how often do you use a filter

Oh, I love filters! The filter I use the most is a circular polarizer. If you only buy one filter, get a circular polarizer! You can use them to remove reflections from reflective surfaces (glass, water, etc.) They also darken skies when shooting outdoors, and they can increase contrast. Often different filter effects can be recreated in programs such as Photoshop, but it is impossible to recreate the effects of a circular polarizer! I almost always use my circular polarizer when shooting outdoors. I don't really use it indoors much because it's pretty dark and you lose quite a bit of light! I also really like Neutral Density filters. These are used for long exposure shots to capture more vibrant colors, dynamic range and movement without overexposing your photo. I have an infrared filter that I use a lot. I mostly use it when shooting landscapes. It makes the trees turn white and it creates a very beautiful effect! I also have a set of macro filters which is a cheap alternative to a macro lens. I have a cross screen filter which makes any light take on a star shape. I mostly use this for shooting at night, and it makes a pretty cool effect. I also have a few gradient color filters which I mostly use for enhancing the colors in the sky when shooting outdoors. Like I mentioned before, lots of the effects created by some filters can be created in Photoshop. I personally prefer to use the filters and create the effects on camera and do as little post production as possible. And of course some filter effects (like the infrared filter or circular polarizer filter) can't be digitally created. So yes, I really do think filters make for nicer photos.

I always use a Skylight 1A filter on my camera. When dealing with reflective surfaces, I'll often also use a polarizing filter. The Skylight 1A filter is a UV filter that also serves as a lens protector. The Skylight filter removes almost all of the haze from a picture (great for daytime shots) and I've never had to make any adjustments in shutter speed or aperture to allot for the filter. I think filters definitely help with making pictures better. I would really love to toy with black and white photos with a red filter and also infrared film with a red filter. I've seen what happens and it's a very interesting effect.

I always keep a UV Filter on my lens. It doesn't affect the photo but it protect my lens from dust and scratch. I also have CPL Filter, but I rarely use it.