Use of filters in photography

Hari Bhagirath Photography

Colour filters are efficient tools to add depth, detail and effects to black and white photography. Careful choice and use of coloured filters can have immense impact over the appearance of the final black-and-white image. Colour filters can reproduce certain colours which are less represented in the spectrum and give detail to the image.Certain colours in the spectrum are superimposed and certain colours are nullified while filters are used. 

Filters let light of their own colour through to the film but block other colours in the spectrum. A strong red filter blocks blue and green lights in a scene in front of the camera but allows red light to pass through. Blue and green coloured objects will therefore reproduce darker. 

Similarly to darken a sky, yellow, orange or red filter is used.In practice, these filters have a progressive darkening effect on skies, with yellow showing the least effect and a strong red filter showing a more dramatic darkening effect. Photographers of an earlier generation would refer to yellow filters as ‘cloud filters’ as they gave some modelling to the clouds against a slightly darkened sky. Red filters were called ‘sky filters’ as they had a stronger effect on clear blue skies.Blue filters can be used to subtly darken skin tones for portraits or nude images – filters from the Wratten 82 series of light-balancing filters are sometimes used to achieve this effect on black-and-white film. 

A yellow-green filter will also get the black-and-white ‘look’ right when taking portraits under tungsten light. Colour filters have a special use in portraiture to subtly alter skin tones and hair colouring. The effects can either be a technical adjustment or can be applied for exaggeration or aesthetic purposes.Red filters will remove all appearance of skin blemishes, both smoothing and lightening skin tones – they seem also to increase the modelling effect of the lighting, so as to better bring out the shape of the face. With darker skins, blue filters will darken and smooth skin tone and will further darken naturally dark hair.The right use of filter can amplify the effect and theme of the resultant photograph and add to the aesthetic and visual value of the art.

~ Hari Bhagirath Photography