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Analog photographers make use of color filters to add drama and visual depth to their photographs. The various color filters allow the photographer to change the gray scale distribution which can add or subtract subject contrast. There are many good digital cameras and image editing software that can emulate these effects.

Which filters should you use in digital color photography to add drama to your black and white images?

Let’s look at how and why analog photographers use color filters for the answer.

Color filters, in black and white photography, affect contrast and gray values by influencing the translation of the colors as seen in gray tones. Yellow, orange, red, green, and blue are the most important color filters for black and white photography.

When thinking in terms of black and white photography this essentially means that colors in the photograph that are the same color as the filter will pass through the filter unhindered while absorbing opposing colors. This means that the same colors as the filter will appear brighter in the photo while the opposite, or complimentary, color will appear darker.

Here we have two color models. Many people are familiar with the one on the right called the subtractive color model. It's how we learned in kindergarten that red and blue make violet!

In photography when we're talking about light, however, it's important to think about the additive color model (the one on the left). Additive colors invlove the mixing of colored light.

That's why we see terms like RGB (red green blue). We're talking about colored light.

So in the additive color model the complimetary colors are as follows; red and cyan, blue and yellow, green and magenta.

Filters are particularly useful for landscape photographers. Most of Ansel Adams’ work was done with a yellow color filter for his famous landscapes to add contrast between the sky and the clouds.

Orange  filters are great for adding contrast in red and yellow as they allow those colors to pass through. Further, orange filters seem to be good at cutting through haze which tends to add detail.

Red filters absorb blue and ultraviolet light while allowing red and yellow light to pass through. This can create very dramatic contrast ratios during bright light rendering blue skies very dark. Red filters also cut through haze and are often used in black and white portrait photography to render the subjects skin lighter giving portraits a bit of a "pop".

So if you want to darken the sky quite a bit and you choose a red filter what else happens? Well, as red is the complimentary of cyan the green objects in the photograph also become darker. This may, or may not, be a desired effect given the scene before you.

Perhaps the scene before you is filled with lush greenery. A green or yellow filter might be a good choice as it will make the green colors lighter while dimming the blue of the sky just a touch.

If you’re shooting analog you know that you’ve got to think about these things quite a bit more and perhaps try a few different shots with different filters until you’ve got a knack for knowing which filters suit your style and subject matter. And don’t skimp on the color filters! Go with brand names with anti-reflective coating.

If you’re shooting digital photography, however, you’ve got the advantage of image editing software. All of the big name image editors offer “filters” or allow the use of plug-ins or scripts to emulate various color filters.

You’ll be able to apply a filter, see how it affects the photo, maybe try a different one, or layer them. The possibilities are almost endless.