When I first started out with photography, the one thing I always struggled with was shooting landscapes during the day. I always felt that the blues and greens were so washed out compared to what I was seeing with my naked eye. But then I discovered something that changed my photography game!
Okay, hands up! Who’s blown away by this photo? In all honesty, I certainly was when it popped up on my camera’s LCD screen.
The trick to achieving these turquoise clear waters and wiping out the harsh reflection of the sun was that I used a CPL. What is a CPL you might ask? Well, it stands for Circular Polarizing Filter and oooh let me tell you, I love using this tool for all of my landscape shots!
WHAT IS A CPL?
A CPL (or Polarizer) is a filter that can be added onto a camera lens. It filters out certain wavelengths of light that cause reflections on non-metallic surfaces, like water or foliage. Polarizers are used very often in landscape photography because it beautifully deepens the blues and greens.
POLARIZER AWESOMENESS
Here’s three of my favourite things about using a Polarizer:
1. REFLECTIONS
It cuts out the harsh reflections of the sun wonderfully on things like:
- water
- foliage
- wet rocks
- basically everything I like taking pictures of at the moment.
Because of this, I was able to capture beautifully rich emerald greens on the moss and soft turquoise blues in the water that would normally be blown out in the photo if it was a sunny day. Check out the difference between using a Polarizer and not:
2. TWISTING THE FILTER
You can twist the filter! The Polarizer has a ring that allows you to twist to either increase or decrease the strength of the effect. You can literally see the greens start to pop and reflections reflections disappear as you twist. Check it out:
3. EXPOSURE
The Polarizer acts a bit like an ND Filter. These are two different types of filters altogether, but I did notice that I had to stop up (let in more light) in order to correctly expose my scene. It was only by 1 or 2 stops so it wasn’t too bad.
Pro Tip: Twist this filter on before setting the exposure if you’re shooting in manual, otherwise you’ll just have to adjust the settings again!
SUMMARY
Overall, with a Polarizer on:
- colours are more saturated,
- you’ll see a lot more contrast,
- and definitely a lot less reflection.
On top of all this, the clarity of a photo taken with a Polarizer is worthy of that cute little Italian chef kiss. I absolutely love this thing and if you love taking landscape shots during the day, I think you will too!
You can check out the one I use here on Amazon
Pro Tip: When using a Polarizer, try to compose the scene at about a 90° angle from the sun. This is the best angle to reduce reflections from the sun. Yes, you’re welcome, virtual high-five!
Thanks so much for stopping by. If you’ve enjoyed this article on Polarizers or if you have any questions, please feel free to comment down below.
Wishing you loads of fun and success in your future photography adventures!
Sam Lafleche
Ok! I’m officially addicted to your blog. You make it fun and educational at the same time without a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo. Keep ’em coming!
Claire
Wow, thank you so much Sam! This truly means so much. I’ll certainly keep them coming. Glad to hear you’re enjoying them!
Great for taking the shine off well worn paving as well
Great addition, thank you Adrian!
Thank you for your article on Polarizing filters. I have never tried to use this type of filter and will to purchase one in the near future. I found your comparison photos make all the difference to your explanations.
Enjoy reading the articles. Always food for thought.
So glad to hear you enjoyed the post Roy! I’m definitely a visual person so seeing examples of something helps make all the difference for me too. Thank you so much for your kind words! They truly mean a lot.
what is your idea about using cpl filter and uv filter together to take landscape photos ?
I normally keep my UV filter on all the time and the reason why is to make sure my lens glass is protected. I can be pretty clumsy in the woods so I just don’t want my expensive lens to get scratched incase I fall. So, if I want to reduce glare, I’ll usually keep the UV filter on and then screw on the CPL on top. Hope this helps!