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50 Stunning Examples Of Reflective Photography

By Vailancio Rodrigues, November 30th, 2008 in Inspiration | 127 Comments | Forum

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By Vailancio Rodrigues and Smashing Editorial Team

Using reflections in photography can lead to some amazing effects and beautiful images. Using water, windows, mirrors or any sort of reflective surface can change an image into a work of art. The wonderful thing about using reflections when taking photos is that they can completely alter the image from something fairly straightforward to something richer or abstract or otherwise more artistic. Sometimes reflections can be annoying and certainly not artistic. But creativity and good-quality photos depend on the photographer being able to see things differently, rather than seeing only one part of a larger whole.

Also, using reflected light can vastly improve the quality of lighting available. Diffused light is generally better for taking photos, and using reflected light, either as the main source of light or for highlighting, is an excellent way to capture diffused light.

Whether you choose to use reflection in an artistic way or as a source of lightning, learning to use reflections in photography will help take your photographic skills to the next level.

Below we present over 50 beautiful examples of reflective photography. All examples are linked to their sources. Below, you can also explore other works of the photographers we’ve featured here.

You may also want to take a look at the following related showcases:

Showcase Of Photos With Reflections:

Philippe Sainte-Laudy

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merriewells

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Mik

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François Raimbaud

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Antti-Jussi Liikala

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Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir

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Azzam Merchant

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Screenshot

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Barbara Jones

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Julio Salinas

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kern.justin

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Lynnette Henderson

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Janusz Leszczynski

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Philippe Sainte-Laudy

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Nejdet Düzen

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Screenshot

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Xhengis Aliu

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Ali Al-Zaidi

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Chiara

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Alfredo Corsaro

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5348 Franco

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Atwose

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Matey

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Lars A. Giusti

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Static Sparks

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Linda O’Dell

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tinygdynamite

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Apricot Cafe

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Philippe Sainte-Laudy

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Philipp Klinger

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Seldon Scott

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VISION~AIRY~

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Mike_tn

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Jörg B.

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vedd

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Ihdar Nur

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Omar Junior

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Mine Beyaz

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AmsterS@m The Wicked Reflectah
“Old School Beauty BMW reflected in a puddle in Amsterdam…no Photoshop, as usual, just some added saturation and contrast.”

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Philippe Sainte-Laudy

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Hypergurl

Mackay Botanical Gardens, QLD Australia.Screenshot

Maureen_g

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Sean Mantey

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Steve Carter

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Last Click

Julio

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Azzam Merchant

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Francesca Birini

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Resources

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  1. 1.

    Edo (November 30th, 2008, 2:46 pm)

    cool! thank’s

  2. 2.

    Trond (November 30th, 2008, 2:47 pm)

    Nice collection :) Link [flickr.com] is one of my photos with reflection :)

    - Link [kupen.net]

  3. 3.

    Ian Armstrong (November 30th, 2008, 3:21 pm)

    Great images. Very inspiring work. Love to know what equipment some of them were taken with. Well done for putting these together.

  4. 4.

    Tom (November 30th, 2008, 3:25 pm)

    it’s funny, how colors changed after digital photography and photoshop postprocessing came up. it’s much more brilliant and contrasted and the effect of the movement of the picture as itself is more merging into the search of detailed information in big connotations - this search for deep meanings and expressions in photography was always there, the perspective is just changing a lot through modern equipment.

    anyway, sometimes there was a “wow” looking at the pictures of this list.

  5. 5.

    Juan Ernesto (November 30th, 2008, 3:27 pm)

    Great collection of photos!

  6. 6.

    Jesse (November 30th, 2008, 3:27 pm)

    Thanks. great photos. !!!

  7. 7.

    www.galaxyspectrum.com (November 30th, 2008, 3:36 pm)

    Nice colors - but Some are a bit too Photoshopped

  8. 8.

    Mariam (November 30th, 2008, 4:02 pm)

    Niiiice!!
    Thanks =)

  9. 9.

    old school (November 30th, 2008, 5:11 pm)

    I miss the days of the darkroom….

  10. 10.

    Paulo Sacramento (November 30th, 2008, 5:21 pm)

    I also got to great examples photographed by me right here:
    - Link [flickr.com]
    - Link [flickr.com]

  11. 11.

    Therapix (November 30th, 2008, 5:48 pm)

    Awesome selection!

  12. 12.

    Eric- New Orleans Condos and Lofts (November 30th, 2008, 6:34 pm)

    Lools like water and clouds are in a lot of these. You gave me some great ideas.

  13. 13.

    2expertsdesign.com (November 30th, 2008, 6:43 pm)

    Great Collection!

  14. 14.

    Al.B (November 30th, 2008, 7:51 pm)

    Gorgeous!!!!!

  15. 15.

    Shabeer (November 30th, 2008, 8:15 pm)

    Amazing collection. a smash hit.

  16. 16.

    Manasa (November 30th, 2008, 8:52 pm)

    Some of them are truly amazing! Some of them are a bit ‘regular’ though inspiring. Thanks.

  17. 17.

    stephanie (November 30th, 2008, 9:47 pm)

    Link [flickr.com]

    perhaps another photo to consider?

  18. 18.

    Steven Clark (November 30th, 2008, 9:56 pm)

    I’m a sucker for a good Link [stevenclark.com.au] with still water and a few lights like the Kristy Lee, Hobart taken a few nights ago.

    Nice set. HDR is starting to wear a bit thin on me though, its getting oversold lately IMO.

  19. 19.

    Ravi (November 30th, 2008, 10:35 pm)

    Thanks for giving so many new ideas!

  20. 20.

    Elumalai (November 30th, 2008, 11:06 pm)

    Amazing!!!

    I like all these, but my first one is “Linda O’Dell”

  21. 21.

    Niklaus Gerber (December 1st, 2008, 12:31 am)

    Some more : Link [www.flickr.com] and Link [www.flickr.com]

  22. 22.

    dmsys (December 1st, 2008, 12:46 am)

    i hate this ucking HDR.

  23. 23.

    Modisana (December 1st, 2008, 12:50 am)

    Though some of these underwent Photoshop and what nots, it would have been kick a$$ if they were raw…Im not complaining, I mean Im a photographer myself and I know that mastering the camera is no palk in the wark…I mean…Walk in the Park…beautiful post of really inspiring images and place i wish I could afford to go to someday.

  24. 24.

    quasiallegra (December 1st, 2008, 1:03 am)

    I think that the reflection in the geko last click is a post-production fake reflection (waves can’t be like that).

    Also: I like when a photo with reflection is flipped uspide down, like Link [www.flickr.com] from a friend of mine. Original and clever!

  25. 25.

    Francesco Carrella (December 1st, 2008, 1:27 am)

    I have Link [www.flickr.com] of reflective photo.. :]

  26. 26.

    Paul (December 1st, 2008, 1:31 am)

    Maybe too picky, but at least a couple of them are not reflections, but refractions. :-)
    Nice set, anyway

  27. 27.

    Keri (December 1st, 2008, 1:38 am)

    Some awesome shots there :-)

    Two of my reflection shots on flickr
    Link [www.flickr.com]
    and
    Link [www.flickr.com]

  28. 28.

    Amateur Photographer (December 1st, 2008, 2:23 am)

    some nice shots on here.

  29. 29.

    Andy Montoya (December 1st, 2008, 4:44 am)

    Düzen’s the MASTER!!!
    Great shoots.

    Cya,
    Link [andymontoya.com]

  30. 30.

    Jason (December 1st, 2008, 5:30 am)

    I love these, I like to capture reflections in my oil paintings it’s one of my favorite thing about painting in oils.

    I even did a reflection in my logo on my website :) not an art site :)
    Link [www.pennyroll.com]

  31. 31.

    Musback (December 1st, 2008, 5:49 am)

    Very beautiful images thanks so much for sharing these!
    If i could share some of my reflective images…


    and

    Hope you liked

  32. 32.

    Spindrift (December 1st, 2008, 5:56 am)

    the third photo from the bottom has a faked reflection. (bad one too)
    It most likely was never near water at the time of the photo.

    all else are nice.

    ..well, except for the exaggerated HDR in some.

  33. 33.

    oindypoind (December 1st, 2008, 6:05 am)

    Link [www.flickr.com] [flickr]
    Link [www.flickr.com] [flickr]
    Link [www.flickr.com] [flickr]
    A few by me.

  34. 34.

    oindypoind (December 1st, 2008, 6:06 am)

    Great inspiration in this post, thanks.

  35. 35.

    webdesign (December 1st, 2008, 7:07 am)

    These images are beautifull! Thanks for sharing

  36. 36.

    Blake (December 1st, 2008, 7:18 am)

    Great list! Here’s another one I’d recommend:
    Link [flickr.com]

  37. 37.

    Jim Gaudet (December 1st, 2008, 7:39 am)

    Stunning! Great pictures…

  38. 38.

    vedd (December 1st, 2008, 8:04 am)

    Thanks for showcasing my picture on the Wawasan bridge!

  39. 39.

    Doodie (December 1st, 2008, 8:22 am)

    Hehe…yes the Gecko is a digital reflection. Most likely done with Flaming Pear’s “Flood” plugin, which actually is a great plugin for reflections. A roll of the random seed dice might have made a better effect though.

    I’m stilll shocked that people take the time to leave messages like “these have nothing to do with design”.

    It’s called INSPIRATION.

    Any graphic designer worth their salt has a creative bug in them, and should have hobbies including photography. It’s all in the eye people… composition, framing etc.

    Good times!

  40. 40.

    Elias (December 1st, 2008, 9:13 am)

    mmmm too much saturation, sharpen, contrast for my taste. Even if subject matter is interesting there’s too much post processing going on. Effects up to eleven FTL.

  41. 41.

    Ori (December 1st, 2008, 9:31 am)

    Amazing. Thanks!

  42. 42.

    petronella (December 1st, 2008, 10:05 am)

    stunning! love the castle!

  43. 43.

    André (December 1st, 2008, 10:12 am)

    I also made some studies with water reflections (but using body parts….I think the results are curious):
    Link [www.flickr.com]
    Link [www.flickr.com]
    Link [www.flickr.com]

  44. 44.

    V. (December 1st, 2008, 11:37 am)

    >Elumalai: The “photo” by Linda O’Dell was created digitally. The real reflection on the water would not skew proportions and the perspective would be slightly different.

  45. 45.

    kern.justin (December 1st, 2008, 12:56 pm)

    Thanks to the eds for picking up my photo! To anyone who is curious I shot it with a Nikon D100 an old and nearly broken 14mm f/3.5 that I picked up on ebay some years ago. As with all the images of which I am proud, it is the product less of meticulous work and more of being the lucky one to walk by the cabin at the right time. “f/8 and be there” will hold true no matter whether post is in the dark room or the cpu!

  46. 46.

    Aiko (December 1st, 2008, 2:06 pm)

    Very nice work. Thou i have this feeling some of them are photoshoped, if there not photoshoped then its ashame as they feel photoshoped. Allot of these look like there not fully created by a camera. Anyways allot of them are really nice, so good work :)

  47. 47.

    neko (December 1st, 2008, 2:16 pm)

    as always…love the photograph posts. very inspirational!

  48. 48.

    jade (December 1st, 2008, 2:23 pm)

    Vedd, thought you’d like the inside reflection at Christmas time here: Link [www.wels.net]

  49. 49.

    AO (December 1st, 2008, 3:30 pm)

    You missed one guy’s worked… He was featured in Time magazine some years back for his mostly reflective photography on the beaches of Karachi. Link [www.flickr.com].

  50. 50.

    Nico (December 1st, 2008, 7:05 pm)

    Probably the greatest shot ever at:

    Link [www.lucnix.be]

  51. 51.

    tom (December 2nd, 2008, 6:24 am)

    I love the focus points. It is amazing to see itmes in the forground blurry with a focus point through water or similar items. Also reflective framing is also fantastic. Always love eye candy.

  52. 52.

    Mark Folgo (December 2nd, 2008, 8:39 am)

    This photographer has very good reflections photos

    Link [www.filipebianchi.com]

  53. 53.

    .SCHL (December 2nd, 2008, 9:33 am)

    You’ve gotta see the work of Gilad Benari, he’s awesome using reflections. Link [gilad.deviantart.com]

    Awesome list nonetheless.

    .SCHL

  54. 54.

    Helen Bradley (December 2nd, 2008, 9:54 am)

    What an inspiring collection of reflections.

    I captured some wonderful reflections in Rome and Venice recently, not only in canals and puddles, but also on cars and in windows which made for some great results.

    Check them out here: Link [www.projectwoman.com]

  55. 55.

    ag (December 2nd, 2008, 2:36 pm)

    “Hehe…yes the Gecko is a digital reflection. Most likely done with Flaming Pear’s “Flood” plugin, which actually is a great plugin for reflections.”
    not only that one, several others as well (except for the gecko, there are 3 other really evident ones). it’s a shame, as the real ones in this bunch are truly stunning. the first one reminds me of The Shining ;)

  56. 56.

    HErve (December 2nd, 2008, 3:30 pm)

    Can t beleive how much these are photoshoped!!
    Do we talk about photography or virtual imagery!???
    Sorry, looks like crap

  57. 57.

    Carabear (December 2nd, 2008, 4:27 pm)

    Beautiful photos! Thank you for sharing :)

  58. 58.

    Adam Alyan (December 3rd, 2008, 2:36 am)

    Some of them are made using HDR techniques but not overdone.

  59. 59.

    Marina Popova (December 3rd, 2008, 7:43 am)

    Very cool!!! And what about this…
    Link [photo-forum.net]Link [photo-forum.net]
    ?

  60. 60.

    Megapixelphotos (December 3rd, 2008, 11:36 am)

    Link [www.megapixelphotos.com] <– Another cloud gate example.

    Also hard to believe a US monument in the reflecting pool wasnt there but I suppose there are a lot of those..

  61. 61.

    Yuuzaa (December 3rd, 2008, 6:31 pm)

    great ! ..thank’s for sharing.

  62. 62.

    Anto (December 3rd, 2008, 7:02 pm)

    Stunning pictures!
    I have taken a Link [www.antoyoussef.com]. It is a different style, where a sunset reflects on his glasses. Tell me what you think!

    Link [www.antoyoussef.com]

  63. 63.

    angeloff (December 4th, 2008, 1:55 am)

    Incredible. Smashing Collection as usual

    Visit My ArtWord on my blog
    Link [www.angeloff.net]

  64. 64.

    szenen (December 4th, 2008, 5:38 am)

    whats so stunning? how easy it is to use photoshop?

  65. 65.

    Peter (December 4th, 2008, 6:40 am)

    Great Pictures, Thanks!

    Here are some more great reflection-pictures i found recently. The second one is my absolute favorite.

    Link [pictures.n3po.com]
    Link [pictures.n3po.com]
    Link [pictures.n3po.com]

  66. 66.

    Jon (December 4th, 2008, 9:13 am)

    wheres the reflecto-porn

  67. 67.

    Artturi Mäntysaari (December 4th, 2008, 9:26 am)

    Here is one of my photos with reflection: Link [www.harhakuva.org]

    (sorry finnish language)

  68. 68.

    p33nicorn on dA (December 4th, 2008, 2:55 pm)

    One of my favourite pictures I’ve ever taken is a reflection pic, Link [fc11.deviantart.com].

    A lot of them were stunning, some.. not so much.

  69. 69.

    Wayfaring Wanderer (December 5th, 2008, 7:41 am)

    I really liked that feather shot, and the last one, too. Who can beat an awesome reflection mixed with some sunset silhouettes…..dream photo!

    “But creativity and good-quality photos depend on the photographer being able to see things differently, rather than seeing only one part of a larger whole.” AMEN TO THAT!!!!!!

  70. 70.

    jimmy (December 5th, 2008, 11:01 am)

    if all these werent photoshoped i would like them. but the computer is taking away form the true beauty of life, i stick to film and that’s what i prefer. the real deal.

  71. 71.

    zemichael TY (December 8th, 2008, 5:50 am)

    thanks, it’s a real inspiration!!!! lovely pieces of work …this things i’m looking at …wow

  72. 72.

    Anon (December 8th, 2008, 4:45 pm)

    Too bad a lot of these are photoshopped.

    These are some good reflective pictures.
    Link [robinsoulier.com]

  73. 73.

    what’s up with dolphins? (December 9th, 2008, 12:48 am)

    Dolphins aren’t that great . . .
    That’s right, I said it. Dolphins. Not that smart. Do you think a dolphin could take a picture?

  74. 74.

    sanjay raikar (December 18th, 2008, 3:00 am)

    beautiful photographs, fantastic locations, treat for the eye, love it.

  75. 75.

    Psalms (December 19th, 2008, 12:56 pm)

    i luv it!!!
    i wish i can go 2 those places!

  76. 76.

    stringer (December 19th, 2008, 8:10 pm)

    every one of them photoshopped within an inch of their lives

  77. 77.

    PANO (December 22nd, 2008, 6:50 pm)

    赞!how beautiful

  78. 78.

    Christopher L Moore (January 1st, 2009, 5:56 pm)

    Several of those were actually better examples of Refraction not Reflection (Looking through a clear droplet Link [www.flickr.com] or glass of water Link [www.flickr.com]) It is otherwise a nice collection.

  79. 79.

    Cpt (January 4th, 2009, 7:54 am)

    Most of the shots are good ones, but some are a bit oversaturated and artificial amateur pictures, not really suitable for demonstration in a high class place like this one - in my opinion.

  80. 80.

    quelen (January 19th, 2009, 8:26 am)

    muito lindas as imagens

  81. 81.

    sJ (January 19th, 2009, 1:05 pm)

    Reflections really amplify the beauty of a photograph… Very nice job here; thank you for sharing.

  82. 82.

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  83. 83.

    jithesh (January 23rd, 2009, 3:57 am)

    very beautiful pictures ” great” thanks

  84. 84.

    lorne (February 7th, 2009, 1:22 pm)

    Nice. Perhaps a little heavy on the saturation and/or dynamic range ‘cranks’ in photo shop, but nice example of reflections none the less.

  85. 85.

    baha’aldeen (February 16th, 2009, 5:22 am)

    fantastic work,the best one is the 1st one.

  86. 86.

    nikki (February 17th, 2009, 2:46 pm)

    soooo pretty!

  87. 87.

    Liz Gregory (February 27th, 2009, 6:01 am)

    Glorious, gorgeous and great! Loved looking at all these beautiful images - inspirational, thank you :)

  88. 88.

    mun imnyeo (March 2nd, 2009, 2:47 pm)

    beatiful pictures!!
    thanks for sharing.

  89. 89.

    Gabrielle (March 11th, 2009, 12:32 pm)

    So I was wondering about settings on a manual non digital camera?

  90. 90.

    Shrikant Kelkar (April 13th, 2009, 11:57 pm)

    Some pictures are really beautiful.

  91. 91.

    Sohni mutiar (June 21st, 2009, 2:04 pm)

    amazing and cool picsssssss !!!!!!!!!

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