Photographic Education and Critique: Themes

Seeking reflections to photograph is always an opportunity to observe the world in a new way, whether capturing beautiful landscapes or tiny, detailed macro images. Here are a few basics that will help you achieve better results when dealing with reflections.

1.) Depth of field - Try to select a larger aperture, such as f/8 or wider, as this will broaden the range of focus so that the eye perceives the subjects of your composition in closer relation to the environment which helps to enhance the effect of the reflection.

2.) Shift your focus within the same image - First, create an image of the scene by focusing on the subject, then create a second image of the same scene by focusing on the reflection. This allows you to have two different perspectives and slightly different stories of the same scene by shifting your focus.

3.) Look at the angle of the light upon the subject and how it affects the reflection. In a natural outdoor setting, move around and explore different viewpoints to find the angle at which the reflection is most visible.

4.) Look for reflections that you might have missed as you pass by your everyday scenes; reflections in windows, in puddles, in mirrors, etc., and see how they allow you a different outlook on your daily walk or drive.

5.) Create at least 24 images for this project; at least 12 images of physical reflections in objects, and at least 12 images of people in a reflective mode.

P.S. This is a excellent assignment to use your camera's built-in Aperture Priority or Aperture Value mode and experiment with the various apertures on your lens. This is also a good project to use the LUMU app on your smartphone to check exposure and aperture control.

Some rainy day photographs created by famous photographers:

(below) Henri Cartier-Bresson - 'Behind the Saint-Lazare Train Station' (1932), created after a rain

(below) Brassai (Gyula Halász); one photograph after a rain, one photograph during a rain

(below) portrait of James Dean in Times Square by Dennis Stock after a rain

(below) two photographs by Alfred Stieglitz after a rain

(below) Abbas Kiarostami, from his 'Rain' series, created inside his automobile

(below) a rainy day photographed by Sabine Weiss

There are other types of reflections that are just as interesting, such as reflections in windows:

(below) reflection by Lisette Model

(below) by Richard Kalvar

(below) Elliott Erwitt, reflection in the side mirror of an automobile

Here are a few images using reflections with the white balance, ISO, f/stop, and shutter speed metadata posted.

Note that at times an 'incorrect' white balance was used; i.e., incandescent / tungsten white balance setting in a daylight scene in order to accentuate the blue/cyan color, or daylight white balance setting in an incandescent / tungsten lit scene in order to emphasize the warmth of the incandescent / tungsten light source.

Also, some images have reflections inside of reflections, which can make for interesting and abstract photographs.