A Warming Filter Adds Glow To Digital Images
A warming filter lets you capture sunset light, even when the sun's not going down.
It reduces rays of blue light that are common in photos of shade, snow, and overcast days.
Simply put, if the weather outside is drab, reach for a warming filter.
The warm glow makes colors come alive and (used sparingly) can add life to a color portrait.
Let's begin with some color theory.
The Color of Light
Even though you can't really see the color of light, your camera can.
Light from a tungsten light bulb looks pretty much the same as light from a fluorescent tube when seen with your eyes.
You camera adjusts for different lighting conditions by using a feature called white balance.
When the camera is set to auto white balance, the photos you take indoors don't look that much different from those you take outside.
But if you deliberately set your white balance to daylight and take photos lit by light bulbs and fluorescent light, you'll beging to see light the way your camera does.
Tungsten light vs. daylight is a pretty extreme example.
Even if you are only taking photos outdoors, the color of light changes depending on the time of day and the weather.
Color Temperature
Light has a temperature, measured in Kelvins (K).
Different light sources have different color temperatures:
| LIGHT SOURCE | COLOR TEMP (K) |
| Candle | 1500 |
| Sunset | 3200 |
| Tungsten Bulb | 3400 |
| Daylight | 5500 |
| Overcast Daylight | 6000 |
| Shade | 8000 |
| Blue Sky | 12,000 |
You'll notice that colors with a lower temperature tend to be orange and red, while colors with a high temperature number contain more blue.
This was a lot of explanation to make this point: a warming filter reduces the color temperature in your photos.
It pushes the colors away from blue and over toward the warm oranges and reds of sunset.
The power of the filter determines just how far it pushes the colors.
Types of Warming
There are 3 primary kinds of warming filters: 81A, 81B and 81C.
As the letters increase, the filter warms up the image more.
While an 81A will create a subtle effect, you will definitely be able to see the difference made by an 81C.
All warming filters are tinted an orange rosy color: the stronger the filter, the more pronounced the color.
Uses
So what are some good uses for warming filters?
Landscapes
A warming filter will come in handy on days when it is overcast, or if you're taking pictures in shade.
The filter will really have an impact on snow, since white snow reflects a lot of the blue sky.
Nature Closeups
If you love taking closeups of flowers in nature, colors will really pop with a warming filter.
This won't work really well on flowers in broad daylight, but flowers that are shaded by a canopy of foliage will get a color kick from a warming filter.
Portraits
Mild use of a warming filter (an 81A) enhances skin tones and provides a warm glow.
Again, it's especially useful if you are taking photos on a cloudy day or under lots of shade.
Warming Filter Alternatives
If you really don't want to pay the extra dough for a warming filter, there are other ways to adjust color in your digital photos.
The most common method is to manually adjust your white balance.
If you look at the white balance setting on your digital SLR, you should see options for daylight, tungsten, fluoresence, shade and clouds.
Each one of these settings tweaks the colors captured by the sensor just like a warming filter.
For example, if you have an overcast day, set the white balance to "cloudy". This should enhance the colors and remove the blue tint.
About the only problem with this method is that the only way to see the effect is on the camera's LCD, which doesn't reproduce colors very well.
At least with a warming filter you can look through the viewfinder and what you see it what you'll get.
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