Camera lens filters play an essential part in digital photography. All serious photographers should have one in their camera bags. Aside from providing extra protection for the front of your lens, camera filters are transparent or translucent optical elements that alter the properties of light entering the camera lens that improve the contrast, sharpness, highlight flare, color and light intensity of the captured image. They allow control to the photographer since they also create a variety of “special effects” on the image.

The commonly used filters for digital photography include UV/haze, polarizing (linear/circular), neutral density, graduated neutral density and warming/cooling or color filters:

UV/haze filters are primarily used to protect your camera lens. They reduce the haze and improve contrast by minimizing the ultraviolet (UV) light that reaches the film. UV light is not visible to the human eye but they adversely affect the camera’s exposure by reducing the contrast. UV/haze filters somehow decreases the quality of the image. However, some believe that the advantage of UV filters protecting your lens outweighs its effect on the image quality.

Linear and circular polarizers (also known as polarizers) reduce the light passing through the camera lens and thus, reduce the glare. Best used in landscaping photography, it reduces the reflection off the water and other surfaces and improves the saturation of the image by making the skies appear deeper blue.

The Neutral Density (ND) lens filter extend exposure time when it is not attainable within a given possible apertures at the lowest ISO setting. These filters are useful in capturing the smooth water movement of water features (rivers, oceans & waterfalls), achieving a shallower depth of field in very bright light, reducing diffraction (which reduces sharpness) by enabling a larger aperture and lastly, introducing blur to convey motion with moving objects.

The Graduated Neutral Density (GND), also known as “split filters,” control strong light gradients. These lens filters are generally used to capture dramatically lit landscapes since you can manipulate the effect by having the bottom of the image clearer and slightly opaque at the top.

Lastly, the Cool and White filters change the white balance that reaches the camera’s sensor. These filters improve the color cast of the image. When there is too much monochromatic light coming in, it helps restore the full colors based on other light sources. These are used for landscapes, underwater shots and for images that need special lighting.

How photographs should come out are actually subjective and basically depend on the photographer. These lens filters have different effects on the image being captured and thus, it is important to study these effects to achieve the results how the photographer imagines it to be. Getting a great shot does not only require talent but the right filter lens as well.