Photocircle Digest: "Creative use of Reflection"

photocircle (72)in #blog • 6 years ago

Did you know that there is way to completely revitalize a photographic scene in an instant? It's as easy as looking into a mirror - introduce reflection!

Although adding reflection to a photo could be distracting at times, we can't take away the fact that it could also be a powerful tool to reanimate a scene and in result the image will have a more interesting effect.

There are many ways to add a reflection to a photo in a creative way; it could be source through the natural elements within the scene like a body of water or even puddles. In the same manner, the reflection could also be implied through the use of mirrors, glass, or any other objects with reflective surfaces.

Let's have a deeper look into the use of natural elements like water. In a typical landscape setting with a body of water, the viewing level will play an important role in maximizing the effect of the reflection.

As much as possible, the holding or mounting of camera should be at a lower level or angle, preferably below the knee level. In this manner, the result of the reflection will be more prominent and visible.

While for the case of a very shallow water like a puddle, the best result could only be achieve at a extreme low level to a point that the camera will almost touch the ground. Since the depth of the water is very shallow, the amount of refraction is much greater than the reflection, so to eliminate the effect of refraction, the camera should be positioned in such an extreme low level to prevent it from catching the refracted light and focus its sensor to the reflected light instead.

On the other hand, implied reflection is done in a completely different approach. Since we using man made reflective objects, we can already say that are in full control when it comes to the shooting level or angle.

In the case of a crystal ball, the subject is encapsulated to the reflection on the surface of the ball and creatively invert the reflection upside down. Since the depth-of-field is too shallow, the background has been obscured which then leave the reflection on the crystal to be the main focus of the image.