PRO COMMENT

WITH THE ADVENT OF DIGITAL FILTRATION, WHY IS IT STILL ESSENTIAL TO INVEST IN A GOOD SET OF HARDWARE FILTERS?

Whilst software packages, and even in-camera processing, have improved massively over the years, they are still very much limited by one common factor – the quality of the original image. Aggressive and time-consuming editing results in a lower quality final result. Hardware filters ultimately deliver a much cleaner and less heavily manipulated picture.

IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES THAT PHOTOGRAPHERS MAKE WHEN SELECTING AND USING FILTERS IN THE FIELD?

In my experience, a common mistake when using graduated filters is that you need to remember to expose for the shadows instead of the highlights, which is the reverse of how we normally work.

Another mistake is trying to guess the timings for a given density when shooting long exposures, which results in frustration and poor results. As a general rule, the best long exposures always start with a good base exposure, taken with any grads or polarisers already in place, but without the ND filter. Then, you can add the filter and use a smartphone app, such as the LEE Stopper app, to get the correct exposure conversion.

HOW CAN PHOTOGRAPHERS EFFECTIVELY MAINTAIN THEIR FILTERS ESPECIALLY WHEN WORKING IN HARSH CONDITIONS?

LEE Filters has worked with leading photographers all over the globe for many decades now, and across virtually every environment you can imagine. This is why we still produce our specially formulated resin graduated filters, which provide incredible durability even if they are bent or dropped numerous times over their lifespan.

In terms of care, we always recommend keeping your filters in a dedicated pouch or tin for maximum protection, and using a dedicated cloth and cleaning solution such as ClearLEE. Always wet-clean your filters – micro-scratches lead to lowered optical performance over time. This applies to both glass and resin filters.