wratten

Wratten refers to a long-established line of photographic color and optical filters produced under the Wratten brand, widely used in photography and cinematography. The filters are designed to modify the spectral content of light reaching a camera or sensor, allowing photographers to adjust color balance, contrast, and exposure, or to achieve specific creative effects. They have historically been produced in gelatin form as well as glass, and are identified by standardized numeric codes in the Wratten catalog, which delineate the filter’s spectral characteristics and density across different materials.

Common categories in the Wratten system include warming and cooling filters to adjust color temperature, skylight and daylight balance filters to compensate for different light sources, neutral-density and UV/IR filters, and a range of specialty color correction and creative effects filters. In practice, these filters may be placed in front of the lens or used in lighting paths to harmonize the scene’s color temperature with the film or sensor’s response. In black-and-white work, filters influence tonal rendition by altering the transmission of specific wavelengths, while in color work they affect color saturation and contrast. Gelatin filters are lightweight and flexible but sensitive to heat and moisture, whereas glass filters are more durable but heavier. In modern digital photography and videography, the legacy Wratten catalog remains a reference, even as plastics, coatings, and digital color correction broaden the available options.