I hope this is the right place for this topic.
What is the best time of day to photograph a body of water in order to get good reflection.
Thanks
John
John7199 wrote:
I hope this is the right place for this topic.
What is the best time of day to photograph a body of water in order to get good reflection.
Thanks
John
Changes in temperature produce breezes that ripple the waters surface. This would reommend mid day when, unfortunately, the lighting tends be deathly boring :-(
John7199 wrote:
I hope this is the right place for this topic.
What is the best time of day to photograph a body of water in order to get good reflection.
Thanks
John
It depends on the location, usually the best time of day is when the sun is shining on the subject being reflected, but not shining directly on the water.
John7199 wrote:
I hope this is the right place for this topic.
What is the best time of day to photograph a body of water in order to get good reflection.
Thanks
John
Generally speaking I’d say early morning and evening, during the so called “golden hour”. Fair weather during periods of high barometric pressure Vs. a recent frontal passage is a safe bet too.
John N
Loc: HP14 3QF Stokenchurch, UK
rv8striker wrote:
Generally speaking I’d say early morning and evening, during the so called “golden hour”. Fair weather during periods of high barometric pressure Vs. a recent frontal passage is a safe bet too.
Always had by best results in the early morning.
John7199 wrote:
What is the best time of day to photograph a body of water in order to get good reflection.
You only get a good reflection when the water is still. So the best time is . . . when the water is still!
dsnoke
Loc: North Georgia, USA
My experience is that either midday, if you have calm or very light winds, or before sunrise, again with little wind. See seven-oaks.net/dickspics for examples. Midday in the fall when the leaf color is reflected tends to be better than midsummer in my opinion.
Best time of day can vary with time of year and one's local weather. East of the Cascades, spring often brings strong winds by late morning or mid-day.
Time of year is important too, because of where the sun is relative to the subject one wishes to photograph. The further from the equator you live, the more dramatic the differences will be between summer and winter and the more unique opportunities you'll discover.
If the body of water is large, it is possible to find calm areas with good reflections near the shore or in sheltered spots, while other sections have wind. I saw that a lot at Reflection Lakes, Mt Rainier National Park.
A straight-forward question, but the answers are varied and complex.
John7199 wrote:
I hope this is the right place for this topic.
What is the best time of day to photograph a body of water in order to get good reflection.
Thanks
John
Consider other ways of achieving the same effect. A steady tripod, a multiple stop ND filter, and a long exposure will visually smooth out the water’s surface and create a beautiful reflection, and can be done at any time of day.
However, this approach is complicated if you want moving things to show up in the shot, like people or plants moving in the wind. For that you many need to take two exposures: one for the water and reflection, and one for the person/animal/plant. Then composite the two in Photoshop or some similar raster editing program.
If the scenery is well lit, that will be echoed in the reflection, so avoid shooting scenery that's in shadow if at all possible. And as others have pointed out, wind is the enemy of good reflections. A small body of water can settle down quickly whereas large bodies of water will take much longer to settle down. The open sea is almost never calm enough to give good reflections. Inlets can be placid but you have to be lucky to catch them when they're quiet.
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A sea loch in a rare quiet mood.
(
Download)
joecichjr
Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA
R.G. wrote:
If the scenery is well lit, that will be echoed in the reflection, so avoid shooting scenery that's in shadow if at all possible. And as others have pointed out, wind is the enemy of good reflections. A small body of water can settle down quickly whereas large bodies of water will take much longer to settle down. The open sea is almost never calm enough to give good reflections. Inlets can be placid but you have to be lucky to catch them when they're quiet.
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A trip-inspiring shot 💙💙🌀💙💙
joecichjr wrote:
A trip-inspiring shot 💙💙🌀💙💙
Thanks. (I think the mirror-smooth water might have gone by now
).
John7199 wrote:
I hope this is the right place for this topic.
What is the best time of day to photograph a body of water in order to get good reflection.
Thanks
John
Early morning - before the sun can heat the land causing air currents and thusly ripples ....
John7199 wrote:
I hope this is the right place for this topic.
What is the best time of day to photograph a body of water in order to get good reflection.
Thanks
John
This is exactly the right place for this topic!
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John7199 wrote:
I hope this is the right place for this topic.
What is the best time of day to photograph a body of water in order to get good reflection.
Thanks
John
I always liked shooting at dawn when the water is flat and glistening.
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