SHOOTING SKILLS
Work with multiple filters
Overcome the practical challenges of stacking optical filters when working in the field
When using hardware filters, it is often best to minimise how many we place on the lens at any given time. Each filter is another layer for light to pass through before it can reach the sensor. Even with the best-quality filters that cost hundreds of pounds, this has the potential to reduce sharpness and introduce optical aberrations.
However, there are moments when we need to use more than one type of filter at a time, such as when shooting landscapes or cityscapes. While we need a polariser to remove reflections and increase colour saturation, we might also need to add an ND filter or a grad to extend exposure duration, or balance the exposure between the ground and sky. In these circumstances stacking filter types is unavoidable, so mitigating any resulting quality loss becomes the order of the day.