Portrait photography tip: use a window's reflection
Thursday 19 November 2020, 20:02 by Elja Trum | 4,917 views | 1 commentThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
You can use reflection in different ways in a photo. For example, by reflecting your subject in a mirror or a puddle. Another fun way to create an unusual portrait is to reflect your surroundings rather than your subject.
You can do this by photographing from outside while your model is indoors. This captures the reflection of the surroundings in your photo, with your model behind the reflection.
The room indoors must be darker than outside, so that the glass reflects properly. Your model should stand close to the window so that enough light still falls on them.
Take several photos, changing your own position each time. The strength of the reflection and what you reflect depends greatly on the position from which you are photographing.
Dark areas show more of what is visible inside, while light areas mask what is inside. This gives your portrait an unusual effect.
About the author
Elja Trum is the founder of Photofacts and online photography course website Photofacts Academy. He has been writing about photography since 2006. Elja is also the author of (Dutch) books on composition, black-and-white photography, flash photography and portrait photography.
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1 comment
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Maike den Houting wrote on Saturday 21 November 2020 at 12:05 | replyHandy not to have the sun against you. Not because of any possible backlighting (after all, you can stay in the shadow of the house) but things behind you, such as other houses, reflect very strongly in the window you are photographing because of the bright sunlight.
Translated from Dutch.
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