Albet Pedrosa
Photo Mania
I HAVE always been a fan of photographers breaking the norms of photography. If there is someone who cares about white balance more than his wife, that would be Archie Uy. His love for music and photography makes him a true artist. In one of our shoot together, I was surprise to see him using a density filter in an outdoor portrait shoot. I was a little bit confused since most of us use this type of filter in landscape photography.
A neutral density filter is a an accessory used by photographers to reduce the amount of light being captured. This filter is typically used in landscape photography to allow you to capture motion and to help reduce the depth of field by allowing you to open your aperture. When choosing an ND filter, the type of mounting and the density grade of the filters are some specifications you need to consider.
There are two types of filter mount, one is the round screw type and the other is the push-on filter that uses a rectangular filter. The push-on is a little bit bulky due to the additional holder mounted on the tip of your lens while screw type is very much dependent on the diameter of the lens. If you have multiple lens with different diameter, you will have to buy one for each. The push-on on the other hand will use the same filter for all lens diameter and would only require you to buy a different adaptor for the holder.
The grades of ND filters are a little bit confusing. They are labeled based on the amount or percentage of light being blocked. There are numerous units used in measuring the grade of the density. One is “optical density” which is equivalent to .3 per one stop. The other unit is called “f stop reduction” which is more straight forward since you don’t have to compute to get the total stops reduced. Some brands would use the fraction in measuring the amount of stops. Here’s a quick guide when comparing different forms of measure.
In the case of Archie’s technique, he uses the ND filter to reduce the amount of ambient light while lighting the subject with a high wattage strobe light. The result of the image is a separation of background and subject. You can simulate the same result without using ND filter if you shoot late afternoon just before the sun sets.
However, you have to be very quick since you only have a small window of opportunity to take your shot. With ND filter and a strong strobe, you’ll have the whole afternoon to take that perfect shot.
I would like to personally thank Archie Uy for doing this experiment and Ms. Marienella Calderon of Ozar Models for her beautiful poses. Kudos also to “House of Maria Elena” for the wonderful gown used in the shoot.