The
Mission
- Capture creative
landscape reflections
in puddles
Time
- Two hours
Skill level
- Intermediate
Kit needed
- Wide-angle or
standard lens - Puddles
- Tripod (optional)
Shoot the upside down!
Tu r n t he world on it s head! Jessica Billett shows you
how to use muddy puddles to shoot surreal reflections
Don’t let a little rain stop you
from getting out and about with
your camera! Just after a heavy
rain shower can be the perfect
time to get out and capture an
environmental portrait with a
difference – by using the
reflections found in puddles
as the subject for a fun photo
project. The mirror-like
reflections in the water surface
enable you to explore an
alternative perspective, and
flipping the image, so that the
reflection becomes the mainpoint of focus, gives a surreal
quality to your shot.
Using your DSLR gives you
control over how the image is
going to be taken, but getting the
exposure right with changing
conditions, and the potential for
it to rain again, can be tricky.
With a little practice trying out
angles and perspectives, you’ll
soon perfect your shots.
Making sure you have your
settings dialled in beforehand
can speed up shooting too, while
using semi-automatic exposuremodes, such as Aperture
Priority, means your camera
does some of the work for you.
We’re going to be shooting in a
woodland area, with dense forest
and tall trees, resulting in a lot of
green and brown, leading to a
potentially lifeless reflection.
To fix this we’ll need to ask the
model to wear something bright
and contrasting, which will help
break up the composition. You
could also try this in an urban
setting – street lights at night
can work particularly well.CREATIVE TECHNIQUES
Project^ two:^ Creative^ techni
ques
WATCH ON YOUR
DISC OR ONLINE
http://www.bit.ly/NPhoto99Get down low to
achieve the effect
you’re looking forLook for large,
debris-free puddles
for best results