How To Use Polarising Filters
April 25, 2011 
Why you Should be Using Polarising Filters
Polarising filters are great for shooting in direct sunlight as they remove glare from non metallic objects and in turn create more naturally saturated colours. The effect created by a polarising filter is one of the only effects that can’t be replicated in post production, and this post teaches you all about how to use it properly.
What do Polarising Filters do?
There are 2 types of polarising filters; linear and circular. Linear are traditionally used in film photography, where as circular is used in digital as they’re designed to not confuse the camera’s autofocus. When you attach the circular filter to the end of your lens you’ll find that you can still rotate the filter, which changes the direction that the light is polarised.
When shooting in direct sunlight, you’ll often find that your images come out harsh and feel overexposed. Think of it as being in the sun with no sunglasses on, it’s hard to see. Polarisers work by only allowing light from a certain direction, which removes the glare from photos. Have a look at the photos below, the first one is without a filter and as you can see the sun is reflecting very strongly off the road, which has overexposed the whites in the photos. This has made the finer details harder to see and made the overall quality of the photo weaker.
Now have a look at a similar photo below, taken with a polarising filter. The glare from the road has now been removed and you can make out the whites a lot better. The left shoulder of the subject is also in much more detail as there is a distinct difference in colour now between it and the road. Overall, the polarised photo is much easier to look at.
Polarising filters also remove haze from photos and this has the biggest effect when taking a photo of a distant subject or scene. This makes the sky look much more blue and all the colours more vibrant and saturated. Have a look at the 2 photos below – only the second one of polarised.
How to use Polarising Filters
Polarising filters produce their best results when they’re 90° from the sun. This is a great way to get the best from the filter, however, you need to be careful when taking a photo of a wide angle scene as the sky’s polarisation isn’t even and you’ll start to see a change in the blue colour as it gets further from the sun. (See photo right).
The filter has the least effect when the sun in behind the lens as demonstrated below. The photo on the right is polarised, but the one on the left isn’t.
Polarising filters are usually quite thick and darken your image quite a lot so when you’re using them make sure that your shutter speed is still high enough to take the photo handheld. They work best when in direct sunlight, so this shouldn’t really be a problem, but if it is, I recommend increasing you’re ISO from 100 to 200.
It’s important to make sure that your auto white balance isn’t confused by the addition of a dark filter so make sure you manually set it to daylight so that it knows the result that you’re looking for. Polarising filters only really work in sunlight so if it’s at night or an overcast day, put the filter away.
Be careful that the sky don’t come out too dark, which is easily done with a polariser. Have a look at the photo below, the result of the polariser is quite extreme and makes the photo look unnatural. This can create a pretty cool effect, but sometimes it’s best not to use a filter.
it’s not always appropriate to use a polarising filter, like in the photos below. The image on the left is not polarised and the reflections from the ground actually add detail to the photo, whereas the photo on the right which iS polarised, is darker and harder to see.
Polarising filters are used to take reflections off of glass and water. They are incredibly effective at this and are often used when taking photos of lakes as it allows you to see much further in. Finally, it’s important when using a circular filter that you have it rotated correctly. Have a look at the 2 images below, the one on the left hasn’t been rotated correctly and you can see an obvious fade in the sky, where as the photo on the right, which has been rotated correctly and looks much more natural.
What to look for when Buying Polarising Filters
- Make sure you have the right size – have a look on the end of your lens or on the inside of your lens cap.
- if you’ve got a digital camera, make sure it’s circular polarising.
- Go for the best quality you can afford. There’s no point buying a $1500 lens and then putting a cheap piece of glass infront of it, I personally use high-end Hoya filters.
- A case. Buy a case to put it in when you’re not using it, to save it from dust and scratches.
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If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and we’ll get back to you. As always, if you have any photos that you feel could be used on this website, click on the ‘submit a photo’ section at the top and have your images seen by thousands. Enjoy!
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Hi Guys.
How do you know which is the best way to turn your polariser? Sometimes I take shots on the beach and only see the gradient in the sky once the shot is viewed on my pc.
Hi Dicky, Thanks for the comment.
This is a problem i had when i first started using polarising filters, it takes a little bit of experience, but you’ll soon become used to it. The way i trained my eye to notice it better was to turn 90 degrees to the sun, rotate the filter there as that’s where the effect is exaggerated the most, and then turn back to recompose the shot when i was sure it was right.
Hope that helps,
Josh
Thanks for a really useful article. Great to see the comparative shots. I have a 55mm filter which I bought for the lens I had with my old Sony dSLR. I have since traded the Sony in for a Nikon, and there isn’t a single Nikkor lens with a 55mm lens diameter. I need a filter for my 52mm 18-55mm lens – should I get a new one, or would a step-up ring with the 55mm filter work? Thanks in advance.
I’ve not had too much experience with step up rings, but that should work fine. Remember to use the best quality that you can to suit your lens, if your old one isn’t much good, it might be worth replacing.
Hi Josh,
I´ve recently begun enjoying my photography hobby and would like to know which filters to use for direct photo´s of the sun and moon. my recent attempts of full moon photography have been a diaster.
Hi Josh,
Interesting writing… I use a polariser (77mm Hoya), quite often and find it tedious removing it when not wanted, to replace the protective UV filter… especially having to remove the hood as well!
What are your views on leaving it in place but rotating it to the least polarised state when the effect is not required. Apart from the obvious loss of light to the sensor I dont see many more issues when viewing the images?
Giess I’m getting lazy, eh!
R’s
I would take the filter off if you want don’t want to polarize the image, but if you’re in the shade, or it’s overcast, then there may be nothing to polarize so it wouldn’t matter if you left it on or not, although it would make it a bit darker.
Hi Josh. Thanks a lot for the post. I have a question. Recently, I was trying to shoot fish in an aquarium (where flash photography was banned). Apart from struggling with low-light conditions, the reflections and refraction through the glass were also a challenge. I ended up with unsatisfying images. Would a polarizing filter have helped here even though these were not day light conditions?
FYI, I have a Nikon D90 with a Tamron 18-200 lens.