not in use as any scratch or mark could theoretically cause detriment to your final image. Further, the Manfrotto ND filters are circular, and therefore simply screw onto the lens thread. This means that they are incredibly easy and quick to fix onto a lens when on location or in the field. However, one word of caution, make sure the filter is securely fastened as you do not want it dropping off when you begin to tilt your camera or point it downwards despite their robust build.

What does a ND Filter do?

So just what do these little grey filters actually do? Many people nowadays think that Photoshop or other proprietary software can recreate the use of filters. However, in this article I am going to discuss the advantages of using an ND filter and how nothing beats getting an image right, straight out of the camera.

An ND filter is most commonly used to filter or block unwanted light from reaching the sensor in the camera. A good analogy is thinking about how when going out on a bright, sunny day you would take a cap and more importantly a pair of sunglasses to block out light. To this end, you can use an ND filter like a pair of sunglasses in front of the lens when it is too bright. This allows us to reduce harsh daylight reaching the sensor. In turn, we can use this to our creative advantage. Another way to think of it, is that an ND filter turns down the volume of light entering the lens when there is too much light, meaning you don’t have to use as fast a shutter speed, as smaller an f stop or as lower ISOs. Again these can all result in different artistic and creative looks in the final photograph.

Seascape ND8
Seascape ND8 Photo

ND Filters allow photographers to be more creative and are commonly used by landscape photographers; they are especially fun to experiment with when shooting coastlines. This photograph takes advantage of a subtle use of Manfrotto’s ND8 filter.

Further, dependent on the light situation and subject, you can also change ND filters. Each one is slightly more or less opaque than one another, thus affecting the amount of light getting through the lens. For example, an ND filter cutting nine stops of light to the eye is much darker than one that only filters three stops. In other words, the first lets less light reach the sensor than the latter. Indeed, ND filters usually come in different grades or densities marked as different f stops, which designate how much light is being blocked from entering the camera. Manfrotto have produced three different density filters: the ND8 which replicates losing 3 stops of light, the ND64 replicating the loss of 6 stops and the ND500 which cuts out 9 stops of light. Each have their merits and uses dependent on the lighting situation you are in, the scene in front of you and how creative you want to be. Unfortunately, Manfrotto doesn’t label there’s on the cases but, I used a sharpie to remedy this problem and mark each one individually on the plastic cases to avoid any confusion and identify how many stops of light the filters eliminates entering the camera.

As already mentioned, dependent on the strength of the ND filter, it allows the photographer to control the exposure in an image by stopping a certain amount of light (dependent on its strength) from reaching the camera’s sensor. By filtering the amount of light, we can subsequently use either higher apertures or slower shutter speeds, even in bright conditions. This allows one to achieve various artistic effects that are otherwise impossible in broad daylight. Interestingly, as the filter is neutral it also has no effect on the colour, contrast or sharpness of your image but purely on the amount of light entering the lens thus allowing for these slower shutter speeds or wider apertures to be used. Therefore, as a certain amount of light is being blocked from entering the sensor the camera, they can be used with a longer exposure to create the same evenly exposed image.

ND filters are therefore most commonly used in landscape photography to help add drama. For example, when shooting a waterfall adding an ND filter gives it that soft, silky, blurred look that I’m sure you are familiar with seeing. It also provides the water with a sense of movement rather than have it appearing static in your frame. For example, this photograph taken in Yosemite National Park at midday in harsh bright sunlight was taken using a slow shutter speed in combination with an ND500 filter that blocked out 9 f stops of light. The ND500 sits at the extreme end of the scale for ND filters and is therefore capable of helping to produce especially theatric, dramatic and eye-catching images for example, transforming this pretty mundane stream of water into a far more interesting exposure.

Rocky Waterfall ND500
Rocky Waterfall

Indeed, using a ND filter to allow for longer exposure times is by far its most common application and has become incredibly popular to use. They are incredibly fun to experiment with and can help to achieve many artistic affects when playing with shutter speeds that far exceed just creating silky, smooth water: blurring a crowd of people; adding motion blur to moving cars; blurring a blowing field of grass; transforming clouds in a sky to look far more imperious etc. On a very bright, sunny day when there is a lot of ambient light without the use of an ND filter, achieving such effects is almost impossible. This is because if you slowed your shutter speed down to the desired speeds even with a narrow aperture, the photographs would be over exposed and too bright.

How to use it

If your going to use a slower shutter speed firstly set your camera up securely on a tripod and set your correct exposure using without the ND filter. I would also compose your image prior to screwing on the filter as once the ND is screwed on (especially if it the ND64 or ND500) the whole scene will appear much darker when looking through your viewfinder. This means it will often be almost impossible to see the scene when composing. You will also want to manually focus before applying the filter as your camera you will have difficulty focusing manually as you won’t be able to see clearly (it will be too dark) and the camera’s autofocus will also struggle once the filter is applied for the same reason.

Once fitted, depending on how many stops of light your filter cuts out, you can then adjust your camera settings accordingly by manually counting the stops your filter has cut out and work out the shutter speed accordingly or use an ND calculator app such as “PhotoPils” on my phone to help me work out the correct setting. Note, there is nothing wrong with experimentation, especially in the age of digital. Moreover, a handy tip to remember is if using a slow shutter speed especially greater than a couple of seconds, switch your camera to bulb mode and use a cable release as this helps to eliminate any movement or camera shake on either the tripod or camera when taking the photograph and will result in sharper images.

Therefore, when dealing with ND filters your shutter speeds are going to be relatively long. This means that using a good, sturdy tripod is essential. I use either the Manfrotto 055 or the Gitzo Mountaineer to help keep my camera steady. Further, keep your ISO as low as possible to reduce noise. This will be more prevalent when using longer shutter speeds. Further, set your camera to manual to give yourself complete control over shutter speed and aperture and always shoot in RAW for optimal image quality.

Rainbow Waterfall Set up
Rainbow WaterFall Setup Shot
Rainbow Waterfall ND64
Rainbow Waterfall

These photographs show my camera set up on a Gitzo Traveller tripod and the resultant image. I used a ND64 filter to block out enough light to use a slow enough shutter speed to imbue the waterfall and lake with just the amount of ‘silkiness’ I desired. I enjoyed using the ND64 filter as even though it is considered relatively ‘extreme’ in turns of the amount of light it cuts out, it still is applicable in the majority of every day lighting situations.

Further, as most of the time when using an ND filter you will be shooting in bright sunshine and using longer exposures, you need to be wary of light flare occurring in your images. I would therefore advise covering around the lens with your hand to shield any oblique light getting in as you most likely won’t be able to fit your lens hood with the filter on. You also need to think about light getting in through the optical viewfinder especially if you are doing very long exposures with a bright light source behind you. Using viewfinder caps or even gaffer tape to avoid light leakage can mitigate this problem.

Thus, an ND filter is incredibly useful in bright, sunshine. However, I also particularly enjoy using them when shooting at dusk and sunsets/sunrises if around water or fast moving clouds.

For example, in this photograph a slow shutter speed allowed me to combine the subtle blue colours of twilight with the stillness of the water using the Manfrotto ND64 filter with a loss of 6 f stops of light to reduce the movement of a strong moving sea to nothing more than a gentle, surreal mist.

Laguna Mist N64
Laguna Mist

Further, in this other photograph you can see the how the movement of the clouds is made much more striking by using a slower shutter speed. I have only been able to use this slower shutter speed by reducing the amount of light reaching the camera by 3 f stops using the ND8 filter with that intensity. If I had not used it, the picture would have been far too bright (as you can see in the other image) or I would have had to use a faster shutter speed to produce a correctly exposed image but would not have got the dynamic movement in the clouds.

Big Sur Beach No ND8
Big Sur Beach Shot without ND8
Big Sur Beach ND8
Big Sur Beach Shot with ND8

Another use for an ND filter is to help achieve a very shallow depth of field with a wide-open aperture in very bright conditions. Again, without the filter, even with the fastest shutter speeds and the lowest ISOs, photographs would be over exposed, too bright and unusable. However, by applying the filter and blocking out the appropriate amount of light, one can filter how much light reaches the sensor and thus ‘trick’ the camera into thinking it is darker than it is. This allows us to achieve beautiful bokehs (blurs) and help our desired subject pop out of our frame which, can be especially useful in portrait and wildlife photography outdoors.

Therefore, Manfrotto’s line of three ND filters allow multiple creative effects to be applied to images in camera whilst also helping photographers to troubleshoot their way out of challenging lighting conditions. I ended up using the ND64 most frequently given that it sat in the middle of the spectrum in terms of the density of light it cut from reaching my sensor. However, I would highly recommend carrying all three in your bag as you will often be in situations where ambient lighting will call for the ND8 or ND500. Further, carrying all three enables you to make better creative decisions in the field regarding how dramatic you want your images to look. Indeed, these three ND filters are a welcome addition to Manfrotto’s increasing accessory range and their quality in build and the images they produce prove why ND filters are becoming increasingly popular tools amongst both hobbyist and professionals.

Adam JacobsOther articles by author

Adam Jacobs is an exciting and innovative photographer whose eclectic portfolio has attracted considerable commercial attention. Adam has extensive experience working in both the editorial and commercial worlds and specializes in shooting dynamic panoramas, architecture, travel, interiors and sports. Adam has photographed collegiate and professional sporting events across the globe including the London 2012 Olympics and World Cup Finals. He is also adept at candid portraiturehaving captured well-known figures including Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, President Barack Obama, Andy Murray and Mick Jagger on commissioned assignments.

Adam is represented worldwide by Getty Global Assignments and is also an ambassador for Manfrotto and Gitzo worldwide.

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