Common reflex shooting techniques

In our journey, we can see reflections almost everywhere: rivers, lakes and seas, lakes and ponds, water surfaces, French windows and so on. As long as we pay more attention, we can take beautiful reflective photos.

1. When the front of the scene is in front light or side light, the outline and color of the reflection in the water are the clearest and most beautiful. At sunrise and sunset, there is basically no wind, the mirror-like water surface is calm and the reflection is particularly beautiful, which is the best time to shoot the reflection.

2. When the light is good, you can measure light evenly. At sunrise and sunset, measuring light and increasing the depth of field with a smaller aperture will make the scene and its reflection very clear.

3. Tripod and necessary filters are the key to successful shooting.

The tripod can ensure the clarity of the picture under the condition of small aperture or long exposure, and the CPL polarizer can better eliminate the reflection on the water and highlight the reflection in the water. The medium gray gradient filter can be used to prevent the sky from overexposure. In particular, CPL is very important for shooting reflections.

4. If the photographer is far away from the scene, the ratio of reflection to the real scene is almost the same. If the distance is close and the viewing angle is too high or too low, the ratio of scene to reflection will be inconsistent. So in the natural environment, we should try different perspectives to find the best shooting angle.

5. There are different opinions on whether to put the reflection on the screen to form symmetry or adopt asymmetric composition. There is no definite conclusion, and specific problems are analyzed.

6. The accumulated water on the road surface, or the intermittent or local reflection in the water, will often get unexpected results, so pay attention to capture it.

The first illustration is the ice in the Tongzi River in the Forbidden City, which melted in spring, and the lights of the turret were reflected in the water.

The second illustration is the accumulated water on the Lashihai Road in Lijiang, which reflects the colors of trees.

7. Look for reflective objects around us.

Reflection photos are not necessarily scenery photos with water. In our daily life, there are a lot of reflective surfaces, such as mirrors, glass, metals, ceramics and even painted wood.

8. Seek more practice and accumulate experience.

9. Find the reflecting surface

In reflection photography, you first need to find a plane that can reflect light. If you often observe things around you with your eyes, it is not difficult to find those objects that can reflect light. The image reflected on the water is the most beautiful, and every tiny water drop can reflect the beauty of the object.

In addition to water, glass surfaces, shiny cars and ice have good reflective surfaces. When you start to find plane reflections everywhere around you, it is the best time to create good photos.

10, looking for a topic

When finding a reflective object, the next step is to find an interesting subject. Of course, such objects also need to appear on the reflecting surface to attract people's attention.

People are usually interested in reflection photography, especially combining it with silhouette photography, such as the picture above. Of course, the theme can be animals, architecture, or anything you want to express in life.

1 1, the integration of reality and reflection

When you want to take a reflection, the first thing is to focus on the reflected object, but sometimes it is good to pay attention to the mixture of reality and reflection!

In this photo, a car is reflected in the black window. In daily life, the car is just an ordinary object, but in the picture of the combination of reality and reflection, the appearance of the car makes the photo look bright.

In short, the reflection doesn't have to be big, even a small reflection like the above can make a wonderful picture.

12, eliminating complexity

The best way to keep the reflection photos simple and clean is to get rid of those complicated things, leaving only those subjects and the subjects in the reflection.

The best place to take pure photos is on the beach or in front of a big pool, so don't forget to find such a place to take photos when you travel to these places next time.

13, near the reflecting surface

The only way to make your photos unique is to be close to the reflective surface, which SLR cameras sometimes can't do. In fact, when all the photos in this article were taken, the iPhone was no more than 1 inch above the water.

In this way, when you compose a composition, only the blue sky will appear in the background, and the focus is on the uniform reflection. If there are small water waves, the reflected image will also be distorted.

In addition, it should be noted that the focus of the iPhone is usually in the middle of the screen. When it is close to the water, you should pay more attention to using manual focus to prevent the phone from falling into the water.

14, the use of ripple distortion effect

The reflection need not be as flat as a mirror. In fact, the distortion effect produced by the waterline can make the photos more interesting. If the specular reflection of the completely calm water is still so interesting?

When taking this photo, you can deliberately put your hand in the water, make small ripples, and use the distortion effect of water ripples to make the photo more interesting and story-telling!

15, shooting on an incomplete plane

Sometimes interesting photos can be created on an incomplete plane, different objects can be fused together, and the incomplete reflection will make the photos look particularly different.

16, emphasizing symmetry

Symmetry is a powerful tool for reflection photography. After all, most reflection photography shows symmetry from different angles, and sometimes it is only necessary to emphasize reflection simply and emphatically.

In reflection photography, the real scene and the reflection just account for half, which is exactly the importance of symmetry.

17, long exposure

When the water is moving, but the subject is not moving, you can try the long exposure shooting method. At this time, a tripod and such a slow shutter cam application are needed, so that the moving parts can be blurred.

Long-term exposure can produce vague and dreamy reflections in flowing water.

18, clap your hands, don't stop.

If you want to take a good reflection photo, just keep taking it. Because there are many uncontrollable factors when shooting, taking more photos can ensure the production of high-quality films.

How to ensure the posture of the subject and eliminate the clutter on the water? The only thing I can do is to shoot as much as possible, because some wonderful moments are fleeting!