Flash photography tip: Create blur with ND filters

Saturday 29 June 2024, 13:31 by Elja Trum | 2,411 views | 2 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

An ND filter (Neutral Density, also called a grey filter) reduces the amount of light entering your camera. This lets you use a slower shutter speed. This is especially useful when you combine natural light with flash in flash photography. Outside, you quickly have a lot of light to work with.

Maud - f/1.4, 1/80s, 250 ISO @ 50mm
By using an ND filter, you can still work with wide apertures (small number), even when there is a lot of light. This means you can use a shutter speed below your camera's flash sync speed while still keeping a pleasing amount of blur in your image.

Don't choose the cheapest ND filters, as they can reduce the quality of your image. An ND filter that blocks around 3 stops is often enough. If you use ND filters that are too strong, you may have trouble with autofocus.

Share: WhatsApp Facebook

About the author

Elja Trum is the founder of Photofacts and online photography course website Photofacts Academy. He has been writing about photography since 2006. Elja is also the author of (Dutch) books on composition, black-and-white photography, flash photography and portrait photography.

Review: Haida Greystone UV filter, 10-stop ND filter and polarising filter
by Nando Harmsen
Do not use a variable grey filter for photography
by Nando Harmsen
Street photography tip: Filters can create unusual photos
by Michiel Heijmans
10 tips for photographing a waterfall
by Nando Harmsen
Review: Haida Premium Brass and Bluestone UV filters
by Nando Harmsen
Take a polarising filter with you more often
by Nando Harmsen

Show every article in Flash photography

home

2 comments

Bart Telling wrote on Tuesday 2 July 2024 at 16:00 | reply
Nice tip. Thanks
Translated from Dutch.

Calebout Freddy wrote on Wednesday 3 July 2024 at 13:09 | reply
Good tip, I'll definitely give it a try.
Translated from Dutch.

Have your say

Please note: Articles older than a week can only be commented on by signed-in visitors.
Would you still like to comment? sign in or create a free account.

Become a better photographer every week

A practical photography tip in your inbox every week.
39,219 photography enthusiasts already receive the tips! More about the weekly mail. Or keep up to date via Facebook. Sign-up secured with Google reCaptcha.

Elja Trum

Photofacts; everything to do with photography!

Would you like to take better photos and keep up with what is happening in photography? Photofacts publishes articles that teach you something about photography — from a product announcement to a practical shooting tip or a look at a website. Photofacts covers photography every day and is a hobby project of Elja Trum's that got out of hand. The articles are written by a team of volunteer authors. If you would enjoy writing one or more articles for Photofacts, do get in touch.More about Photofacts

Photofacts is made possible in part by