What ND filters?

Buchanan0204 · 15 May 2013 at 01:40

I'm looking to get some ND grad filters for landscape photography.

I'll be sticking it on a standard 18-55mm kit lens at the moment, however I'll hopefully be upgrading to a better lens in the near future.

Here's where I'm confused? I realise when I get a new lens I'll need a new adapter ring to fit the new lens, however will I still be OK using the same size rectangular filters?

If anyone can point me in the direction of which grad filters I should be buying and where the best place to buy them from.

cheers.

Buchanan0204 · 15 May 2013 at 02:44

Forgot about a polariser, would like to double up with a polariser and grad.

Buchanan0204 · 15 May 2013 at 18:45

I do shoot in RAW and process in LR and PS. I just can't seem to get my foreground to the same exposure as the sky and it all looks a bit fake.

Here's a shot I took last night. It just doesn't pop in the foreground the way other landscapes photos do. I'd prefer to capture as much detail in the original shot and minimise post processing... although I do sometimes get carried away with PS and LR, more for fun than anything. I'd never pass them off as photographs.

This is the photo straight from the camera, completely untouched. Just converted from RAW to JPG and resized. Never adjusted brightness, contrast etc.

If I exposed more for the foreground, the sky would have been overexposed. This is why I "think" I need a grad filter.

Buchanan0204 · 15 May 2013 at 18:47

domthecondom said:
I thought ND filters are used to have long exposures in the day

Depends on how many stops it is. The 8/10 stop filter allows for long exposure during the day. The 2 stops, not so much. Obviously they allow for a longer shutter speed, but not exactly classed as a long exposure.

ND filter are all dark and block all the light. The one's I'm referring to are half dark, half clear. So the top part blocks the light from the sky. Allows for an overall properly exposed photo.

Or something like that

Buchanan0204 · 17 May 2013 at 16:46

My D3100 doesn't have a bracketing function.

So let's say I take the tip to not bother with filters and I do it all in processing.

How exactly do I take more than one photo at different exposures? Will I just adjust the shutter speed to reduce the light by one stop and then increase by one stop going by the cameras light meter? Will I use the exposure compensation feature?

I'm concerned as It wont take 3 rapid photos, they wont align, regardless of tripod.

I'm not a beginner in PS. However can someone explain what their technique is exactly to blend three photos together to increase the foreground exposure using three images?