Embracing Shadows in Photography Using an ND Filter

Instead of staying inside when the light is bright, attach an ND filter to make shadows part of your creative process. You’ll find your landscapes and portraits benefit from a boost in drama and depth.

Light is often what draws us to a photograph, but shadow is what gives it power. Shadows shape and sculpt light wherever it appears, making it an essential ingredient for creating compelling images featuring immersive visual narratives.

For many photographers learning their craft, shadows can feel like something to be avoided, perhaps because our eyes pick up more detail in them than our lenses can. Yet that doesn’t mean obscured elements equal lost opportunity. Balancing or accentuating shadows against the highlights can inspire richer images with thought-provoking ambiguity and emphasis.

While many techniques can help you play with shadows, Neutral Density (ND) filters are among the most underrated. By reducing the light reaching a camera sensor, you can work creatively in bright sun and the harsh shadows it casts — to explore depth of field, motion blur and more.

Whether shooting during the softest golden hour, beneath radiant midday sun or under gloomy skies, purchasing an ND filter means you can use a slower-than-normal shutter speed without overexposing. This is especially useful for capturing stunning landscapes. Dull clouds now streak across the sky while ripples on a lake become smooth like glass. Plus, depending on the strength of your filter, shadows become deeper and more dynamic.

Helping to translate familiar landscapes into captivating shots, Graduated ND filters are another tool for balancing highlights and shadows. The partially darkened design means you can reduce the light in the sky or along the horizon without affecting the rest of the shot. Imagine standing atop a valley where distant mountains are drenched in light while solid shadows obscure the foreground. Graduated ND filters help photographers strike a harmonious balance.

Don’t think ND filters are only for shooting landscapes and long exposures; they’re also excellent for taking portraits in bright, sunny conditions as well as close-ups. By working with the shadows, not against them, you can achieve a shallow depth of field that emphasises the subject and surrounds them in attractive bokeh. This balancing of the light can resemble that golden hour look without needing to time your arrival with sunrise or sunset.

Despite lowering the intensity of the light with an ND filter, your shadows should remain richly detailed. Yet what matters most is how you use them. When shooting portraits, consider how expressive shadows can artistically conceal your subject when balanced against contrasting sunrays. You can also use off-camera flash to illuminate subjects while the ND filter assists with exposing the ideal background.

Many photographers prefer to wait for softer light when the sun is beating down. ND filters help you reclaim hours in the day by making it possible to shoot even when the light is at its harshest. This also expands your creativity, as you can search for fascinating dark silhouettes that attract attention or hint at a certain subtext. To craft meaningful stories from vivid shadows, focus on imposing shapes, beams of light and obscured elements in the frame.

The longer shutter time needed to work with ND filters makes them the go-to filter for shooting long exposures. Using a tripod, landscapes that would ordinarily be over-exposed feature elegantly poised light and shadow. ND filters can also heighten the imagination in your street photography. Slow your shutter speed and keep your hands steady to freeze urban minutiae, like meandering pedestrians, passing trains or a flock of birds, in a cinematic blur.

ND filters make a thoughtful camera bag addition because they’re highly adaptable. While the most common types are 3-stop, 6-stop and 10-stop, stacking two or more filters gives you closer control over how light and shade interact in each image. Blocking or letting in more light as needed, this essential trio enables everything from a relatively subtle 3-stop reduction to a combined 19 stops for shooting seriously long exposures.

You’ll also find ND filters in other varieties, such as 1-stop, 4-stop and 5-stop, enhancing your creative freedom. For even more inventiveness and control, you can use a combined ND and CPL filter (or stack your own) to master light and shadow while boosting colour saturation and vibrancy. Just know that stacking multiple filters can lead to vignetting, particularly when shooting with wide-angle lenses.