Filter Advice

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thacko

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hey guys looking for some advice on filters.

I currently have a circular polariser and im looking for better looking skys in photos im doing of car meets and motorsport.

was thinking bout a ND grad but im not entierly (sp) sure what i really need.


Hope someone can help as im still kinda new to this lol

Thanks
 
Hello Thacko and welcome here

I own a good few filters but rarely get time to play with my kit...:bang:

Not sure if an ND grad will help you much unless the sky is very bright and you want to tone it down...

You could invert it and tone down the foreground I suppose...

The thing with a CP is that you will get best results when shooting 90 degrees across the light and this might not always be possible with motorsport unless you pick a good spot and stick to it:shrug:
 
A couple of PP tricks you could try to help get the sky you want.

First rather than use a grad at the taking stage apply it in Photoshop or similar. Works better if you are working in RAW. More data to play with.

Again with Photoshop or Lightroom ( don't know if you can do this with elements) drop the luminance of the blue channel. This is best done in the HSL settings , but don't go overboard
 
The circular polariser is the filter I use the most for motorsports. As it brings out the sky a bit, but also cuts down on glare of bodywork/windscreens.

I can imagine an ND Grad would be good for static car shots, depending on where the horizon is in relation to the car.

What effect do you want in the sky and what software do you use for processing?
 
With an ND grad you're better off investing in a Cokin system, that way you can put the edge where you want it, otherwise with a normal filter it will be slap bang in the middle of the shot every time.
 
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