GRADUATED FILTERS
Photography week|December 31, 2020
ND grads enable you to capture perfectly balanced landscapes
GRADUATED FILTERS

3-STOP ND GRAD

YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO SLIDE THE FILTER UP OR DOWN IN THE HOLDER, TO AFFECT AS MUCH OR AS LITTLE OF THE IMAGE AS YOU LIKE

Graduated neutral density filters, usually referred to as ND grads, differ from standard ND filters in that the filter effect is graduated from dark at the top to clear at the bottom, with a transition area in the middle. Graduated filters are mostly used to balance the exposure across the frame when the sky is much brighter than the foreground; by using the filter to hold back the sky you can capture a balanced exposure in a single frame.

NO FILTER

1-STOP ND GRAD

2-STOP ND GRAD

3-STOP ND GRAD

Hard or soft?

There are three types of ND grad: soft edge, medium edge and hard edge, and this refers to the softness or hardness of the transition of the gradient from dark to light, with soft being a gradual transition, hard being a more defined line, and medium falling between the two.

This story is from the December 31, 2020 edition of Photography week.

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This story is from the December 31, 2020 edition of Photography week.

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