One of the most difficult things in photography is dealing with the wide exposure range that exists in many scenes.
Often to expose the foreground correctly means sacrificing detail in the sky. By simply using a graduated neutral density filter you can maintain foreground detail and hold the sky for a balanced and much more accurate rendition of the landscape.
Simply expose for the foreground and bring in the neutral density filter to cover the sky area. A soft gradation is better for landscape work. I use the Lee Filter System and carry three soft grads; 0.3 – 0.6 and 0.9. The 0.3 giving a one stop reduction, the 0.6 a two stop reduction and the 0.9 a three stop reduction. With step up rings for various lenses you are only ever buying one set of filters for all your equipment!
These filters will make more difference to your work than any amount of time messing around in Photoshop. You can also use them as full ND filters and start experimenting with long time exposures. They’re the first on any list after you’ve bought the camera!
