Using K&F CONCEPT Accessories To Elevate Your Photography Game

Jul 16, 2024

David Crewe

An assortment of outdoor gear is displayed on the road, including two black and orange backpacks, a black cylindrical bag, and three orange and black boxes with a logo and text. Background shows trees and houses, with a person walking in the distance.

In the photography world, we’re always looking for something that will help us get our work done just a little bit faster, a little bit easier, and a little bit better. It might be a lighter but sturdier tripod, a bigger and more useful backpack, or even filters to help get that tricky shot without having to spend hours in Photoshop after the fact. There’s really no shortage of increasing quality and innovation in the products available for a photographer’s kit, which is why K&F CONCEPT gear is so interesting.

Full disclosure: This sponsored article is brought to you by K&F CONCEPT.

K&F CONCEPT has over a decade of experience (Founded in 2011) and growth in the photographic accessory world including tripods, lens filters, backpacks, lens mount adapters, cleaning supplies, batteries, trail & security cameras, and more. Basically covering almost everything a photographer would need besides the actual camera. The company has even said they have plans to expand into a full range of imaging-related accessory products in an effort to deliver “comprehensive, high-quality shooting solutions for photography enthusiasts worldwide, supporting the art of capturing beautiful moments with ease and precision.” A Promise that the company seems to be delivering on as they go so far as to even include instructions on how to turn the packaging for some of their filters into photo frames.

A camera mounted on a tripod is set up on an empty street. A gray backpack with black straps is placed at the base of the tripod. The background is slightly blurred, showing houses and parked cars in a suburban neighborhood.

When I first heard of K&F CONCEPT, I honestly thought it was going to be just another filter company with nothing really that exciting to offer. But after several discussions, tests and experiments, my opinion has been officially swayed and they have actually become one of my favorite brands.

A close-up shot of a camera with a large lens mounted on a tripod. The background is blurred, showing an outdoor setting with trees and a fence. The camera is slightly tilted, focusing on the front part of the lens. .

Over the last two weeks I’ve taken a variety of K&F CONCEPT gear to some of the gigs I booked to see if they could help me bring something extra to the productions I was working on. This included a selection of filters (like the $33 Nano B Kaleidoscope Special Effects Filter, the $94 Nano X Super Slim Circular Polarizer Filter, the $50 Nano-X 10 Stops (ND1000) ND Filter, the $160.99 Nano-X CPL & Variable ND Lens Filter, the $63 Nano-X Blue Streak Filter, and several of the Black Mist filters, all piled into the $120 32L Pro Large Camera Backpack (which had room for all of those filters along with two full mirrorless camera kits, and multiple additional lenses), with the $179 1.7 meter carbon fiber tripod with ball head for good measure. While each project had it’s own challenges, the results were actually pretty awesome.

A woman with fair skin and red hair stands outside in sunlight, wearing a cream-colored dress decorated with flowers on one shoulder. She has a flower crown and a necklace. The background is blurred with hints of trees and a bright sky.

Like how we previously found out using the Black Mist filters can bring a more vintage and nostalgic feel to your images (without the use of photoshop), it’s not something you would use all the time. However, when you’re shooting a scene that’s meant to be a flashback or a memory, those filters can quickly save a scene when you don’t have the time, or the supplies to light and haze a room for the same effect.

A man with a beard and a denim shirt is facing a woman blurred in the background, who appears to be behind a bar. The setting is dimly lit, with soft focus and a warm ambiance. A colorful framed picture is visible on the wall behind them.

A woman with long red hair adorned with red flowers smiles softly at the camera. She is wearing a black floral dress and holding a red flower in her hands. The background is an outdoor setting with greenery and a blurred view of trees and a bench.

A Beagle with a brown and white coat stands alert outdoors, wearing a collar with a tag. The dog has a focused expression, with one ear perked up and the other hanging down. The background is slightly blurred, showing greenery and a pathway.

Using the Black Diffusion filters I was able to capture a few images to make our scene look like a “rose-colored-glasses” memory without slowing down the production. These filters use small particles in the glass itself to catch the incoming light and spread it around, lowering the overall contrast and adding a soft glow to the highlights of your images that can even soften the sun creating that vintage-flashback feel.

A few days later I was tasked with photographing a band called The Flux Capacitors at a private party where I had a blast using the Blue Streak and Kaleidoscope filters. What exactly do these filters do? Well the Blue Streak filter basically produces a light streak from light sources that create an almost anamorphic feel to your scene and allows you to rotate the streaks to control and enhance the direction of the light flares in your shot.

A band performs by a pool at night, illuminated by blue and red stage lights that create vibrant streaks across the scene. The band members play guitars, sing, and manage equipment, while the illuminated pool and surrounding foliage add a dynamic backdrop.

A drummer with curly hair, wearing a sleeveless top and shorts, plays a drum kit under vibrant, colorful stage lights. Other band members are visible in the background, including a guitarist and a bassist. The stage and audience are partially visible.

A band performs on an outdoor stage at night, awash in colorful blue and purple lights. The keyboard player in the foreground is illuminated, while a guitarist and drummer play in the background, partially obscured by the light beams.

In contrast to this, the Kaleidoscope filter bends and refracts light (like the Kaleidoscopes you may have played with as a child) and transforms your “normal” image into something abstract and borderline psychedelic.

A band performs on an outdoor stage illuminated by vibrant, multicolored LED lights. The image is intentionally blurred, creating a dreamy, dynamic effect that captures the energy and movement of the musicians and the music.

The look and intensity if this effect is very much affected by the amount of zoom (the longer your focal length, the more intense the effect can get) and how busy your background is, but the general rule of thumb here is keep your main subject in the very center of the frame, and then, just have fun with some truly wild effects.

A man is seen singing into a microphone with a colorful and trippy visual effect that shows multiple overlapping images of him in blue and red hues. The background is dark, which enhances the vibrant dual-colored overlay.

A person wearing a cap and holding a microphone is seen multiple times in a kaleidoscope effect with vibrant green and blue lights. The overlapping figures and colorful beams create a dynamic and visually intricate pattern against a dark background.

A person's side profile is mirrored multiple times with a kaleidoscope effect, creating a pattern of overlapping faces. The image features vibrant blue and purple lighting, giving it a surreal and abstract aesthetic.

Both filters let you rotate the outer portion of the glass giving you more control to create some truly weird and crazy effects that can both be incredible, or completely not work at all depending on how far you go with it, so don’t be afraid to experiment with these as you can end up with some pretty wild and fun images.

A woman in a white tank top is standing at a dimly lit bar, smiling and brushing her hair back. There are several drinks on the bar counter, and various bottles are displayed on shelves behind her. Neon lights illuminate the scene, creating a warm, vibrant ambiance.

A dimly lit bar with a blue neon-lit counter and futuristic industrial design. Patrons sit on barstools, illuminated by colorful lights, engaging in conversation. The bar is adorned with eclectic decor and a variety of bottles and glassware.

A vibrant, abstract image featuring repeating patterns of golden lanterns against a red-tinted background. The lanterns create a sense of depth and motion with their overlapping, layered appearance, giving a kaleidoscopic visual effect.

A band performs by the side of a swimming pool at night. Neon light streaks and effects create a vibrant, colorful atmosphere. The water in the pool reflects the band's image and the lights. The background consists of greenery from plants and vines.

A kaleidoscopic view of a bustling amusement park and beach. The image features multiple mirrored fragments of a ferris wheel, roller coaster, parking lot, and beach crowd, creating a surreal, fragmented visual effect.

An expansive view of a busy beachside parking lot along a coast. The scene includes numerous parked cars, palm trees, road signs, and a distant amusement park with a roller coaster. The sky is mostly clear with a few clouds. The image has a distorted, prismatic effect.

What About Long Exposure?

A black DSLR camera with a large telephoto lens and a UV filter mounted on a sturdy BH-55 tripod is set up outdoors. The background is blurred, featuring greenery and an indistinct person sitting, suggesting a nature or portrait photography session.

Stepping away from the people-based creative work, it was time to test out the neutral density filters on one of the busiest places I could find in Los Angeles; The Santa Monica Pier. Weirdly enough, you’d think we’d be past the “June Gloom” that plagues the coastline, but no, most of the days I managed to get out to the area ended up being completely fogged out or even rainy so I wasn’t able to test the gear out properly except for a brief moment between jobs bright and early (emphasis on the bright) on Sunday morning.

A camera is mounted on a tall tripod, set up on a concrete surface near a fence with a geometric design. A black and orange backpack hangs from the tripod. The background shows a blurred cityscape and foliage. The sky is overcast.

Using the 1.7 meter Carbon Fiber Tripod with ball head and hooking my backpack up to the center column for extra weight and support I was able to test out some long exposures with practically no wobbles or jitters from wind or even me touching the tripod accidentally. Leveraging the CPL and ND filters (including the ND1000) I was able to effectively remove most of the people and traffic from the shots below (Other than the parking lots of course). While you have to pay closer attention to ensuring your sensor, lenses, and filters are clean and free of dust when you capture these long exposures (especially when shot at f/8 to f/22), you can effectively eliminate all human presence from your images if you choose to do so.

A coastal scene featuring a sandy beach, a parking lot, and a pier with a colorful amusement park. In the foreground, residential houses and buildings line the street. The ocean stretches into the distance under a partly cloudy sky.

An elevated view of a busy beachfront with a large parking lot filled with cars, palm trees, and a pier with amusement park rides. The beach is crowded with people, and the ocean stretches into the distance under a partly cloudy sky. Road signs and traffic are in the foreground.

An expansive parking lot is filled with cars. Behind it lies a beach with numerous people and a vibrant pier featuring colorful amusement rides, including a Ferris wheel. In the foreground, a green directional sign points to Ocean Ave, Downtown, Santa Monica, Pier/Beach parking.

To further showcase this, starting with a clear/normal shot 1/25 shot at f/22 you can see that while slowed, there’s still some human and automotive action going on in my scene.

A beach scene featuring a row of colorful houses with a road in the foreground. The middle house is painted black, flanked by a white modern home and a vibrant purple home. The sandy beach and ocean are visible in the background under a partly cloudy sky. — No Filters Used

Throwing on the CPL and VND combo filter allowed me to both cut through reflections, glare, and some haze while enhancing some of the colors in the scene, while keeping things pretty close to the previous shot by only adding a small amount of Neutral Density to the frame.

A coastal view featuring a row of diverse houses along a road, with a vibrant pink house standing out. The scene overlooks a sandy beach with the ocean in the background under a partly cloudy sky. Cars are blurred in motion on the road. — VND & CPL applied

Ramping things up to it’s “maximum” level of ND and increasing the shot time to two-seconds, we’ve effectively eliminated all of the traffic from the street below. It might be hard to see but there’s just a subtle amount of ghosting left on the street where the cars should/would be.

A coastal scene shows several colorful beachfront houses lined up along a road, with a sandy beach and ocean stretching out into the horizon under a partly cloudy sky. Notably, one house is painted bright pink and stands out among the others.

To prove just how strong the ND and CPL was on this particular frame, here’s what happens when we leave the same settings on the camera and remove the filters;

A brightly overexposed image of a row of houses on a street, with multiple vehicles parked in front. Details of the houses and surroundings are mostly washed out due to the high exposure, making it difficult to discern specific features.

To be fair, I even lowered the exposure by two or three levels in lightroom on this just so you could see the same structure of the houses and prove the point that even in broad daylight, the CPL and VND combo lens filters can provide some insane level of control over your images, giving creatives the freedom to eliminate tourists and busy motion from their landscape and cityscape shots.

Adding more Neutral Density like the ND1000 (ten stop ND) you could take exposures several minutes long that would effectively turn rough waters into a smooth glassy surface.

A dramatic seascape features a dark, cloudy sky with streaks of light breaking through, creating a sense of motion. The ocean below reflects the dim light, contributing to the moody atmosphere.

A black-and-white photograph captures the symmetrical view beneath a long, concrete pier extending over the ocean, with columns forming a corridor that narrows in the distance. The waves gently lap against the columns, creating a serene atmosphere.

Regardless of what combination of accessories and filters you choose to go with, K&F CONCEPT has managed to break the barrier of entry for most creatives by providing some impressive quality products at a surprisingly affordable price. Especially when you consider the square-filter kits most of us old-schoolers are used to which can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars to round out, the K&F CONCEPT brand has provided its users with a remarkable lineup of high-quality, actually-useful, and fun-to-use filters (and accessories) at an incredibly fair price.

Amazon Prime Day

Save up to 70% on Amazon Prime Day, July 16-17. Shop Now.

Lucky Order Bonanza

30 lucky customers who place orders on K&F CONCEPT’s official Amazon stores during Amazon Prime Day (July 16-17) are eligible for a full cash back. See event details.

Full disclosure: This sponsored article is brought to you by K&F CONCEPT.

Equipment, Features, Sponsored

backpack, bag, BlueStreak, cpl, feature, filters, K&F, K&FConcept, ndfilter, neutraldensity, photography, prism, products, sponsored, tripod

Discussion