Why Use ND Filters for Portrait Photography?

1. It’s neutral so it doesn’t affect the colour of your photo
2. It’s a filter so it lowers the amount of light your camera sensor registers

They have been widely used in wildlife photography for their effect on depth of field, which provides fantastic clarity in a photo’s foreground, while blurring the background. Think a big bird of prey taking flight, or indie movie covers from the early 00s where a person is forlorn in perfect clarity while a city is blurred into movement behind them — think Zach Braff in anything.

You can play around with depth of field in bright conditions, and use motion blur to powerful effect. In portraiture you will be able to bring your subject to the foreground with a clarity which will be further enhanced by lack of focus in the back ground.

You will be able to shoot in the middle of a sunny day and be able to achieve a shallow depth in a sun lit scene. You will be able to achieve that dreamy sunrise and sunset hue outside of those hours, which means you aren’t necessarily dictated by those short periods to achieve ambient portraits.

You’ll need a tripod. For some photographers a tripod isn’t an optional extra but a necessity. Remember, you are letting in a lot of light, so you need to keep your camera still and a tripod is your best option.

Most importantly you will get to know a lot more about how your camera interacts with light which will help you take better photos with or without an ND filter.

Jack Parsons is a Melbourne based criminal lawyer and member of local rock and roll band The Pretty Littles. He loves writing, photography and surf. He has written for Paper Sea Quarterly, LNWY Media, Veri.Live and BEAT.

Related posts:

His name was Robert. He was in my English 101 class my freshman year in my two-year college, and he was gorgeous! Short, curly blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and a bright, dazzling smile. I was not…

Since moving into college, I have decided it would be a good idea to get a job (also, my parents have been telling me to get one). In high school, I never had a real job because my parents wanted me…

Landscapes by Catscapes, a Medium series by Catscapes