What is the best camera accessory?
What do I need to improve my images?
People often ask me what lens to buy... Ok, sure, I’ve got opinions on those.,, but why not utilize what you have to the best of its ability?
Buy a polarizer for whatever lens you have!!
Polarizers give the extra boost that is needed in so many cases. For each one of my lenses, I buy a screw-on polarizing filter.
Polarizing filters essentially cut out reflections and glare. A good example of this would be shooting a lake in the middle of the day. If it’s bright out, the water will reflect the sky, giving it a white look - which may overexpose your shot. With a polarizing filter, all of this glare is suppressed and you get to see the nice colors of the lake. A by-product of this is also increased saturation of the colors in the image and the ability to shoot slower since it knocks your exposure down by a stop or so.
They will also darken the sky - even on bright days you should get a dark saturated blue look instead of a blown out highlights.
Dark sky on a bright day
WITH Polarizer
NO polarizer
Polarizing filters can be expensive (they range from $50 - $175 depending on the brand) but, if you’re going to spend thousands of dollars on bodies and lenses… why not spend $100 on something that will really make a huge difference.
I use these for indoor shoots as well. Especially if you are shooting in studio with a reflective object, a polarizing filter will help cut some of that reflection - and make the objects you are shooting more saturated and richer looking.
Quality really matters when choosing which filter to buy. Lesser quality brands will give your image a tint - So you’l wanna spend the extra 20-30% for the nice ones. I have found that Breakthrough filters have nearly zero tint to them.
Check em out, you won’t be sorry!