The basic concept of a ND graduated filter
If you don’t know what ND graduated (NDG) filters are, the picture on the left should give you the basic concept: NDG filters are used to balance the light difference between the sky and the land. They are essentially used in landscape photography, but you can use them in many other themes. That’s what photography is all about: creativity and endless possibilities.
If you can’t understand my crappy drawing, there is a lot more information over the Internet about these kind of filters. You can start by (sarcasm warning) the most credible source of information ever: Wikipedia (note: at the time I’m writing this, it actually is a pretty good article).
Some people say that today with digital photography and Photoshop, you can get the same results without having to use NDG filters. This is mostly true, but post-processing is time consuming. I used to spend a lot of time processing my photos, merging different exposures of the same scene. This was a bit boring and sometimes frustrating.
A few months ago, I got a set of Hitech ND graduated filters, which are made by Formatt. They are a bit more expensive than Cokin’s filters, but their quality is much better (less color cast, made of better materials).
What changed: for better
Since I can see the final result in the field, I can shoot a scene more quickly and waste less time with bracketing settings or taking different exposures of the background, midground and foreground. And by spending less time composing a scene, means that I can take more photos.
If you are a landscape photographer, you know that the “magic light” (around sunrise or sunset) does not last forever and it’s not waiting for you to take the perfect shot, so you’ll have to make the most out of that moment. By using filters, you will get what you want more quickly, which means you will have more time to walk around and try different things.
I also spend less time post-processing the photos, and I use less adjustment layers resulting in a “more realistic” image.
What changed: the downside
There are also some inconveniences when using NDG filters. The first one: you will have to spend money. This can be the hardest part, but here’s my advice: if you are really into landscape photography, you won’t regret it. It’s an investment you make to improve the quality of your photography.
Also, filters are fragile. Be very careful handling them, they can scratch easily, and if made of glass (the more expensive ones) can even break. It’s very important to take care of your material, so if you handle your filters with care and clean it often, they will last for years.
You will also have more gear to carry. And usually this means that sometimes you will end up pondering whether to carry it or not! It happened to me. :)
Final conclusions
If you are a Photoshop guru and don’t mind spending hours in front of the computer processing your photos, maybe you won’t need to buy filters. You can get the same results, but that means you will have to get proper exposures in the field. If you don’t, you cannot go back!
Based on my personal experience, NDG filters are worth the investment. It really improved the way I shoot in the field and I got more and better results. I feel I can shoot a lot more during the “magic light” hours, and do a lot less post-processing (resulting in more natural looking images) while spending a lot less time in it.
To help you make up your mind, I recommend you to read this article by Andy Mumford, to learn more about NDG filters. In ADIDAP there’s also an article that tells you the reasons not to buy NDG filters.
That’s it! I hope my advice was useful to you. Cheers!
