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Photo Tips & Techniques

Millions of images are made of sunsets and sunrises. I am guilty of contributing my fair share toward this number especially when I can include an interesting silhouetted subject that has  intriguing and definitive shapes. But unless Mother Nature provides me with the drama and color I desire, I give the scene a boost. I do this with a few colored filters I carry with me on all my photographic sojourns. I have three favorites - a Tiffen enhancing filter, a Cokin Sunset filter #197, and an FLD filter.

The enhancing filter accentuates warm tones without impacting neutral and cool tones. Reds, yellows and oranges appear more saturated. The warm tones of a sunset or sunrise are enhanced. The Cokin Sunset #197 is a graduated orange filter with two stops of density on the top and one on the lower half. The result is deeper color in the sky, with the rest of the image taking on an orange hue. The FLD filter is actually designed to convert fluorescent light to daylight. It's magenta in color which adds warmth to the overall scene. It is to be used with discretion in that it produces pronounced changes.

These filters should be used only when shooting backlit silhouettes to punch up the color in the sky. Don't use them for general purpose shooting at sunrise or sunset or you'll get strange color casts in your images. In that the silhouetted areas go black, the filters have no impact on them. They simply put more color into the sky.

In the two images seen here, the first was shot using the Tiffen Enhancing filter. The natural color in the sky was not very exciting and needed a boost. The second image was shot using the FLD filter. This really punched up the color making it more dramatic. There are many different colored filters on the market that work well to liven up a lack luster sunset or sunrise. Experiment with them to see which ones give you the most pleasing results.

For more information on these and many other types of filters check out tiffen.com.

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