This is one of those projects I never wanted to finish…..I was having too much fun. But at some point I needed to move on, and I think Peter was getting tired of playing my assistant when he had things he wanted to photograph too.
I can’t remember where I got the notion of photographing reflections in silver Mylar. But once I got a bee in my bonnet the search was on. I wasn’t able to find any in my local art stores, so I ordered it from an online store.
Equipment/Shot List
- DSLR
- Macro Lens
- Silver Mylar
- Assistant – it’s helpful if its someone who really likes you and who owes you, because you will most likely be photographing over their shoulder and getting close.
Photo Capture
Most of these images were taken in our front yard. Peter held the Mylar, I leaned in over his shoulder and shot close to the Mylar to get tight framing (this is why I used a macro lens). He would bend the Mylar different ways to change the reflection. It was difficult to provide instructions, because what he saw looking down into the Mylar, was different than what I saw looking sideways into it. Our best angle was when he tilted the Mylar down toward the ground so I would not pick up the bright sky.
Next time, I may adhere a piece to foam board and see if I can manage on my own.
Photo processing
For most of these images the processing was simple and all done in LIghtroom
- Crop – this is especially important if you are picking up a bright sky in the reflection.
- Accentuate the vibrance, contrast and blacks
My favorites are the ones that combine the actual subject with its reflection. Like the poppy in the cover photo, or the poppy in the last photo. My next try will be with architectural subjects, especially tall buildings. Now if I can only figure out how to bribe my assistant so he will hang with it longer than 30 minutes.
pamphotography 