How To Use Color Filters In Black And White Photography

If you have been shooting in black and white for a while and you feel like learning some new tricks, you should consider using color filters. These filters are truly useful because they let you control how colors are converted to different shades of grey. If you use them the right way, you’ll be able to enhance the mood in your photos and achieve some interesting effects.

Using color filters can help you solve a very common problem in b&w photography. Since certain colors look too similar when converted into greyscale, this can make your b&w photos rather flat and lacking in contrast. If you decide to use color lens filters (either analog or digital ones), you’ll be able to affect the way colors are converted to black and white and make them clearly defined.

Color Filters Basics

There are 5 filter colors you can use in black and white photography – red, orange, yellow, green, and blue. Each of these color filters lets through its own color and blocks other colors (not completely!). Depending on the colors in your original photo, you should decide what kind of filter would be most suitable.

For instance, a red filter will let red light through, but block green and blue. This means that red color will appear brighter in the final image, while other colors (green and blue) will appear darker.

Now we’re going to cover these 5 filter colors and suggest when would be ideal to use them.

Photo by LoboStudio Hamburg

Red Filter

Red filter can produce very strong effects. In certain cases, it can increase contrast a lot, especially in landscape photographs. This happens because this filter turns a blue sky almost black and it makes clouds stand out. If you like dramatic b&w landscapes, you should definitely experiment with a red filter! It’s also very useful for hazy and foggy photographs because it can make them more vibrant.

Red filter is suitable for shooting plants too because it can increase contrast between flowers and their leaves, especially when it comes to red flowers (such as roses or poppy flower).

You should bear in mind that this filter can produce an extreme effect and you should use it sparingly.

Also, if you’re interested in infrared photography, mastering red filter can be a good starting point.

Left: no filter | Right: red filter | Photo by Nicholas Swanson

Orange Filter

Orange filter shares qualities of both red and yellow filter, which makes it quite balanced and popular among portrait photographers. However, it’s not meant only for portraiture – it can be a great general purpose filter.

The reason why this filter is popular in portrait photography is the fact that it makes skin brighter and reduces the severity of various blemishes. Even if your model doesn’t have the perfect complexion, this filter will give the skin a rather attractive and smooth look.

Another great way to use this filter is in architectural photography. If you shoot buildings and cityscapes, this filter will give bricks and similar warm-colored materials vibrant tone and it will make them stand out against the sky.

Just like red filter, orange one can be also used to darken skies and emphasize clouds. However, the effects will be more subtle.

Left: no filter | Right: orange filter | Photo by Christopher Harris

Yellow Filter

Yellow filter is not too popular because it produces very subtle effects, sometimes close to imperceptible.

Of course, it can be still useful under certain circumstances. For instance, if you shoot landscapes, this filter will darken the sky just a little bit, which will emphasize clouds. If you’re not too much into dramatic skies in landscape photography, this filter can be a great choice!

When it comes to portrait photography, yellow filter can improve the appearance of skin and make skin tones more balanced, but it’s not helpful in case of more visible blemishes or freckles.

Finally, yellow filter can improve your plant photography as well, because it makes foliage and light-colored flowers more luminous.

Left: no filter | Right: yellow filter | Photo by Matt Alaniz

Green Filter

This filter is mainly used for photographing nature and plants. Since it makes green tones in images more pronounced, it helps separate the leaves from the flowers and buds.

Green filter can be used in landscape photography too because it can enhance the appearance of grass and lighten the sky. If you don’t want dark and ominous skies in your landscapes, this filter can be a good option.

Left: no filter | Right: green filter | Photo by Shane Rounce

Blue Filter

This filter is rarely used in black and white photography because it darkens colors and reduces contrast. If you don’t use it carefully, you’ll probably end up with underexposed b&w images.

However, this reduced contrast can result in a poetic atmosphere suitable for early morning scenes or hazy mountains. Blue filter introduces a calm and serene atmosphere.

Left: no filter | Right: blue filter | Photo by Sebastian Pichler

If black and white photography is your true passion, getting a selection of colored filters can be a great decision. These filters will give you more control over your images and help you create a certain atmosphere that you have envisioned.

In case you want to learn more about black and white photography, check out the following links!

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