ADD PUNCH WITH A POLARISER

Mike Harris shows you how to boost skies and remove glare using NiSi's True Color NC circular polarising filter

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1 HOUR

A polarising filter isn't just a landscape photography essential: it's the multitool of filters. Its ability to block polarised light from a specific direction reduces glare from sunlight, and boosts both contrast and colour saturation. This results in the punchier skies most people associate with polarisers, but these filters can also cut through reflections in water. If that wasn't enough, a polarising filter's light-blocking properties allow it to double as a handy one- or two-stop neutral-density filter.

Polarisers are available to suit a variety of systems and budgets. Here we're using NiSi's new V7 Holder with True Color NC CPL (£199/$199), which can also house three 100mm filters in addition to the polariser.

CPL stands for circular polariser; but although our NiSi filter is quite literally a circular object, the name actually derives from the way CPLs filter light, not their shape. As such, they're available as either screw-on filters or to fit square slot-in systems, which usually have a special recess built into the holder. Not all polarisers are circular polarisers, though. Linear polarisers also exist, but the way they filter light has been known to affect metering and autofocus systems, which is why CPLS are more commonly used.