The Big Black Box - Everything You Need To Know About The LEE Filters System

I get asked day in an day out; "What is that big black box on the front of your lens?" Well, it's a matte box that mounts glass filters in front of your lens... the LEE Filters System. In attempt to cover the question I recieve so often, I wanted to address it all and explain the system, but my friend and fantastic photographer Dave Kai Piper beat me to the punch! So, instead of writing my own article on the matter, I thought it best to simply share his article...

What is a Matte Box? 

In still photography and film, a matte box a.k.a "the big black box" is a device used on the end of a lens to block the sun or other light source in order to prevent glare and lens flare. It performs essentially the same function as a lens hood and also mounts in front of the lens, but usually includes adjustable fins called French flags. In short, it is a big lens hood.

Below: The Matte Box sitting on top of the Sigma 35mm Art. The hood is fully extended.

Below: The system fits on the end of the lens using adapter rings that you must purchase to match the lens you want to attach. Because these adapters can screw on, you can still use the screw-on filters if you wish. For example, I often use a Polarizer on the Sigma 35mm if I am shooting at f1.4, which provides even more control in very bright conditions. 

Below: The pin that holds the system on the lens and the grips that hold the hold the filters in place.

Below: The filters come in protective bags that have markings, so you or your assistant can grab them in a hurry. I also like the way the markings are bright so you can see them in low light conditions.  

Starting Points

• Many photographers shoot with Filters for landscape or on-location photography
• A ‘hard’ filter is a glass filter that mounts in front of the lens
• Up to two 100mm Filters can slide in between the lens and shade hood
• Filters are not cheap, but a very wise investment. Each filter is hand made and takes a few days to produce.

Shooting WIth The LEE Filters System

There are many advantages to shooting with the LEE Filters System and being able to control ambient light is one the most important thing a photographer has to do. One can use flash to add light in but unless a filter is used, there is no way to take away light in a creative way. I think of it this way, using a filter is like adding negative light into an image.

We are very familiar with using flash to add light into a shot, so using LEE Filters to block light and remove light in an image is just the opposite. In my eyes, this opens up a whole world of mixing, Negative, Ambient and Additive light. Once we have the idea of playing with negative light, we can then look at using color filters to remove, add and shape the color of light.

Below: The filters are set up to give a long thin strip of light from top to bottom of the image. 

Below: I have stacked two color filters, but at 180 degrees to each other to give a lighter band across the middle of the image.

Below: With filter applied(left) and without filter(right).

Below: Filters applied to the final image.

Below: I used two ND Grad filters to enhance the ‘pool of light’ effect produced by the speedlights. The negative area in the bottom of the image leaves a dramatic effect. To increase or decrease the effect, it is just a matter of sliding the filters in and out or using different filters. The image as created using two Soft 0.9 ND filters.

Soft Filter vs Hard Filter

This refers to the amount of graduation that effects the filter. A soft filter has a longer transition, where a hard filter has less area of transition. Each filter gives different effects.

Above: The image shows two soft filters, this lets the different light blend together.

Below: The image below shows a 0.9 ND hard filter on the very top being used to create a vignette effect, while another 0.6ND is across the whole image to help hold back the ambient light.

Back To The Matte Box, Just For Show?

Shooting with a large matte box and large filters can be a hassle, however the system serves a great purpose. The matte box lets me control flare and due to the design of the shade hood, I can tilt it to let flare in when I want or remove it. It should be noted that when using filters like these, they don’t screw in, so, you can not attach a stock lens hood. Stacking filters greatly increases the chance of flare as the you are adding layers the light has to go though, so the matte box prevents that from happening.

Above: This image was created using the sunlight coming down casting flare across the multiple colored filters in the stack.
Below: Flare was controlled using the large matte box providing a very flat image in to very bright sunshine.

Also, the matte box over the lens is very useful in wet conditions as the box provides a rain cover keeping the lens dry and free from rain drops.  From sunshine to rain, the matte box has a use protecting the lens.

Photographing People with Filters

LEE Filters and the Matte Box are amazing tools for all types of photography where controlling light is key. Whether it is using the filters to create a quick vignette or giving interesting color tones. You can shoot faster and spend less time editing. Also, using graduated filters mixed with color can give wonderful effect and provides a great way to control the sky in bright images, in turn using less artificial lighting.

Once you have invested into system like this, you'll constantly find new creative ways to put it to use. Any system with so much versatility is good in my eyes.

Read more of Dave's blog here