How to take beautiful and magical reflections?

Reflection is a very common photography subject. When the white clouds in the sky, the magnificent buildings, the beautiful gardens and other scenery are clearly reflected in the water with the water as the mirror and the ground as the boundary, the natural symmetry between virtual and real creates a particularly beautiful and refreshing scene. How to take good reflection photos and make them unique?

1. Choosing the weather is very important. If you want to shoot clear and beautiful reflections, try to choose a windless weather to ensure that the water surface remains level and is not rippled by the wind. In addition, it is best to choose a sunny day with rich colors in the sky, with blue sky and white clouds as a backdrop. The clouds will increase the momentum of the reflection work. On cloudy days, when the light is not bright, shooting reflections will look depressing. Generally, it is only suitable for shooting some sketches, not large scenes. Of course, there is no absolute in this weather. If you want to express a special environment with heavy clouds, cloudy days are also the best choice.

2. Choosing the best time is crucial. The best time to shoot reflections is in the morning and evening. At this time, the angle between the sun's rays and the horizontal plane is smaller and the light is softer. Generally, side-light shooting is the main focus. In order to capture the reflection of the colorful sky at sunrise and sunset, you can also shoot with backlight.

3. Golden section composition. When shooting reflections, do not place the horizontal line on the ground plane in the center of the picture. Use the golden section to compose the picture. Place the horizontal line in the upper third or lower third of the picture to make the work look uncomfortable. rigid. When shooting, there is no need to capture all reflections in the water.

4. Use gradient gray filters skillfully. Generally, reflections in water are 2-3 times darker than the color of the ground or sky. Therefore, in actual shooting, we can use a gradient gray filter to balance the exposure between the water and the water surface, effectively preventing overexposure.

5. Polarizer. The water surface will reflect light like a mirror, which will have a certain impact on photography. In order to eliminate the impact of reflected light from the water surface on the lens, we can use a polarizer and rotate the polarizer until we find a balance point to eliminate excess reflected light and enhance the reflection effect. Of course, if the polarizer is used improperly, it will also weaken the reflection effect. Therefore, you must be careful during use and adjust to the best position to achieve the best shooting effect.

6. Use white balance flexibly. If there are no white clouds in the sky and there is only a blue sky, then we can use low color temperature such as fluorescent white balance to enhance the blue of the sky and take a picture full of blue mood; if the sky is scorching like a fire, in order to highlight its For red, we can use shadow white balance to enhance the red color of the clouds and create a passionate photo.