Camera axis
Lens filters
Lens-side modifiers and composition tools — ND, polarizer, mist, prism, and more. Filters pair with lighting setups in the library; they do not replace your light recipe.
Deep guides
Long-form lessons on filter families — each links to canonical setups and on-set tools.
Exposure & balance
Eat stops, slow shutter, or balance bright skies — exposure control on the lens axis.
Clear / protection
Protects the front element — no intentional optical effect.
Fixed ND
Uniform neutral density — eats stops so you can open aperture or slow shutter in bright light.
3 library examples →Graduated ND (hard)
Hard split for flat horizons — seascapes and deserts.
Graduated ND (soft)
Darkens bright sky with a soft horizon transition.
IRND
Cinema ND that also blocks infrared, preventing the red/magenta shift in shadows that strong plain ND introduces (severity depends on the camera's sensor).
Reverse GND
Strongest (darkest) density at the horizon, easing toward the top — for sunrise and sunset where the sky is brightest at the horizon line.
Strong ND (6–10 stop)
Daytime long exposures — water and cloud blur, and empty streets.
1 library example →UV / skylight
Blocks UV haze on film; marginal on modern digital sensors.
Variable ND
Rotating density for run-and-gun stills and video when light changes frame to frame.
1 library example →
Reflection & surface
Cut glare and deepen skies without moving lights.
Circular polarizer (CPL)
Cuts specular glare, deepens skies, and sees through water and glass.
5 library examples →
Diffusion & halation
Bloom highlights and soften micro-contrast in-camera — a lens-side cousin to larger sources.
Mist strength (1/8–1/2)
Density tiers — start light and add only when the effect is still invisible at a glance.
Net / wire diffusion
DIY or commercial net — cuts harshness and adds highlight texture.
1 library example →
Pro-Mist / white mist
Lifts shadows slightly and blooms highlights for a polished skin and halation look.
2 library examples →Soft-focus diffusion
Overall glow for vintage bridal and dreamy editorial.
Warm glow diffusion
Combined warmth and diffusion — brand-specific character filters.
Flare & streak
Stars, prisms, and streak filters for in-camera composition effects.
Faux anamorphic streak
Horizontal blue streak on highlights — sci-fi and neon portraits.
Gold wire / line filter
Thin gold flares on high-contrast edges — fashion and beauty campaigns.
Handheld prism
Refracts the frame — rainbows, duplicates, and edge artifacts for music-video composition.
1 library example →Kaleidoscope
Radial repeats — experimental, low teaching priority.
Mounted prism / fractal
Holder-based prism for repeatable streaks and splits.
Star / cross screen
Turns point highlights into rays — city lights, jewelry, speculars.
1 library example →
Color & conversion
Legacy warming and cooling glass — mostly replaced by white balance on digital.
Cooling (80A / 80B)
Shifts tungsten toward daylight — historical correction filters.
Warming (81A / 81B)
Shifts cool daylight toward warmth — legacy film; use WB on digital.
Macro & optical FX
Diopters and specialty optics that change magnification or focus planes.
Close-up diopter
Macro magnification without a dedicated macro lens.
Split-field diopter
Half near, half far in focus — narrative product and cinema.
Specialty
Niche and experimental filters — teach honestly, tag sparingly.
Fog resin filter
Baked-in low contrast — overlaps mist; teach as variant not separate lesson.
Infrared pass (R72)
IR-only fine-art look — surreal foliage and skies.
Light pollution
Cuts sodium and mercury glow for astro — outside portrait core.
Example setups
Schemes tagged with an on-lens filter — open the board to see lights, diagram, and the filter note.
Strong ND (6–10 stop)
Automotive Light Painting
With scheme: strong ND enables long shutter light painting while strobes or torches trace the car.
Circular polarizer (CPL)
Black Card Transparent Bottle Control
With scheme: CPL can reduce stray reflections on glass when black cards define the edges.
Black Mist
Cinematic Outdoor Night
Composition: light Black Mist halates practicals and neon while the key/fill recipe stays the same.
Handheld prism
Colored Gel Background Portrait
Composition: handheld prism adds edge refraction — gel colors and key angle unchanged.
Pro-Mist / white mist
Dreamy Backlit Window
Composition: 1/8 Pro-Mist blooms window rim without changing bounce fill placement.
Net / wire diffusion
Film Noir Fresnel
Composition: loose net diffusion takes edge off hard fresnel beam for a period-film texture.
Circular polarizer (CPL)
Food Window Daylight
With scheme: CPL cuts window glare on plates and glassware while keeping window key direction.
Fixed ND
Golden Sun Reflector Portrait
With scheme: light ND (2–3 stops) can tame noon sun so reflector fill does not fight clipping on skin.
Variable ND
Handheld Scrim Sun Portrait
With scheme: variable ND helps when scrim position changes effective sun brightness between frames.
Fixed ND
High-Speed Sync Sunset Portrait
With scheme: graduated or mild ND can balance sky while flash holds subject exposure at sunset.
Fixed ND
HSS Daylight Wide-Aperture Fashion
With scheme: 6-stop ND is the daylight alternative to HSS when you want wide aperture without high-speed sync.
Circular polarizer (CPL)
Jewelry Macro Bounce Tent
With scheme: rotate CPL to tame metal speculars without losing tent wrap on stones.
Circular polarizer (CPL)
LED Panel Tabletop Product
With scheme: CPL removes packaging glare so the LED key and fill cards read clearly on labels.
Circular polarizer (CPL)
Mirror Bounce Sun Fashion
With scheme: CPL deepens sky and controls mirror-punch specular on skin.
Star / cross screen
On-Camera Direct Flash Fashion
Composition: star filter on background practicals — flash key position stays direct on axis.
Pro-Mist / white mist
Parabolic Full-Length Fashion
Composition: 1/4 Pro-Mist rolls highlight on satin and hair; parabolic key placement unchanged.
Black Mist
Tube Light Neon Room
Composition: Black Mist softens tube bloom; tube positions remain the teaching focus.