Can a polarizing filter reduce reflections in glass?
Asked 12/13/2020
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Can the same polarizing filters used to cut reflections on water also help reduce reflections from glass windows or display cases? Does this work only at certain angles, and is there any practical difference between a linear polarizer and a circular polarizer for this use?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
5y ago
2 Answers
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CPL filters do not differ in their photographic properties from linear polarisers; they are merely friendlier to metering and autofocus. But in essence they are just linear polarisers with a quarterwave plane behind them that converts the passing linearly polarised light to circularly polarised light which some parts of a camera are better equipped to deal with.
You can suppress reflections on glass fronts pretty well if they result in polarised light. That tends to be the case completely when the reflection on the glass surface occurs at "Brewster's angle", an oblique angle. So roughly speaking you need to shoot "half sideways" at the glass reflection for best effect.
Polarisers can be rotated. It's worth pointing out that you can also use them for increasing the visibility of reflections by rotating them such that the polarised reflection passes through the filter completely while non-polarised light gets reduced by half in comparison.
Originally by user95069. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user95069
5y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—polarizing filters can often reduce reflections from glass, just as they can with water, because reflections from non-metallic surfaces often become polarized.
They work best when the reflection is viewed at an oblique angle, especially near Brewster’s angle, so you’ll usually get the strongest effect when shooting somewhat from the side rather than straight on. Rotate the filter while looking through the viewfinder or live view to find the point where the reflection is minimized.
A circular polarizer (CPL) and a linear polarizer have essentially the same photographic effect on reflections. The main difference is camera compatibility: CPLs are preferred on many modern cameras because they behave better with autofocus and metering systems. A CPL is basically a linear polarizer plus an extra layer that makes the transmitted light easier for the camera to handle.
So for practical use: yes, use a polarizer, rotate it for best effect, and expect the result to depend on the angle and the nature of the reflection. It can greatly reduce reflections, but not every reflection will disappear completely.
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