Circular Polarizers

A key piece of gear that is probably the least understood or utilized is the circular polarizer filter. Like most pieces of photography equipment, knowing what it is, how to use it and when to use it are the most important things to learn before purchasing and eventually using.




A polarizer filter attaches to the front of your lens and helps to redirect the suns rays hitting your lens. Many of us have owned polarized sunglasses at one point or another,and it works in the same fashion! What you find is that greens, reds, and blues become more saturated, reflections are cut out when shooting water, vehicles, or mirrored surfaces, and landscapes and nature shots can become crisper and more detailed.

Polarizers work by altering how the light enters your lens and how the sensor sees the image, because of this, it works best with the sun at a 90 degree angle to your subject, and of course, they don't work indoors. Remember, like many things in photography, they're a very niche tool for a very specific purpose and it's really all about understanding the key element of photography, LIGHT! You'll find that late in the day and early morning photos show a greater effect then noon because of the angle of the light, and shooting towards the sun or with the sun directly at your back isn't as effective as right angles to it.

Of course, a good Polarizer isn't cheap, but they also have a 2nd use as well. Due to the way they work, and the darkness of the filter, you effectively lose 2 stops of shutterspeed when you shoot with this filter. That means that the filter also functions as a great neutral density filter when you are shooting in overly bright conditions! Want to keep that beautiful background bokeh and F2.8 but it's so bright you're constantly overexposing? Slap a Polarizer on it, and you can grab that shot of the flower that would normally be impossible otherwise!

The best way to demonstrate how it works is to just show you!

Here is a standard shot of a parking lot taken near 5pm. Pay special attention to the Mountains, the sky, and the vehicles.



And here is a 2nd shot with the polarizer turned to the 10 mark



Notice how everything pops? The sky is bluer, the reds and greens, and the mountains? The haze is clearer, and you can see everything is just a bit sharper. No post processing was done on either image, just shoot and post. The filter itself is just that dramatic!

A lot of you who look at my work and read my blog want to shoot fire trucks and I've been asked how do I get such amazingly blue skies and deep reds. The answer is a polarizer! Look at these two photos of a red car and notice the difference in the windows and the reflection.


But it's not just reds, it works on any vehicle or anything with a reflection


Perhaps the biggest change you'll see is in sky and water. All of these shots were taken with a polarizer




But perhaps the best way to demonstrate it is by seeing a circular polarizer go through all of its markings and the effect it has on the sky and objects.




The difference is amazing isn't it?

If you shoot vehicles, landscapes, nature shots, or even portraits outdoors, a polarizer is something you might want to consider for the holidays. Also, there are some really great tutorials online that will show you some great tips and techniques for using it that you can find by googling circular polarizers.

My last bit of advice, photography is all about the glass, be it a filter or a lens, take the time to save up and buy a GOOD one, not just a cheap plasticy crap one. The difference is very noticeable.