Lense Filters Make “Natural” Looking Black and Whites
Despite the advanced features of digital cameras and the
user-friendly functions of various photo-editing softwares, seasoned
photographers still insist that artificial filters are needed to achieve
images that look natural.
Yes, that's right. Photographers more often than not apply artificial
processes and manipulate images to compensate for the human eye and
brain to see and detect a natural-looking image on the paper or computer
screen.
Black and white photographers use color filters to gain better control
of tonal values, which is an essential element in black and white
images. Aside from reducing glare, haze, and reflections, filters also
come in handy to compensate for limitations of a medium. Take for
example, filters are used to avoid a “white sky” effecting situations
where the blue and ultraviolet light in skies prevail. Filters are used
to correct that color imbalance. Filters are often used when lighting is
not ideal. You see, unfiltered photos under bad lighting conditions turn
out to be dull and lifeless and often look washed out.
A colored filter used in black and white photography will lighten colors
of the same group and deepen colors of the group opposite the color
wheel. The darkening and lightening of colors take place since filters
are made to transmit some colors and absorb or filters others. Hence,
when using a filter, it is necessary to adjust the exposure of the
camera. Darker filters usually require more exposure compensation, and
vice versa.
While shooting, you may use filters to make the tones of gray in the
resulting image more or less conform to how the colors blend and stand
out in the original scene. Filters also provide deeper contrasts. No. 15
and No. 25 filters, for example, will be helpful to highlight an
overcast sky. Filters are also very helpful if you want to reduce or
emphasize a specific color for very sharp contrast, which so often what
adds drama to a black and white image.
For an amateur photographer, all this filtering of light and manual
manipulations can be quite overwhelming and confusing. But don’t fret!
Technology always have something for you --- the photo-editing software.
Remember that it is always advisable to shoot your black and whites in
color and later converting them to grayscale using a photo-editing
software's channel mixer, which gives you the option to choose the exact
effect of using a colored filter.
Using the filtering system of photo-editing programs allows you greater
flexibility because you can get different filter results in one image.
And, of course, it is more convenient for you because you'll know right
away how a certain color filter will affect the image you shot. The
program, likewise, allows you to use layers and apply different filters
to different parts of the image. That's how you create a natural look.
There’s a wide selection of photo-editing programs available for free
online. Most, if not all, of these have color filtering features that
you can actually use just by clicking and dragging. Now you can cheat
your way into adding depth and accentuate some shadows in your black and
white photos without using actual filters. How cool is that? |
