Have you ever tried to take a photograph that perfectly picked up the color reflections you see with your eye but when you take the photo, the Flash overrides all washing out the colors you see? It can be frustrating. But fortunately, you can control the highlights you see using a cross-polarization effect. Here’s how it’s done.

How to Master Cross Polarization

The physics behind capturing highlights works on the theory that there are lightwave particles that move about on particular planes. If we master the behavior of the light, we can filter out the colors we don’t want and bring out the ones we do.

This will involve using a Polarizing filter on the camera meter or lens as well as adding polarizing films to the flash head. You will need to cut the film to a size slightly larger than the head of the flash and use tape to secure it into place.

The plane of polarization of the film on the flash head must be 90 degrees or perpendicular to the plane of the polarizer on the lens for maximum effect. If you are using two flash units, each flash must have polarizing film and they must be aligned in a parallel fashion.

Using a flash exposure feature will also be helpful as this will allow you to set and maintain specific flash values. The exposure should be set after you have rotated the Polarizing Filter on the lens.

If you don’t have a flash exposure lock on your camera, you can hold a piece of polarizing film up to your light source in front of your head, so it matches up to the orientation of the film on the flash head. Rotate the polarizing filter on your lens until you achieve maximum darkness or a polarizing effect. Then mark the top edge of the filter with light-colored paint or nail polish for future reference.

Assemble your flash as you would for your shoot. If the subject is small, you may only need one flash. If it is larger, you may want to use two or more flashes for added dimension. The flashes should be set on either side of the subject.

It may be tricky to get the right exposure. If your camera has through the lens flash metering, it may not be an issue. But if not, you may have to do some test shooting to determine the right exposure adjusting f-stops as needed. Moving closer and further away from the subject will also help.

Some feel this technique produces an unnatural look, but you can dial in for the right amount of highlights to produce a more authentic feel. Once flash heads are aligned, rotate the polarizing filter on the lens to control the amount of highlight you are getting. A ninety-degree rotation in either direction will get you from a maximum to minimum effect.

Using a polarizing effect can be a lot of work, but it will get you terrific results. It can saturate colors and create a sense of depth. It can open a whole world of possibilities.

How will you be integrating it into your photo shoots?

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