A particular conversation will be about the infrared filter, RED-25 or R2. Interestingly, when color photos are taken with this filter, especially withdrawn in the matrix, rather than a special infra-red black and white film (Kodak HIE, for example). Everyone knows the inability of black and white materials «distinguish» red hues. How to distinguish between the matrixes, you can see in the end photos.
I take the pictures using the following method: set the white balance manually when keeper filter Sunpack RED-25, leads to a white surface (paper). With this balance, I dropped a shot that left the same filter. I got the right shot without any filter, and automatic white balance. The image was almost black and white. Council to do a similar experiment with a green filter.

Another advantage of manual white balance is the ability to remove extraneous modulation in mono filters. What do I mean? There are filters that do not change the overall tone of the frame, can change the selected color. These filters include polarizers L-PL, C-PL, polarizers separate colors Intensifier, Redhancer, Greenhancer, Bluehancer, PolaBlue, PolaYellow, PolaRed two polarizers and color Varicolor Blue / Yellow, Pink / Red, Red / Green, Green / Lime. I would like to include in the list and a neutral filter ND, which weakens the illumination is not changing colors. Unfortunately, these filters have often extraneous residual shade, which can spoil a picture.

Let’s look at the picture. This landscape shot by a digital camera. When using the filter Cokin 173 (Varicolor Blue / Yellow), which in turn changes the color reflections from yellow to blue, the tone of the filter residue (pink) are the clouds and grass, with a well-marked, that the color tone of the residual does not depend on the angle of rotation filter . Get rid of this unpleasant effect, you can set the filter on the lens, and then manually set the white balance. This method is suitable for all the above filters. Moreover, in this photo you can see the so-called «digital sky», ie PERESVET, milky-white sky. This is the result of non-neutral gray shadowing (gradient) filters. (About these and other filters will be discussed in the next issue of the blog.)

Since we are talking about polarizing filters, mention another advantage of most amateur digital cameras (non SLR): You can use it all, even a linear polarizer, and if the chamber has no mirrors, a linear polarizer auto focus does not put the system into confusion. Speaking of benefits, I compare the digital and film cameras around the same price category. When shooting with the use of polarizing filters, you do not need to introduce amendments to the exposition, since exposure meter is done through the lens - the camera will take into account all the amendments themselves. In conclusion, the digital photography not only allows you to fully realize your ideas with the help of conventional filters, but also provides an additional, unique ability. Use them - and you will be creativity tuned up with new colors.

This is what some photographers use.

Having the camera fixed on a tripod and made three consecutive exposures, for example, a waterfall, each with a different filter (one of the three primary colors) are shot tones normal, but with a lot of beautiful colored reflections. Try to do this if your camera has a film-style multiple modes, but do not forget to set the shutter speed each time by one-third of face value, measured through the three filters together. By the way, the three filters together, should provide a neutral gray color.
On the other hand, subtracting from the white one or the other primary color, we can get all the other colors (subtractive coloring). Thus, subtracting the green, we get the purple, subtracting red - blue, white and subtracting from the blue - yellow. Mixed blue, purple and yellow in equal proportions, we get black. This scheme is called the CMYK (Cyan / Magenta / Yellow). Letter «K» is an indication for an additional component - black. And it is mainly used in printing.

Now turn to the so-called «color circle» well-known by artists. This range is built in such a way that the colors that are against each other are complementary.

For example, purple is the complement to the green, green - purple, blue - to yellow, blue - to red, etc. This is of great practical importance both for digital as well as for film photography, but more on that later. Regarding colors, located near each other, then they can see what color it will turn out as a result of mixing the two colors. For example, if you mixed blue and red will be purple, red and yellow - orange. Knowing these characteristics of the color range is useful to us when setting the white balance of digital cameras.

Here you see the same color «circle», but a rectangular shape and further grouped by color: the colors are complementary colors right on the left and vice versa.

Explore now how important it is for the photographer’s knowledge of complementary colors. From the practice of shooting on the film camera is well known: when we have the lighting filament lamps are yellow, and then use the blue color filters (80, 82) to obtain the appearance of white light. Look at the plate - the colors are complementary. That is blue-yellow color of the filter delays. If we shoot in cloudy weather or winter snow, it is recommended to use filters yellow tones (81, 85). As can be seen from the right boards, they are a complement to blue, and delay is the blue color. Thus, we see that the additional color effects neutralize each other.

What exactly should be done to properly set the white balance, you know very well - this is written in the user guide for your digital camera. Typically, the camera is fully automatic mode - auto, several pre-treatment, - fine, cloudy, Tungsteen, fluorescent, speedlight, and set the white balance mode manually - «preset». Names and nomenclature in different cells may differ, but the essence of this does not change.

As stated manufacturers of digital photography (only for some reason not in the operation manual and not in the promotional material), none of the preset modes, and moreover the automatic mode does not give absolutely accurate color, that is, quite simply, all the modes a little lie. This is understandable: pre-configured profiles for a certain color temperature, but the real color temperature light source may differ slightly from it. Therefore, the number of cells have additional graduation for each mode. For example, from - 3 (for warm tones) to +3 (for the cold tones) for shooting in cloudy days. But they are not much easier in the life of photographer. Many photographers use manual mode, set the white balance on a white sheet of paper or any other white (neutral gray) surface. Physicists explain this by saying that the white surface is almost completely reflects the light falling on it, as a poor relative of the body is white. And because it is assumed that the remaining items in the area covered by the same source, any deviation from the true white (5500 K) will be deducted or added evenly throughout the field of photography, and color should turn out the way they would look in daylight, but not how they look in reality.

These things are all familiar with, so I will say only that sometimes the artificial cutting of all types of coverage under the comb daylight affects negatively. Here’s an example. Dinner by candlelight in a restaurant with a filling of light from incandescent lamps. Entering treatment Tungsteen, you get a shot: two strange people in the daytime sitting in a restaurant in evening dresses and watched as a blue candle burn slightly yellow flame.

When we expose the white balance manually, we recommend using a white sheet of paper. We are also curious and inquisitive photographers landscape, interesting question: what would happen if we set the white balance not on the white sheet of paper, and the red, blue, green, any other? You can conduct experiments (which was done by me), but remember the outcome of irrational; better withdraw pattern, so that easy to predict the outcome.