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Garry Black Photography

Question:

Hello. I am a high school art teacher with little photography experience. One of my students is very interested in capturing a reflection of a person in a store window. Any advice?

Answer:

It is really quite simple, as with all reflections they are at their best when bright sunlight is falling on the subject (a person in this case) and the reflection is falling on something which is in the shade (a store window). As for exposure, a general rule of thumb is to underexpose by 1/2 to 1 stop from what the camera's meter recommends; usually 1 stop works the best. This is because there will be a large portion of the window on which there won't be any reflections and this area should be black. The photographer should be standing at a 45-degree angle to the window in order to take the picture without getting himself or herself in the photo.


You need not only have bright sunlight to photograph reflections. If you can see a reflection in a window then you can photograph it, although the image will be somewhat muted in comparison to bright sunlight. Regarding exposure in any lighting condition other than bright sunlight, I would underexpose only by 1/2 a stop from the camera's recommended meter reading.