3 Lens Filters You Should Bring to Every Shoot

Lens filters, help or hindrance? Important or unnecessary in the digital photography age? Photographer Mitch Lally finds them super handy and share the three filters he brings to every shoot in the below tutorial.

“In this video I’m going to be talking about the different kinds of lens filters that I use, why I use them and how they actually improve my photography,” Lally says.

If you’ve been thinking about adding lens filters to your photography and wondering which ones you should get and what a photographer would actually use them for, check out the video below where Lally discusses his favorites. All the filters Lally discusses are from a brand called Nisi.

“I went on a trip recently and I got an opportunity to try out some of Nisi’s true color filters and I’ve got to say I did fall in love with them,” he says.

#1 ND (Neutral Density) Filter

“If you’re going to get one filter, I recommend getting this one before you buy any others. That’s because it’s probably the most useful out of the three. An ND filter actually cuts out the amount of light coming through the lens. And this one is a variable ND, which is super handy be because you can adjust the amount of light that’s being let through.”

#2 CPL (Circular Polarizer) Filter

“This is really handy for cutting out reflections. I put this one the front of my lens at the waterfall and I shot into the water. As you can see as I rotate the filter it’s cutting out the reflection of the water. It’s really handy when you want to show what’s underneath the water.”

#3 Black Mist Filter

“Essentially what a black mist filter does is it takes some of the contrast and the sharpness out of the image while also blooming the highlights. It creates this ethereal dreamy effect especially when you’re shooting into lights.”

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