Practical Advice About ND Filters Part II

• Strong light flux
• Motionless subject & moving objects 
• Landscapes and cityscapes
• Shooting of architecture
• Blurred motion
• Lightnings
• Shooting of the Sun

In part one, we discussed what ND filters are and now, we're moving on to situations in photography where ND filters are needed. 

Strong Light Flux

We looked at this example in part one but we wanted to go over it again as when working with a fast lens and a camera with a limited shutter speed when you want to shoot at a maximum aperture to get good depth of field, you'll need to use an ND filter to stop the shot becoming overexposed. 

f/2.8 1/4000sec. ISO200 without ND filter

f/1.3 1/4000sec. ISO200 with ND4

Motionless Subject & Moving Objects 

This technique is required when there is a motionless subject and moving objects around them. With a slow shutter speed, all moving objects will become blurred or even blurry, while the subject will remain sharp and shooting without ND filters will give you extra light flux with overexposure.

Motionless Subject & Moving Objects 

Motionless Subject & Moving Objects 

By blurring the movement of people, it can make the image more artistic. As shown in the two shots below. 

Landscapes And Cityscapes

ND filters are often used in the landscape or for cityscape photography. Long exposures allow us to blur  fast-moving clouds, ripples on water, a fountain or a waterfall and as a result, it makes shots quite different.

Without Filter (1/60sec)

With ND1000 (13sec.)

Without filter (1/1600 sec.)

Set of ND8, ND1000 and variable ND filter (30 sec.)

Without filter (f/5.6, 1/1250 sec.)

Variable ND filter (f/16, 15 sec.)

Photographing Architecture

If you significantly increase the exposure (15-20 sec.), all moving objects will become invisible.

Without filter (1/100 sec.)

With ND1000 (10 sec.) 

Without filter (1/50 sec.)

With ND1000 (20 sec.)

Without filter (1/8 sec., ISO200)

Variable ND Filter (25 sec., ISO100)

Blurred Motion

Car lights shot at slow shutter speeds are also look very impressive. Basically, this technique is used in night photography when lights are visible. However, light flux can still be strong and an ND filter would be required.

ND8 (15sec.)

Lightning 

It is not easy to shoot lightning and the main problem is the difficulty in catching the moment lightning appears with a short exposure. ND filters will significantly increase the exposure time and therefore increase the probability of a successful shot. If you're lucky, you could even catch a few lightning strikes in one shot.

ND8 (10 sec.)

ND8 (10 sec.)

Shooting Photos Of The Sun

If you have a telephoto lens and want to shoot close-up sun shots, it requires a super-dense ND filter. It will allow you to capture the surface of the sun without overexposing with solid colour and visibility of black spots.

CAUTION: DO NOT TRY TO TAKE PHOTOS OF THE SUN WITHOUT PRIOR PREPARATION, ESPECIALLY IF YOU USE DSLR CAMERAS, AS YOU CAN DAMAGE YOUR EYES!

ND8 + ND1000 (Solar eclipse)

ND8 + ND1000 (Mercury transit)

In PART III we will  discuss time lapse photography as this is another typical situation where you might need an ND filter.

To be continued....