Photo Tip: Polarizing Filter is a Must for Landscape Photography
I bought my first Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera when I was a sophomore in college, and one of the very first accessories in my camera bag was a polarizing filter.
I remember the dramatic change of view the very first time I put on my first pair of polarizing sunglasses, and a polarizing filter will make the same dramatic changes to your landscape photographs.
The photograph above (from Nikon Insights and Techniques) clearly showcases the dramatic difference. The photograph to the left has significant glare on the water, and the color of the lily pad is completely washed out. By simply adding a polarizing filter, the colors become rich and you can actually see into the water because the glare has been removed from the water’s surface.
When purchasing a polarizing filter for a modern Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera, you want to make certain that you purchase a circular polarizing filter rather than a linear polarizing filter. This is because a linear filter will render your light meter and auto-focus system ineffective.
Lastly, you don’t want to go ultra-cheap when purchasing your polarizing filter. Depending on the size of the filter required for your camera, a good polarizing filter is likely to cost around $100. But ask yourself this, why would you spend all the money to have a great camera, a great lens, and then put a cheap piece of glass in front of the whole works.
Invest in a good quality polarizing filter. You’ll be glad you did.
People ask me all the time, “how do you take such beautiful photographs”?
Here’s my secret sauce, the first step is my high quality polarizing filter.