The Concept:
In Today’s Photo Minute Brian Osborne introduces viewers to the use of a polarizer filter but in a situation that many photographers may not think about trying one. While often polarizers are used in landscape photos with blue skies and reflective water, the same concept can be applied to flowers and foliage where the reflection off of the leaves keep the detail and color saturation of the subject from showing up in the final image. Check out the video to see the effect and check out our blog post for today for some additional photo samples.
The Assignment:
The more you use a polarizer the better you will become at seeing the effect in your photos, especially in various situations. Having the polarizing filter on the front of your lens does not guarantee you are getting any benefits from it. It has to be adjusted by rotating the front ring to get the desired effect in the viewfinder before taking your shot. Remember that this effect, while so dramatic and helpful, cannot be duplicated later in the editing process so it is important to do it when you are capturing the images. Find various flowers or plants in different lighting situations and take a number of shots with and without the polarizer rotated correctly so you can see the impact it can have.
