CONTROL COLOUR

Use hardware filtration to carefully balance colour like a pro

Colour management has become significantly more streamlined in the digital age. At one time, with a film installed in your camera, you were limited to the colour balance of the emulsion used and, if the lighting changed, you were forced to swap rolls. Alternatively, it was necessary to attach a color-balancing filter to minimise unsightly colour casts. Nowadays, just a simple change of white balance preset is necessary, which means a faster workflow and no wasted frames. Of course, the advantages also extend to the editing possibilities afforded by RAW processing software, where the opportunities for colour correction and creative toning are almost limitless.

That said, while colour correction filters may have dwindled in their number and popularity, there is still plenty of room for hardware accessories in the realm of in-camera colour control. The polarising filter is by far the most widely used model today for the simple reason that there is currently no digital alternative to the effect polarisers provide.

A polarising filter physically alters the light's properties before it enters the lens, impacting colour balance at the point of capture. Beyond simply removing reflections or saturating colour, at which the circular polariser excels, learning to get the best out of the filter for images requires some creative thinking.