When you photograph reflections and you fill the frame with nothing but water - i.e., the reflected object itself - try presenting it to your viewers upside down. It will obviously looks right side up when you do this. This is what I did with the photo (below) of colorful houses on Burano Island near Venice, Italy, as they reflected in a canal. If the water is too disturbed from wind or boats, you won't get a clear reflection, and this technique won't work.
(c) Jim Zuckerman
The ideal scenario is to have still water with a slight ripple or wave. This allows you to retain enough definition in the subject to discern what it is, and yet it will look painterly.
(c) Jim Zuckerman
The image above - of an autumn reflection in Vermont - is similarly very painterly. This looks like an impressionist work of art simply because I inverted it.
- Jim Zuckerman is a top stock shooter who teaches many terrific online photo workshops at BetterPhoto.com, including Developing Your Creative Artistic Vision, Eight Steps to More Dramatic Photography, and Techniques of Natural Light Photography.
- Also, Jim Z is a top contributor to The BetterPhoto Guide to Creative Digital Photography and The BetterPhoto Guide to Photographing Light, both recently published and co-authored by Jim Miotke and Kerry Drager.
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