Balance exposure
Control the distribution of tones within your image for maximum detail
Pictured
Horizon placement
Where the horizon is visible, a hard ND grad is best for managing the exposure gradient. A stripe filter can also be used to darken the low sun position
© Getty Images/Marco Bottigelli
Before the advent of digital photography, neutral density (ND) graduated filters were necessary for landscape photography and other genres of outdoor imaging. The dynamic range of outdoor scenes is often well beyond that which a film emulsion or digital sensor can capture, meaning that detail is lost in either the brightest highlights or the deepest shadows. While the immediate danger to each differs between film and digital, the effect is the same – areas of the frame that are devoid of fine detail and colour, due to either over-or under-exposure.