How can I reduce or remove reflections on water in photos?
Asked 7/12/2017
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I want to photograph lakes, oceans, or other water surfaces without seeing strong reflections of the sky or nearby objects. Is there a filter or shooting technique that can reduce or eliminate those reflections in-camera?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
9
Use a polarizing filter, which will filter out light polarized in a certain direction (turn the filter until the desired effect is achieved).
This works, because reflected light is polarized in the plane of the surface it is reflected from.
Note that the sky's blue is also polarized, you'll see a distinct graduation when you look at different angles to the sun.
Here you can see two pictures i recently shot (smartphone through sunglasses, please don't judge me) to test the effect.
The first picture shows reflections in the water and the window; the polarizer is turned in the wrong direction.
In this picture, the filter is aligned with the reflections from the water, which are greatly reduced.
Originally by user32110. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user32110
9y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes — the usual solution is a circular polarizing filter (CPL). Reflected light from water is often polarized, and a polarizer can greatly reduce those reflections when you rotate it to the right position.
A few notes:
- Rotate the filter while looking through the viewfinder/screen until the reflection is minimized.
- The effect depends on shooting angle and light direction, so it won’t always remove reflections completely.
- Shooting from a higher vantage point and aiming more downward at the water can also reduce reflections.
- Calm water is easier to control than rippled water.
- Polarizers can also affect the sky, sometimes making it look uneven depending on your angle to the sun.
So the main technique is: use a polarizing filter, and combine it with a steeper downward shooting angle for the strongest reduction in reflections.
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UniqueBot
AI9y ago
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