Lens Filters

What is a soft filter?  What does it do to your image? What do polarizers do?  What does it do to your image? What are neutral density filters?  How are graduated filters different?

    A soft filter is one that affects the sharpness of the image. What it does is soften hard lines, so that the image is still in focus but also has a softer quality to it. Polarizers are meant to reduce glare or reflections. It also is able to create somewhat truer colors because of the removed reflections. Neutral density, or ND, filters are intended to cut down the amount of light that goes into your camera. An ND filter is important in order to properly expose outdoor shots without having to sacrifice your depth of field by changing the aperture. Graduated filters are different from ND filters because they only affect a part of the image, typically the top. This allows you to properly expose your subject but also bring down the exposure of the sky in order to get some detail back into the image.