B&W Filter Effects

Humboldt and Crestone Pano. From Wet Mountain Valley, Colorado, 2015

The above you will recognize as a B&W version of the main image of the previous post.

I think I like it better than the color original…I think, anyway.

In film days, I sometimes used filters to play with the contrast in landscape photography, especially for the sky. A yellow filter would darken a blue sky somewhat and a red filter would darken it considerably–the only two filters I ever used with any regularity. The darker sky would make the clouds pop out a bit more thus adding some depth to the photograph.

These digital days, the filters are still around but, instead of screwing them on to the camera lens, you’ll find them in the post-processing software–such as Nik/Google Silver Efex Pro–and you add in the effect after the fact. In the above case, I used a red filter in Silver Efex with the slider all the way to the right.

Some other points/ideas about filters…

–Keep in mind that they let through their own color but block other colors to some degree–especially their complementary colors.

–To lighten a color, use the same color filter. To darken a color the most, use the complementary color filter.

–Each color of filter could be purchased in different strengths–today, just adjust the slider in post!

–RED. Helps cut haze and fog, and will increase contrast and darken skies. Good for ocean scenes and architecture as well. Some think they can be too harsh and can even lend a sort of IR effect to some photos. This may or may not be the effect you are after.

–ORANGE. Perhaps a good option for general use as it is not as harsh as a red filter. Will hide some skin blemishes.

–YELLOW. More subtle yet than red or orange and can give nice flesh tones. Try it also with plants, forest or foliage to separate out the greens.

–GREEN. Often used in flower photography to separate the colorful flowers from the green leaves. It will lighten the sky, too, which may not be what you want.

–BLUE. Tends to darken most colors, reduce contrast, and increase any haze effect that might be present.