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How to use reflections in sun glasses to enhance your images not distract

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I remember when I was studying photography that the most difficult assignment we were given was photographing shiny objects. I stupidly chose to photograph a pair of orchestral cymbals (ie. shiny all over with multiple angles). The next most difficult thing after that was probably the sunglasses. Those reflections are necessary, you don’t want to remove them altogether, but you do want them to enhance the product, not detract from it. And that’s just product photography! What happens when you’re using artificial light with a person wearing sunglasses? How do you avoid those cartoonish round white blobs?

In this video from Adorama, Gavin Hoey shows you exactly how to use reflections of light sources to your advantage when photographing sunglasses.

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A simple tip to avoid reflections when shooting with your phone

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We’ve all been there. We’re trying to get great food shots in a bakery, but the brownies and cookies are hidden behind reflective glass. Our shot is ruined!

Or we’ve paid good money to go to an urban rooftop or another location for the best view in town, only we’re stuck behind glass. Foiled again! The glass seems dirty, but it’s not. Still, it’s ruining your shot by catching the daylight reflections, your image, and any other bright objects out there.

So what to do? Thanks for asking. Because we have a common-sense solution.

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How to create very realistic (but still fake) reflections in Photoshop using 3D

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Creating reflections in Photoshop is one of those things that people have been trying to master ever since those early Photoshop experiments hinted that it was even possible. There have been a lot of plugins available to perform this task over the years, but it’s possible to do it natively in Photoshop without any third-party plugins.

In this video, Unmesh at PiXimperfect shows us a technique we can use to create very realistic looking reflections in our landscape photos using Photoshop’s three-dimensional workspace to not only create a reflection but also waves and ripples.

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How to use the sky replacement tool in photoshop to add sky reflections

It is not trivial, but with some trickery, you can fool Photoshop’s Sky Replacement AI to replace more than just the sky. You could, for example, swap water as well. Here are the steps you’d need to take to use the sky replacement tool to swap water.

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Five tips to get perfect reflections in your landscape photos

Incorporating reflections in your shots is a great way to create balance, harmony and symmetry. What’s more, the reflection itself can become the foreground interest in your landscape shots. And just like all techniques, there are ways to master this one too. In this video, Mark Denney gives you five tips (and bonus tip) for getting perfect reflections in your landscape photos.

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These are three biggest mistakes you make when shooting beverages

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Shooting reflective surfaces can be a tricky task, especially if you’re a beginner. And naturally, we all make mistakes. In this video, Alex Koloskov talks about the three biggest mistakes photographers make when shooting beverages, but he also teaches you how to fix them so you can improve your photos.

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How to deal with tricky reflective surfaces and create stunning product photos

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When doing product shots in the studio, reflective surfaces could be very tricky to handle. But of course, there are methods to deal with them and light them to show all their beauty. In this video, Dustin Dolby of Workphlo shares a comprehensive tutorial on lighting and photographing tricky, reflective products. And what’s more, you don’t need fancy gear. Prepare simple lighting modifiers, your DIY spirit, and Photoshop.

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The Ultimate Lens Hood is back with a new smaller “ULHmobile” version for smartphones

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When the Ultimate Lens Hood was first announced a couple of years ago, it came via Kickstarter and saw pretty massive success, overachieving its funding goal by more than 2,000%. If you haven’t seen it before, it’s basically a big rubber lens hood that allows you to shoot through glass while eliminating reflections bouncing off your side.

Now, after the success of the original, they’re launching the Ultimate Lens Hood 2.0, with two new products, the ULHmobile for smartphones and the ULHgo for DSLR and mirrorless cameras. With as well as the original crowdfunding route went, they’ve once again taken to Kickstarter and it’s already over 600% funded.

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How to eliminate reflections on glass when shooting with flash

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Usually, when we hear about reflection issues with photography, especially with flash, it’s on glasses. The type people wear on their faces. We’ve posted about that on here before. This time, we’re dealing with regular flat glass. Like that found in windows and doors. The same principles apply, although you do have a few more options.

In this video, photographer Rob Hall takes a look at the subject of reflections on glass surfaces when working with flash. He offers up a number of tips and solutions to help reduce or eliminate the problem entirely. Which will work best for you will depend on your situation. But armed with these techinques, you’ll have a much better chance of getting the shot you want.

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This amazing and surreal short film was shot entirely using practical effects

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Forever is the short film creation of German filmmaker Nicolas Arnold. He was commissioned in July 2018 to create a “Motion Response” for Australia’s upcoming Pause Fest 2019 tackling them theme “The Future is Intimate”. Four months later he’d completed the absolute eye candy you see above.

Already a very impressive film, I was blown away when I saw just how much of this was created in-camera and that it isn’t just some CG special effects reel. Nicolas posted a behind the scenes video showing some of his design and practical effects processes and it’s just as amazing as the film itself.

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