The world of photography can feel overwhelming, especially when it comes to the range of lens filters available. While you might be familiar with basic filters for UV reduction, skylight correction, and lens protection, venturing into specialised filters like polarising lens filters opens up exciting creative possibilities.
This guide will equip you with everything you need to understand polarising filters and how they can elevate your photography.
Understanding Polarising Filters
Polarising filters — also known as circular polarising filters or CPL filters — are renowned for their ability to manipulate light and control reflections. Here's how they work: light waves vibrate in various directions. A polarising filter acts as a sieve, allowing only light waves vibrating in a specific direction to pass through. This has two key impacts on your image:
- Reduced glare — By filtering out scattered light, polarisers significantly reduce glare and reflections from non-metallic surfaces like water, glass, and foliage. This results in deeper, richer colours — particularly in skies — and allows you to see through reflective surfaces like still water. Imagine capturing the crystal-clear reflection of mountains in a lake, or achieving that deep blue sky in a landscape shot.
- Increased contrast — By eliminating scattered light, polarisers make details and textures more prominent — sharpening the definition of clouds against a blue sky or bringing out the texture of foliage in a forest scene.
How to Use a Polarising Filter
Using a polarising filter is straightforward — simply screw it onto your lens like any other circular filter. Most polarisers feature a rotating outer ring that lets you adjust the filtering effect. As you rotate the ring, you'll see the impact on reflections and colour saturation change in real time through your viewfinder. Experiment with different angles to achieve the effect you're after.
A few tips to keep in mind:
- Polarisers work best when shooting at a 90-degree angle to the sun — such as during the golden hour — and in scenes featuring water, glass, or other glossy surfaces.
- Polarising filters reduce the amount of light reaching the sensor by roughly 1–2 stops, so you may need to adjust your exposure settings accordingly.
- Their effect is minimal when shooting directly towards or away from the sun.
Exploring Other Filter Options
While polarising filters are among the most popular, the world of lens filters offers many other creative possibilities:
- Neutral Density (ND) filters — Evenly reduce the amount of light entering the camera, allowing slower shutter speeds for effects like silky smooth water or motion blur.
- Warming and cooling filters — Add a subtle colour cast to adjust the colour temperature for artistic expression or to compensate for specific lighting conditions.
- Coloured filters for black and white photography — Allow you to manipulate different colour channels for dramatic tonal contrast in monochrome images.
- Colour correcting filters — Help correct colour casts caused by artificial lighting or specific environmental conditions.
- Special effects filters — From star filters that create a starburst effect to soft focus filters for a dreamlike quality, these offer endless creative possibilities.
Find the Right Filter for Your Lens
To learn more about the full range of filter options available, check out our Camera Lens Filter Buying Guide. Or browse our full range of camera lens filters at Ted's Cameras. Our in-store team is always happy to help you find the right filter for your lens and shooting style.