Enhance your outdoor photography with an ND filter.

ND filters are like shades for your camera.

“The way I like to describe ND filters to people who aren’t familiar is to say they’re basically like sunglasses,” explains photographer Francisco Joel Hernandez, who often uses an ND filter for his outdoor portrait photography. “And depending on how much darker you need your image to be, you choose a certain type.”

Use an ND filter for bright outdoor scenes.

Neutral density filters are commonly used in landscape photography and nature photography because the bright sunlight can often interfere with certain photographic techniques. If you let less light into your photo, especially in images of the sky, that can help you retain more color and detail in those bright areas.

Use an ND filter for long exposure photography.

Because they reduce the amount of light that enters the image, ND filters can also be a great tool for creating daytime photos with motion blur. To achieve blur, you need to use a longer shutter speed or exposure time. A slower shutter speed means more light enters your lens, which causes your image to be brighter. This can be a problem when the sun is out. But with an ND filter, you can use a slow shutter speed without the image being too bright.

If you’ve ever seen a photo of a waterfall or a stream where the water looks silky smooth, that photo was taken with an ND filter and a longer shutter speed. “If I were to take a waterfall and shoot it with no ND filter, I’d have to shoot at a higher shutter speed to keep the lighting even,” says photographer Chris Sidla. “But with an ND filter, you can bring down your shutter speed and see a softening in the areas where there’s motion in your image.”

Graduated neutral density filters

Normal or solid ND filters have the same amount of darkening across the entire filter. Graduated ND filters, also called GND filters, feature a varied amount of darkening across the filter. Some create a vignetting effect by being darker in the center and gradually getting lighter on the outside rim. These can lessen the reflection of the sun on water, for example.

Other GND filters are darker on one half and lighter on the other; this type of filter is great for outdoor photos that feature the sky. The darker top can help retain the color of a vibrant sunset while the unfiltered bottom helps bring out as much light as possible on the ground.

Square filters versus circular filters

Most filters are round and screw directly onto your lens. However, square filters that are held in front of your lens by a metal frame can be a great option, especially for graduated filters that are half dark and half light. Square filters provide the option to slide the filter up and down to adjust how the gradient aligns with the horizon of your scene.

Variable neutral density filters

A variable ND filter is a filter that can be adjusted to block out different stops of light. This lets you go from two to eight stops of darkening without the purchase of several different filters.

Circular and linear polarizers

Polarizing filters are a unique type of filter that polarizes light and therefore removes or lessens the appearance of glare and reflections. These can help enhance the color and detail in photos of glass, water, the sky, buildings, plants, and more. The two main types of polarizing filters are circular and linear, and each polarizes the light in different ways. You can also purchase filters that do the jobs of both a polarizer and an ND filter at once.

Step-up rings

“One of the things that I didn’t know early on is that ND filters are sized specifically to the diameter of the lens itself,” says Sidla. “And the problem with that is that the landscape photographer could have three, four, or five lenses, and they don’t typically have the same diameters.” Step-up rings are essential tools for this reason. These are screw-on adapters that can help fit larger filters onto your smaller lenses.

High-quality ND filters are an investment, so it’s best to buy one that is sized to your largest camera lens, and then purchase step-up rings so you can use that same filter for your smaller lenses as well.

Clip-in filters

Another way to avoid the purchase of multiple filter sizes is to try a clip-in filter. “It’s a filter that doesn’t go on top of the lens, but actually goes in front of the camera’s sensor,” explains Hernandez. “It’s game changing. You buy this filter, put it in front of the sensor, and you can use any lens you want.”

The quality and upkeep of your ND filters.

“Keep in mind that when it comes to filters, it’ll definitely affect your images if you get something cheap,” says Hernandez. “I had one shoot that was ruined because of a poorly made variable ND filter.” Invest in the best ND filters that your budget allows to avoid things like unintentional blur or color casts that you would need to edit out in post.

To protect your investment, treat your filters as carefully as you do your lenses. Use a protective filter holder and carry a microfiber cloth in your camera bag to keep dust and lint from getting trapped between your lens and filters.