Polarizer or grad filter?

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PaulP01

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Hi all

What would be the best route for landscape photography to tone down the sky light? What I mean is that I have noticed when taking photos of forests, tree etc that I have to lower the exposure to lose the brightness of the sun/sky but in doing so, the trees/scenery etc are quite dark. So which would be the best solution for this? Polarizer or grad filter?
 
PaulP01 said:
Hi all

What would be the best route for landscape photography to tone down the sky light? What I mean is that I have noticed when taking photos of forests, tree etc that I have to lower the exposure to lose the brightness of the sun/sky but in doing so, the trees/scenery etc are quite dark. So which would be the best solution for this? Polarizer or grad filter?
Click to expand...

Polarising filters only really come into use when the sky is clear, otherwise you get lots of problems depending ont he light etc etc.
 
Graduated filters are what you need - they come in different strengths. What you'd do is take a meter reading from the foreground and one from the sky. If the sky was 2 stops brighter, you'd use a 2 stops grad filter which would stop the sky over-exposing for a better balanced picture.
 
I've recently got a set of grads and I'm finding them VERY useful - It doesnt even need to be a nice day in sunny England for the sky to get blown out very easily and the grads do a great job of dialling down the sky but keeping up the scenery and at the same time getting some interest and detail out of that sky too.

I use a polariser sometimes too but definately get grads first - Wish I'd got them ages ago...
 
polariser yesterday
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I have a polarizer filter and ND Grads. The grads win hands down for me every time. I find they do a better job in evening out the exposure. Mind you with regards to shooting forests and skies, I have always found it fairly tricky and usually need to pull the dark areas back in PP as well as the over exposed sky.
 
Cheers all, any recommendations and retailers?
 
I think it depends on a number of factors. Polarisers are good for darkening blue sky, but it depends on the angle of the light as to the degree of darkening. Also, if you're using an ultra-wide lens then you may get one side of the sky more polarised (darker) than the other.

ND grads are great, but you have to take care you don't also darken your foreground interest at the same time.

Using HDR/tone mapping is another approach to help you deal with high contrast scenes.

Have you got a sample shot of the scene in question?
 
Ive been thinking about grad filters lately too, previously when doing landscaped I have just done a 3 exposure HDR, chucked them through photomatix and been happy with the result

by doing that though I feel like im using the computer too much and cheating,

where is the best place to get grad filters?
 
For me a combination of the two works very well. You need to spend a bit of time learning how to use a polariser to get the best results.

They are most effective at 90 degrees to the angle of the sun and they give the most pleasing results when the sun is not too high, or too low in the sky.

For most of the year that is about 2or3 hours after sunrise or 2or3 hours before sunset. In mid-winter i imagine it would be around midday; the sun barely seems to creep above the horizon compared to mid-summer.

When you've got that sorted (;)), bang on a one or two stop ND grad, and bob's your uncle!

I had just a two stop grad for years, but I now find a one stop used with a polariser can give excellent, natural looking skies.

Don't forget that a polariser has other uses besides darkening blue skies. If it was a choice between the two, I'd go for a polariser first.:)
 
I took this picture in summer with just a polorizing filter attatched, the image is more or less un-edited because I didnt know a great deal on photoshop at the time, they are useful if the light is right

I think I got lucky with this because it was the first time Id been out with the polorizer :lol:

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Must admit I'm going against the grain a little here....I own NDgrads & a polariser & it's the polariser I use most, the NDgrads very occasionally, must admit I do take a lot of shots near sunset/sunrise & in the best possible lighting, in these circumstances I don't find the NDgrads necessary often

A polariser is a great tool to lift an otherwise flat scene, especially in bright sunshine

simon
 
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