Thanks a million to SergeantPepper @walrus for organising and hosting the latest round of the technique challenge, and to all of you who voted for my smoke picture.
This technique challenge is focused on getting us out of the comfort zone and trying out new things photography wise. Below is a list of the prior challenges to keep the string going. We had a discussion a few weeks ago, that it would be fun and would make sense to redo some of the techniques that had been on the list before. So photographers new to the site can have fun too, and the challenges will have generally accessible techniques to all folks.
I chose a technique I often use and I’m just as often asked how I achieve the effect. I’m talking about real reflection photography, also referred to as mirror photography. Means you use a reflective surfaces to create an artistic echo of a scene. Doing this can add an interesting spin to your photo. And there are a million of different things you can use as shiny things (puddles, car roofs, lakes, raindrops, a mobile phone, a shop window, or a piece of glass to just name a few.) Just let me say, not necessary the “mirror” is the key, but the angle is to get a reflection.
I hope this is a fun adventure, and I do hope that from now on, you are on the lookout for shiny things. And please do not hesitate to contact me, if you have questions while on this technique journey. If I can, I gladly help.
Have fun
Mona
The challenge begins today and ends July 22.
Pease tag your images technique95-reflection
It's not mandatory, but it would be great if you could share your image to this thread to give others inspiration
@northy Yes please do play with mirrors. Anything that can be used, to get a reflection while taking the picture. I mentioned "real", to focus on that for this challenge not in post processing possibilities.
@mona65 Hello, if this sin't cheating can I ask for a tip please? How do I get the reflection to be in as sharp focus as the subject.??
I use a clear, 3mm-ish thick perspex sheet balanced on a black cloth,(I used to use glass but it broke and I bled!-but I never got good reflections with that either)
Below is my first effort for the challenge, but the reflection's not sharp. Any advice please??
@30pics4jackiesdiamond Dear JackieR, thank you very much for your question. I hope by resetting your image (gret idea by the way) helps to get a result you like. http://365project.org/mona65/365/2019-07-11 But I do like it also with the blurry reflection. Well done.
@30pics4jackiesdiamond I've tried 2 ways to get both subject and reflection in focus. First is tripod, small aperture, and manual focus. This works if the combined depth of subject and reflection are shallow enough for the aperature. The other is same setup with my camera's focus stacking feature. Because I don't have Photoshop, this works if the distinction between subject and reflection is such that I can mask one image for each without the result having obvious artifacts. For cameras without this feature, it can be done with manual focus adjustment if your tripod is sturdy.
@helenhall Dear Helen, sorry for my late reply, I somehow mised your post. Thanks for your interest in this challenge. IMHO it is not absolutely necessary that the original and the reflection are visible together. Not at all. But I think it would be important for this challenge to see what the "mirror" is and, for example, frame the picture. Hope this helps.
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I use a clear, 3mm-ish thick perspex sheet balanced on a black cloth,(I used to use glass but it broke and I bled!-but I never got good reflections with that either)
Below is my first effort for the challenge, but the reflection's not sharp. Any advice please??