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Everything About Reflection Photography
Kamera Express
All About Photographing Reflections
Turn your photos into true works of art
While one photographer prefers to avoid reflections, another actively seeks them out. We challenge you to start experimenting with photographing reflections. It is a creative and interesting way of photographing. For example, capture the reflection of a mountain range in a blue lake or clouds reflected in a skyscraper. When looking at a photo with reflections, a single glance is often not enough to understand how the image is put together. A fun challenge, right? By photographing reflections, your images are transformed into true works of art. Of course, this is easier said than done, which is why we are happy to help you get started.
What is a reflection?
A reflection is the mirroring of a subject. How visible a reflection becomes depends on the amount of light. Once you start exploring reflection photography, you will notice that reflections can actually be found everywhere. Here are a few examples:
Reflections in water
When you think of photographing reflections, you may immediately think of reflections in water. For example, you can capture a mountain range reflected in a beautiful blue lake, making the mountains look even more impressive. You can also choose to look for puddles in a city and capture the reflection of a building, tree or person in them.
Reflections in mirrors
Who has not taken a mirror selfie? This is also a way of photographing reflections. You can also place a mirror on the ground, step to one side and take a photo of the mirror and your surroundings without capturing yourself (and your camera). You can be endlessly creative with this! For example, take a mirror into nature and play with the reflection of your surroundings.
Reflections in glass
When you want to capture a reflection in glass, the direction of the light and the angle from which you photograph are important. By photographing reflections in glass, you give the photo an extra dimension. For example, you can capture clouds reflected in the glass of a skyscraper. This is perfect for architectural photography. Want to challenge yourself? Then capture what is happening both in front of and behind the glass.
Reflections in metal
You can also photograph a reflection in objects such as Christmas baubles, lift doors or the rims of a car. Due to the shape of the object in which you see the reflection, the image may be curved and distorted. This can produce beautiful images and almost create a fisheye effect.
Reflections via smooth surfaces
You can also choose to photograph a reflection via a smooth surface, such as high-gloss kitchen cabinets, the top of a piano or tiles. These reflections are not as obvious as reflections in water, for example, but they are certainly worth experimenting with.
Let your creativity run free
When you start photographing reflections, you are actually more focused on creating an image than capturing a situation. This allows you to be infinitely creative! When photographing reflections, you can fully utilise your creativity. For example, try turning your image upside down so that the reflection appears at the top of the frame. This creates a surreal yet dynamic image! You can also play with photographing reflections by combining what is in front of and behind the glass. For example, take a photo of an interior through a window while seeing yourself or your surroundings in the reflection.
Tips for capturing reflections
What should you pay attention to when photographing reflections?
When capturing a reflection, composition is important, and in particular the horizon of your photo and the symmetry of what you are capturing. The best-known composition rule is that the horizon should not be placed in the middle of the image but at one-third from the top or bottom of the frame. You can forget this rule when photographing reflections. By placing the horizon in the middle, you create a beautifully symmetrical image, for example when photographing a mountain range.
Light is very important when capturing reflections. The most beautiful sunlight occurs at sunrise and sunset. For a good reflection photo, it is important that the subject (what you want reflected) is well lit. Dark objects will only create a silhouette.
What do you see in the reflection?
When standing in front of a mirror or leaning over a puddle, you see yourself in the reflection. If you change your position and choose an oblique angle, the image changes completely. Then play with the angle and your viewpoint and carefully observe what you see reflected. If you are not sure what you want to reflect, look for interesting elements around you. These could be cumulus clouds reflected in water or a person walking past and reflected in a puddle.
What do you focus on in reflection photography?
Focusing does not happen automatically when photographing reflections. The camera does not know which subject you want to focus on. For a camera, it can be difficult to focus on the reflection. Therefore, switch the camera to manual focus so that you have control over it yourself. If it is still difficult, focus on the midpoint between the subject and the reflection.
Align the photo properly. If you choose to make the reflection the main theme of the photo, the image must be properly aligned so that the reflection truly becomes the main subject. If necessary, use a grid display on the camera. This means you will have less work to do afterwards.
What do you need for reflection photography?
When photographing reflections, it is important to adjust your camera settings to the conditions. Fortunately, there are also accessories that give you more control when photographing reflections. Polarising filters, for example, give you more control over the degree to which the reflection is visible in the photo. This filter can reduce reflections in the image. But you can also enhance reflections instead. Simply rotate the filter in the opposite direction. This ensures that you capture only light from the reflection. A filter can distort colours, but this can be corrected during post-processing.
You can also choose to use ND filters. These filters give you the ability to smooth the surface of the water. It is then necessary to work with a tripod because of the long shutter speed. ND filters give photos a dreamy atmosphere.
