Advice for using ND Grads

blueguy20

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I recently purchased a Tiffen .06 ND grad, primarily for use when i shoot sunsets which i do frequently right now, but overall i read it's a good filter to have on hand. The first time i used it, i was experiencing overexposure without the filter when i was shooting the sunset. I was able to get somewhat properly exposed pictures, but they would leave the foreground blacked out and only the light from the sunset was visible.. I then threw on the filter hoping it would tame the harsh light that was ruining the pictures. When i rotated the darker part over the sunset and took a picture, i noticed basically no change in the the exposure. After firing a few frames and realizing nothing was changing i took it off.

Im wondering if using a grad for a sunset is for a closer position? I was quite far away from the sunset so i thought that maybe i needed to be a lot closer to the area for the filter to have an effect. I was hoping i could get some tips as to what i might be doing wrong?

Thanks
 
You should be able to see the difference through the viewfinder... Maybe you were set on auto and it compensated?
 
Yeah that was something else that troubled me, i noticed that when i had the filter on and i rotated the darker half, i noticed no change through the viewfinder. It being my first time using it, i assumed it was an effect you'd have to see when you uploaded the picture or something. I know i was on Manual and had all of my usual settings, i don't know what would cause the effect to not work..
 
Yeah that was something else that troubled me, i noticed that when i had the filter on and i rotated the darker half, i noticed no change through the viewfinder. It being my first time using it, i assumed it was an effect you'd have to see when you uploaded the picture or something. I know i was on Manual and had all of my usual settings, i don't know what would cause the effect to not work..

You said you rotated the darker half? Is this a screw on ND filter?

One thing you should do is set your exposure to the foreground - without the filter, lock the exposure, recompose and shoot. I have square filters with a holder. Sometimes I use spot metering, set my focus point to the foreground - lock my exposure then change to a new focus point (where I want my focus) - refocus and shoot.

It's rarely going to be perfect unless you're metering sky then foreground and selecting the appropriate filter to compensate. Also, does your camera have a DOF preview? Use that to position your filter - it will be more accurate.
 
Yeah it's a screw in filter. I meant that i just rotated the filter so the darker half was over the sunset light that was otherwise too overexposed. But when i did this i saw no change in the picture. This is the area i was shooting and this is one of the shots that was more exposed but not completely. At least no you see what i was working with.

DSC_0036.jpg
 
That's very possible. A 3 stop filter might be better for that type of sunset. Have you tried putting the filter on and looking through the viewfinder just in a well lit room? That would allow you to see the line and how it darkens under a different condition.

One thing a screw on type filter will cause is that it forces you to break the rule of thirds in some cases with a horizon shot because the line is through the center of the glass. If you tilt the camera down to include more foreground you might get unwanted darkening of the foreground.
 

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