 BetterPhoto Member |
Focusing on a Reflection I would like to photograph a young lady standing on the other side of a bird bath so that I would focus on her reflection in the water to get a shimmering image of her face. Question: Do I first focus on her head, then swing the camera to the water, or should I focus on the water instead. Any ideas?
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Kerry L. Walker |
I would focus on the water and use a small aperture. That would give you enought depth of fiel for both her face and the reflection would be in focus. DOF is greater behind the point of focus than it is in front.
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Maria Melnyk |
Use the same rule of thumb that is used for weddings when photographing a bride by a mirror: If the person is looking at the camera, focus on his/her face. But if your subject is looking away or looking into the mirror or reflection, focus on the reflection. But, yes, as Kerry said, do use a small aperture.
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BetterPhoto Member |
First, if your camera has a depth of field preview button, use it. It will reveal what will be in focus at the given aperture and present focus. Also, I have shot some reflections with some success and have found that, more often than not, the reflection and the subject are nearly the same distance from the camera - that distance increasing as does the angle from the line of the reflection and the line of the subject. Play around and see if you like the focus on the reflection or on both the reflection and the subject, if the subject does not distract from the reflection.
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