Isn't being a cameraperson grand? I mean, what a great job! We are always going to great places, meeting great people. We do what we love and love what we do. We view life through rose-colored glasses. Believe it or not, it gets even better than that. Unlike other careers, when life seems too unreal, we can reach down and pull the rose color out and replace it with, you guessed it, a different filter. OK, so maybe seeing life rosy and shooting life rosy are two different things, but using filters on your camera can sometimes be awfully close to the same thing.

Now, many of you might be saying, "I can't use filters on my camera. They're too hard to learn." If so, then you are missing out. Filters enhance the world in which we shoot. They can alter an image in just about any way you could think of, and then some. While most new shooters I know are scared of filters, it's really not that hard. With just a few basic facts, you will be on your way to being a pro. Filters are all about experimentation and trial and error. Next time you go to your local rental house, ask to see their selection of glass. Rent a few and play with them. If there are no rental houses in your area, then try online. The filter company Tiffen has a free online program that allows you to see all of their filters and how they affect an image. Although it is not the same as actually looking through your lens, it does give you a good feel for it. Find it through this link:www.videomaker.com/r/378.

Matte Who?

Before we get into what filter is best for you, you have to realize that every filter must be held in front of the lens by something, and for some filters, that would be a matte box. If you think you need to run out and buy a rotating three-stage filter holder, with a set of extension rails and an eyebrow, or worse yet, you've decided filters aren't for you because just listing this stuff already makes your wallet scream - never fear. There is always a rosier side to everything. For starters, almost all matte boxes can be rented on a daily basis and I recommend renting all your filters until you find the ones you like before purchasing. Matte boxes that screw on the end of the lens and hold only one filter tend to be less expensive, but they still have many of the same professional accessories that the larger ones (e.g., Chrosziel or Petroff) do. Finally, not all cameras have professional matte boxes made for them. If you're an owner of one of those types of cameras, try out the Cokin system, which was originally designed for still cameras. Cokin makes smaller, lighter filter holders that often fit cameras with a smaller diameter lens (min. 36mm). They are high-quality and far less in price, but by no means are they lacking in selection. Regardless of how you hold your filters, be sure they can raise and lower in front of the lens and rotate.

So what filter do I use? Well, given that there is not enough room to list every filter ever made, and that there are some general groups of filters you should understand to help narrow down your search, I've decided to compile a separate, smaller list of some of the most popular types, (see sidebar below), and I will describe them briefly, so you can use it to reference later on when you start experimenting. But first let's discuss the more general groups.

Multi-Stage Filters

A multi-stage filter is not a filter but actually a designation of a group of filters. What I mean by that is that there are many filters that have varying levels of effect, like "some" softness, "more" softness, "most" softness. These stages are usually designated by the same name followed by a progressively different number, e.g., Diffusion 1, Diffusion 2, Diffusion 3, etc. If a 1 is too little, try a higher number. If a 2 is too much, go the other way. They even make 1/8, 1/4 and 1/2 for many of them. Remember, it's all in experimenting and finding what you or your client like.

Summa Cum Laude

Graduating filters, better know as grads, come in several types, but all grads gradually fade from full intensity to clear glass. All grad filters have an ending point which works best if you can hide it in the scene by sliding the filter up or down (or sometimes slanting) to place the end point on a straight line (i.e., the horizon, a roof line, the tree line, the skyline, etc.). The tobacco grad is one of my favorites. It is a burnt brown-orange color that turns a bland sunset into something spectacular.