I have a red filter for my Rolleiflex. When do I use it?

trondsi · Jul 18, 2015

I got the red filter with my lens hood. I realize that the red filter is used mainly with BW photography, so I bought some 120 BW film (TMAX 400). Is the filter only used for landscapes? Is the film I got too contrasty for use with the filter?

thanks in advance for any input here folks.

Prof_Pixel · Jul 18, 2015

THere are lots of good pages on the web showing the effect. Try http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/using-coloured-filters-in-black-and-white-photography

Sirius Glass · Jul 18, 2015

It strongly darkens skies with black & white film. Do a search for red filters with black & white film. Also useful to get the Wood Effect with infrared film.

Mike Bates · Jul 18, 2015

A red filter blocks cyan light. Therefore, objects cyan in color will be rendered darker (less exposed) than objects of other colors. That's usually the blue/cyan parts of the sky, which is often brighter than the rest of the scene anyway and tends to get overexposed without a red filter.

Alan Gales · Jul 18, 2015

For when you want your blue skies black.

I own a red filter but I find my yellow and orange much more useful.

Gerald C Koch · Jul 18, 2015

A red filter is less useful than one of the yellow filters.

The problem with filters is that many people overdo them. The Japanese have a concept called shibui which extols the virtue of understatement. If I might take an example from another overdone technique. I remember some years ago seeing a print that really attracted me. It was only after a few minutes study that I found that the print had been very slightly solarized. Less is more.

Nathan King · Jul 18, 2015

I very rarely use a red filter. It will make red objects brighter and cyan/blue areas darker. Here's an example with T-Max 400 in 35mm. The blue of the sky has turned a very dark gray. You must visualize the effect before taking the photograph because the red filter strongly changes tonal relationships which may cause very unexpected issues if not well thought out.

Dead Link Removed

480sparky · Jul 18, 2015

You use a red filter when you want red subjects to be rendered lighter and blue & cyan subjects to be rendered darker.

I used a 25a red for this shot because if I over-exposed the white sculpture, the blue sky would have been rendered a light gray:

By using the red in conjunction with an intentional over-exposure of the overall scene, I kept the sky from becoming pure black. It also darkened the green grass, so the darker sky and grass gives a nice contrast between the fore- & back-ground and the subject.

ToddB · Jul 18, 2015

I use my red filter on my Rollei all the time when using black and white. It gives image a little pop and drama.

dpurdy · Jul 18, 2015

A red filter will also darken shadows with a bluish cast. As in this set of photos shot entirely with a Rolleiflex and red filter in the early morning when the light was very reddish warm and the shadows very bluish.

http://www.pbase.com/dpurdy/newport_oregon

trondsi · Jul 18, 2015

Thanks for the informative responses everyone. I figure I'll try to shoot a subject both with or without the red filter, but this way at least I have an idea what to expect.

Alan Gales · Jul 18, 2015

trondsi said:
Thanks for the informative responses everyone. I figure I'll try to shoot a subject both with or without the red filter, but this way at least I have an idea what to expect.

That's the best thing to do. Just because I rarely use one doesn't mean you won't use one often. We all shoot different subjects and have different tastes.

trondsi · Jul 18, 2015

I have usually shot in color before, but I have noticed some of my favorite BW photographers are very good at capturing surface texture (hair, bark, sand etc). Salgado is one notable example, and I think ProfPixel in this thread shows some fine examples too. The light on the scene is obviously important, but let me know if you have other suggestions for this sort of effect. The red filter seems to help often but is it too extreme for portraits? Maybe I should also look for an orange filter? Of course, I have yet to develop a single BW roll so maybe I'm getting ahead of myself

Gerald C Koch · Jul 18, 2015

trondsi said:
Thanks for the informative responses everyone. I figure I'll try to shoot a subject both with or without the red filter, but this way at least I have an idea what to expect.

You will really need to shoot a variety of subjects. Do you know the Wratten number for the filter. The number should appear on the edge. A dark red filter can be used with infrared film. A red filter will lighten skin giving it an almost ghostly appearance. Green foliage will darken considerably. And so on ...

r.reeder · Jul 18, 2015

trondsi said:
I got the red filter with my lens hood. I realize that the red filter is used mainly with BW photography, so I bought some 120 BW film (TMAX 400). Is the filter only used for landscapes? Is the film I got too contrasty for use with the filter?

thanks in advance for any input here folks.

Sometimes you can find Infrared film, i.e.: Agfa, Rollei. A #25 Red filter is used, & the focus is shortened (subject at infinity, focus at 100', you need to experiment) to get classic B/W IR photos. My 2 year old, blue eyed, blonde granddaughter, photographs with porcelain skin & black eyes; grass turns out white; stuff like that. Hang on to it, & get a #8 Yellow filter, also. Experiment.

trondsi · Jul 18, 2015

Gerald C Koch said:
You will really need to shoot a variety of subjects. Do you know the Wratten number for the filter. The number should appear on the edge. A dark red filter can be used with infrared film. A red filter will lighten skin giving it an almost ghostly appearance. Green foliage will darken considerably. And so on ...

Let's see........it's series 6 Wratten filter A.

Gerald C Koch · Jul 19, 2015

trondsi said:
Let's see........it's series 6 Wratten filter A.

Wratten A filter Used for color separation and infrared photography longpass filter blocking below 580 nm.

sbjornda · Jul 19, 2015

In portraiture of Caucasian models, rugged-looking males can benefit from red, orange, yellow, or green filters. A red filter lightens the lips almost to white, and lightens any reddish skin blemishes or capillaries. It will render blue eyes very dark and dramatic. On the other hand, for a model wearing a lot of makeup to hide blemishes, and bright red lipstick, a blue filter can darken the lips almost to black, and can render blue eyes as almost white, giving the impression of early cinematic images.

Don't forget to learn the "filter factor" of each filter - the amount that you need to increase your exposure to compensate for the amount of light being filtered out.

trondsi · Jul 19, 2015

sbjornda said:
In portraiture of Caucasian models, rugged-looking males can benefit from red, orange, yellow, or green filters. A red filter lightens the lips almost to white, and lightens any reddish skin blemishes or capillaries. It will render blue eyes very dark and dramatic. On the other hand, for a model wearing a lot of makeup to hide blemishes, and bright red lipstick, a blue filter can darken the lips almost to black, and can render blue eyes as almost white, giving the impression of early cinematic images.

Don't forget to learn the "filter factor" of each filter - the amount that you need to increase your exposure to compensate for the amount of light being filtered out.

Thanks for reminding me. Does anyone know the exposure compensation for this particular filter? It looks pretty dark.

trondsi · Jul 19, 2015

Ok I looked it up on Wikipedia, and found the formula. I calculated 2.5 stops compensation (dang, that's quite a lot). Let me know if you think this is incorrect.

Prof_Pixel · Jul 19, 2015

Start with 3 stops

andrew.roos · Jul 19, 2015

trondsi said:
Thanks for reminding me. Does anyone know the exposure compensation for this particular filter? It looks pretty dark.

The Wratten A is equivalent to the Wratten 25 colour separation filter (not the darker 25A). My B+W 25 has a filter factor of 5 (2.3 stops).

Another use for it is when photographing red flowers against green foliage if you want the flower to come out light and the foliage dark.

studiocarter · Jul 25, 2015

This was made with a cheap filter got in ebay from China. +3 stops with a Pentax 6x7. They are deep red roses in bright sun.
However, it doesn't seem to darken the sky much. Would a Tiffen or a Hoya 25A work better?

Nathan King · Jul 26, 2015

studiocarter said:
However, it doesn't seem to darken the sky much. Would a Tiffen or a Hoya 25A work better?

How blue is the sky? When we had smoke from wildfires the sky turned very pale, and I had to use a red filter to get the effect of a yellow!

trondsi · Jul 26, 2015

So, I think I'll use 400 BW film and expose it at 75-50 when using this filter.

I have a red filter for my Rolleiflex. When do I use it?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency