Reflections are a fun tool to add to your photography toolkit and they are some of my favorite images to capture.  Reflections add depth and dimension to your captures, in addition to providing a different perspective.  I also love that they occur naturally in so many places (puddles, surfaces around you, etc.)  But you can also add them to your captures with  mirrors, prisms, and other reflective surfaces. 

If I could start over I wish I had started adding creative elements to my photography earlier on in my career.  I have come to find that pushing myself to see the same scene differently really helps me stay in love with my work and to avoid falling into too deep of a rut.

Some of my favorite places to capture reflections happen to be in my favorite parts of my house.  They are where everyone always gather and hang out or where we do a lot of our everyday activities.  Therefore, the majority of my reflection shots occur in these rooms- my living room, kitchen, and bathroom.  I have found that around the house my favorite reflective surfaces are glass, countertops, metal, and screens. 

Out and about my favorite reflective surface are typically water, window, or metal surfaces!  There are times where I walk into a scene and immediately see a spot that screams that it would be perfect for a reflection capture, but my favorite shots tend to occur when I’m in a space where a reflection isn’t as obvious.

When I am capturing a reflection I always make sure to move my camera around to get the right angle to capture a clear reflection.  I also am always cognizant of having strong light to amplify the reflection. I have also noticed that it is easier to grab a clear reflection if there is a solid or dark background behind my subject. This often means crouching down into what might be a weird spot, or angling my camera and body to grab the reflection.  I have staged a few reflection shots when I’m trying to get in the frame or capture something specifically, however, most times I capture these types of reflection shots when my kids are already playing in the area.  You’ll be surprised at how many reflective surfaces are around you!

For these reflection captures, I typically do not do too much extra beyond my typical edit process.  People have asked me if I just duplicate the background…. I wish it was that easy!  I’m sure you could, but it’s more fun for me to capture them in camera.  You’ll also notice that most reflections aren’t perfect mirrors of the original shot.  I find those imperfections to grab your eye and make the image stand apart. 

I have found that getting a good reflection is really playing around and finding the reflection at that moment and on that surface.  If you follow me on instagram you will see I shoot at a sliding door quite often.  Even though I use the same location, I always shoot at a different spot and angle each and every single time based on my subjects. Also, I have found to accentuate a reflection it is often beneficial to up the clarity and sharpness of the reflection.  I typically do this in Photoshop but also use Lightroom brushes.  These are typically the only differences to my typical workflow for these types of captures.

I am almost exclusively a Fuji shooter, and you can find more about the gear I like to use over on the blog  and if you are interested in following along with my reflection captures on Instagram www.instagram.com/divyawolf and I typically tag them with #myWolflection.  I hope that helps please feel free to find me over on instagram where I’m happy to answer any questions!

Favorite gear to capture reflections:

 

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