How To Photograph Tack Sharp Reflections

by | Jun 19, 2017 | Tips & Tricks | 0 comments

Reflections are awesome!

And they’re awesome-er if they are truly sharp.

Notice how in this photo the reflection isn’t quite perfectly, tack sharp?

120927-JAS-7808_Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada_Canon EOS 40D 28 mm 15.0 sec at f - 16 ISO 100

This is what a PRO member was talking about when they asked this question recently on the Q&A Forum:

Do you have some tips for getting sharp reflection? Is there an aperture/shutter speed that would lend itself to getting a better one?

In response, I talked about 12 tips for creating tack sharp and more appealing reflections in the latest Photography Q&A webinar.

Here’s one of those 12 tips:

1. Focus appropriately for the distance between the subject and the reflection

In the example above, I was focused on the distant mountains. It seems like the reflection is just as far away as the mountains, but the fact of the matter is, the reflection is a foreground element. I was using an appropriate aperture (f/16) for a landscape scene, but since I wasn’t focused at the hyperfocal distance, the reflection in the foreground went into blur.

Now, take a look at how sharp the reflection is in the photo below. Same lake. Same photo shoot.

Humble Reflection

The only difference is that now I am focused properly. Without even thinking about the reflection actually, I focused at the appropriate hyperfocal distance to make sure the other foreground elements were as in-focus as the mountains. Since the foreground was now in focus, well, the reflection in the foreground was now in focus as well.

So there’s one tip for ya!

And you’re probably wishing I would list out the other 11 tips, right?

But you know? knowing those other 11 tips probably won’t help you much. . . . Why? Because it was @blessingscaptured that asked the question.

The one most motivated to ask, is usually the one most motivated by the answer.

So, ask your questions! That’s what the Lenspiration forums are for. Get solid answers! That’s what the PRO membership is for. From there, every future Lenspiration webinar will be free, and over time, one question at a time, you’ll become the photographer you have always wanted to be!

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