Project 52 - Week 29; Reflections

First of all I need to apologize for the empty post last week.  I got so busy with sessions and editing that it never wrote itself. (It's hard to find good help these days.)  ;O)

The next few weeks still fall under the "lighting" category, but they are, more specifically results or effects of certain lighting situations.  The topics are all things that we don't always notice as we go about our daily lives, but are almost always there.

This week's topic: Reflections

There are a number of ways that you can incorporate reflections into your photography. Mirrors are the most obvious source of reflection, but it's how you photograph them that makes things interesting. Think about wedding pictures you've seen of the bride's reflection in a long mirror.  You get to see the bride and the front of her dress in the mirror, but you also get to see the back of her dress at the same time. Here is an image from a recent session showing another way I like to use mirrors.  She's not a bride, but she's just as beautiful.  ;O)

Water is another thing that comes to mind when we think about reflections. Hermes has an aversion to water, but I did manage to get this image before he pulled us away from the area.

With reflections, it's often times simply the symmetry created by them that makes an image fun. However, there are also contrasts that sometimes emerge as well.  This image ended up looking like a color image vs black and white-(ish).  It also has a double personality kind of vibe . . . tatoos and piercings vs enjoying the scenery from a little outdoor bistro.  ;O)

When photographing your subject in front of a window you can always use it as a mirror but,  you can also capture multiple sides of "the story."  I took this picture for a self portrait challenge a few years ago. I actually had no idea that Zoe was in the house looking at me when I took it. (Or, who knows, maybe I knew it, but didn't think twice about her showing up in the image.)  The goal was to get a self portrait, but I ended up with an image that showed my reflection, all that was behind me, and the inside of the house as well.  What would you call that?  It's not 3D and it's not a 360, but there are definitely 3 layers to this image.  Again, guess which pet photographer thinks to look for opportunities like this now.  ;O)

Since this is a round robin type blog project, you can see reflection images from others in this group, starting with Rachel at Hoof N Paw Fine Art & Photography in Spokane, WA.You can click from one blog post to the next ending up right back here.

I hope you have a great weekend! The Blue Angels will be performing in town at the 70th Annual Power on the Prairie Air Show.  Hope some of you can make it out.  No matter what you do though, please be aware of the heat and take precautions with yourselves and your pets.