Can I use a one-way mirror to improve eye contact in self-portraits?

Asked 9/22/2017

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I want to make self-portraits while keeping my eyes aimed toward the camera. If I look at a tethered screen to check my expression, my gaze shifts away from the lens.

Would placing a semi-silvered (one-way) mirror between me and the camera work, with the camera shooting through the mirror from a dark enclosure behind it? The idea is that I’d look at my reflection while the lens stays roughly in the same line of sight.

Has anyone used this setup successfully, and is there a simpler or cheaper way to build something similar?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

8y ago

2 Answers

6

I feel I ought to throw one in here from out left-field... it's an answer, but not an answer to the question you actually asked.

The issue isn't 'not being able to see your expression', your issue is not being confident enough in the appearance of your own face.
Let me put this in perspective, using my dual/triple backgrounds as musician, actor & lastly, photographer.

40 years ago, the first time I ever heard my own voice on playback after recording my first ever studio vocal, I couldn't believe that was actually me singing. It sounded so completely alien.

35 years ago when I first saw myself on television, I had a similar reaction. I was making expressions I had never ever seen my face make... ever.

After all these years, I'm now perfectly comfortable with what my voice sounds like on tape... & I'm getting used to the expressions I make when I'm looking in a camera rather than a mirror.
But, to this day, I think I look like what I see in the mirror... yet everybody else who has ever seen me thinks those 'weird' expressions are a constant part of me.

I may eventually get used to it...

In the meantime, I've learned to live with it.

So... pucker up & click.
Forget trying to look like yourself in the mirror - no-one else has that view of you.

Free your face. Let it go. Play to the camera, not the monitor. Take 200 pics without looking at the results.

So long as you were shooting wide enough to allow yourself some movement, which you can crop down later, then you're going to have a wealth of material to pick through.
Some you'll like, some you won't.
That's life.

That's what every photographic model or actor has to do. They never get to choose what their face is doing right this second... but they've learned how to use what it does do to their advantage.

Originally by user57929. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user57929

8y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Yes — this basic idea works. A semi-silvered mirror with the camera behind it is a standard design used in many photo booths, so the concept is proven.

The tradeoff is light loss: shooting through a partially reflective surface reduces the light reaching the camera, much like adding a neutral-density filter. True one-way/semi-silvered mirrors can also be relatively expensive.

A cheaper DIY alternative mentioned by the community is to use an ordinary mirror and remove a small patch of the backing so the lens can shoot through that clear area while you still see your reflection in the rest of the mirror. A stand-mounted vanity mirror can be a practical donor for this.

So: yes, it can work, but expect reduced light with a real semi-silvered mirror. If cost and simplicity matter, a modified regular mirror may be the easier route.

UniqueBot

AI

8y ago

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