Do you already use filters in landscape photography?

When you’re out shooting landscapes, a filter might just be your most-used accessory. Whether you're snapping a beautiful scene in your backyard or heading out to a nature reserve, different situations call for different filters. We’re happy to explain what the most popular filters can do for your landscape photos.

Polarizing Filter

A polarizing filter is a must-have in your camera bag. It boosts contrast and helps reduce reflections and glare — perfect for landscape photography! Nature gives us tons of beautiful colors, but a camera doesn’t always capture them the way we see them. A polarizer gives you a helping hand: skies look bluer, grass looks greener, and your favorite flower gets a little extra pop.

But that’s not all. Another key feature of a polarizing filter is that it only lets in light from a specific angle. That gives you more control when photographing reflections. You can play around with the reflections you see in water or shiny surfaces. Sometimes reflections look great, but other times you’d rather show what’s under the water or behind the glass.

Left photo: without a polarizer – Right photo: with a polarizer.

ND Filter

An ND filter — also called a neutral density or gray filter — basically works like sunglasses for your lens. It reduces the amount of light entering the camera, allowing you to shoot with longer shutter speeds or a wider aperture. For example, if you want to photograph a waterfall with a long exposure, the water turns into a smooth, silky stream.

There’s just one downside: shooting with a long shutter speed in broad daylight will quickly overexpose your photo. That’s where an ND filter comes in handy.

Because the ND filter blocks out light, you can create all kinds of creative effects — soft, misty water, moving clouds, or dreamy long-exposure shots. An ND filter can give your photos a magical look.

This photo was taken with an ND filter.

Graduated ND Filter

A graduated ND filter works almost the same way, except it only darkens part of the image. One side of the filter is darker and gradually fades to clear.

This is ideal for shooting sunrises or sunsets. When the sky turns orange, the ground is still quite dark. With a grad ND filter, you can balance that contrast by placing the darker part over the bright sky, preventing it from blowing out. This way, you keep all the details in your shot.

Left photo: without a grad ND – Right photo: with a grad ND.

Color Filters

Color filters are often used to add a specific mood to a photo. There are filters designed to enhance the warm tones of a sunset, giving you an even more summery vibe.

They’re also common in black-and-white photography. Using red or yellow filters can boost contrast for a more dramatic look. A red filter increases the effect even more than a yellow one, so you can choose exactly how strong you want the contrast to be.