Before and After Photos with ND, GND and Polarising filters

Using ND and GND filters correctly may seem a challenge initially, and to a certain extent, it is. But thanks to guides and some experience, excellent results can be obtained in a relatively short time.

The combination of an ND filter, a GND filter and a polariser gives the photographer incredible versatility in the management of light, and absolute control over the final image. They are considered fundamental tools for the landscape photographer.

The adage “a picture is worth a thousand words”  is very appropriate for this article, so we have prepared a series of five before and after photos demonstrating the effects of ND, GND and Polarising filters.

Sample photo with GND filter and polariser

Photo by Maurizio Casula.

Two filters were used in the sample photograph above:

• The 100×150 3-stop soft GND filter, which made it possible to reduce the brightness at the top of the image and avoid blowing out the highlights. Clipped highlights are impossible to recover in post-processing as there is no information for the software to work with;
• The Landscape polarising filter, included in the V6 Landscape Kit,  eliminated the haze and part of the reflections, improving the readability of the sky.

Equipment used for this photo

Sample photo with ND filter, GND and polariser

Photo by Maurizio Casula.

In this example three filters were used: ND, GND and polariser:

• The 10 Stop 100×100 ND1000 filter reduced light to lengthen the shutter speed, allowing the photographer to capture the movement of the clouds and emphasise the warm colours of the sunset. Thanks to the lens grade optical glass, the Nano Coating and the IR treatment, the ND NiSi filters have no colour cast and don’t reduce sharpness.
• The 100×150 3-stop hard GND filter reduced the brightness at the top of the frame, avoiding blowing out the highlights. The GND used here is a Hard transition, instead of a Soft used in the first example. The Hard transition is perfect in this scene where there is a clear definition between bright and dark areas of the scene.
• Finally, the polariser was also used to control reflections.

Equipment used for this photo

Sample photo with ND1000 filter, GND 3 Stop Hard and landscape polariser

Photo by Andrea Pettinari.

In this shot three filters were used, ND, GND and Polariser:

• The ND1000 15 Stop 100×100 filter made possible to capture a slight movement on the clouds even in strong light;
• The 100×150 3-stop hard GND filter, on the other hand, has significantly improved the overall contrast and added a certain drama to the whole scene;
• The polarising filter has removed haze and saturated the green of the grass.

Equipment used for this photo

Sample photo with GND filter

Photo by Massimiliano Broggi.

A 3-stop GND Medium filter was used in this before/after shot:

• With a GND Medium 0.9 filter the strong light and glow have been reduced to create balance and allow the capture of all dynamic ranges in the scene (find out more about dynamic range in landscape photography).

Equipment used

Sample photo with GND filter and Polariser

Photo by Massimiliano Broggi.

This shot by Massimiliano is a good example of a very difficult backlight, the sky in the “before” photo is completely burnt out and irrecoverable. The scene was balanced thanks to a 3 stop GND Hard filter and the Landscape Polariser:

• The GND Hard 0.9 filter had the essential task of recovering the highlights and making the sky readable;
• The effect of the Landscape polarising filter is less obvious on this shot, but you can see its effects on the grass on the right side which has gained saturation.

Equipment used

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