How to: Create a Reflection
Recently a client requested a reflection of their product in their photos. And I have to admit... I had never done that before. So I wanted to share what I learned!
All you need is:
- Your light table (or really any white surface should work... Or color if that's your thing. But we're working with white here to keep it simple).
- A piece of glass. I just happened to have one leaning against the wall in the studio. Who knew?
- Something to prop up your glass. I used these funny little glitter bottles I already had in the studio. ( If you don't have something to prop with, you can also get a reflection with it flat on the table. The angle of the reflection will just be different. Experiment! )
The weirdness on the right side of the table is spilled glitter. oops.
Important Tips:
- Make sure your glass is clean. I didn't. It was a pain in the ass to 'clean' in PS later. Learn from my mistakes. Clean your glass!
- Clean whatever is under the glass. I swept all the spilled glitter to the side and then I was good to go.
- Bounce your strobe off the ceiling if you can. This is not 100% necessary. You can totally experiment. I just think this is a good starting point because your light definitely won't wash out your reflection. If you are a pro, go with what you know. If this is totally new to you, start with a bounce and go from there. *I have no idea how this will work with natural light. I haven't tried it.
Once you get all set up:
Style your product all pretty like and then once you are all set up, shoot it. That's it. :) The rest is up to you. I edited the below photo by brightening my whites to lose the background. And I probably punched the color up a bit. Easy Peasy.
Now go experiment! Share your reflection images with us using the hashtag:
#whenwillmyreflectionshowwhoiaminside
Just kidding!
