Polarizer for landscape work

[Cornfield]

How important is a polarizer for landscape work?

[DwayneOakes]

It is more about your vision of your work. If you want more enhanced colors without the glare
use the filter. I don't use a P filter, I want the reflective surfaces left in as they occur in nature naturally and it is what
our eyes see, some say the reflective surfaces are a distraction. It comes down to the look you want.
If you do want to use one get a good quality one. Here is one of my image with no P filter you can see all
the reflection surfaces in the wet rocks still intact.

Dwayne Oakes

[Tony Jay]

My suggestion is to experiment with a polarising filter.
Once you know what to expect and the effect that it has on your images then you can really start to make informed aesthetic choices.
However, I am pretty sure that almost everyone who does use polarising filters will not use them to exclusion.

Tony Jay

[Dave Pluimer]

A polarizer is really the one filter that can't be fully replicated in post. I think it is a tool you should have. There are places they don't work (like with super wide angle lenses). Like Deayne said, it depends on your vision. But, for the time you really want to see through the shallow tidal pool, there is no substitute.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TwistedShadow]

I find it to be an invaluable tool when shooting scenes that include the sky during mid day. They really help with the blue color in the sky vs being blown out otherwise. I also sometimes use the Polarizer as a 1 stop filter.

[the_marshall_101]

Very important but not essential.  What's your use case?

My main use of polarising is for cloudy days and foliage although it's good for water and bright skies too.

[luxborealis]

How important is a polarizer for landscape work?

Very important and definitely essential, but must be used judiciously.

Rarely do I use a polarizer to enhance blue skies anymore, because it seems to overdo it in digital. Rather, a polarizer is essential for toning down the glare we so often get on vegetation - even on overcast days. Reducing that glare allows the true colours of foliage to shine through; they become rich with colour. But be careful of those skies, especially with wideangle lenses. You don't want part of the sky polarized and another part not as so often happens with WAs.

[NancyP]

Polarizer is good for eliminating annoying reflections on shiny surfaces. Really, that shelf fungus was brown, not blue-brown.... I try to have one in the bag (plus pertinent step-up rings) at all times, I get a bit P-O at myself when I find I haven't got the correct step-up rings. Also handy for cutting down exposure 1 to 2 stops - if you need an ND filter and don't have one in the bag. That being said, sometimes I like having reflections on water.

[rpsphoto]

In a pinch it can also be a two stop nd filter....use with caution.


Best regards,

Bob
CEO  CFO  EIEIO, Ret.

[prairiewing]

Can cause problems with blue skies and very wide angle lenses