Hi Rissa,
No worries on shooting the before and after photograph!
The point here is that you have your filter and you have seen first hand just what the filter can do for you. It’s really quite remarkable that you’ve found a creative solution to showcase the effect of this filter.
This assignment is one of those where you’ve already done the work and you’ve got your filter. You’re playing around with it and that’s the point. Just play and learn what it can do for you.
Over time you’ll become more familiar with how and how not to use your filters. It really takes practice to know what is appropriate.
Beyond the filter itself I quite like the look of that image with the fence and the filter…
Nice work!