Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflections

Photo courtesy of Jared Bramblett

This week’s photo challenge is guest hosted by Jared Bramblett. Read on for more about this week’s theme and his photography tips!

Reflections. This challenge is about using reflections in the composition of a shot. Reflections are all around us, whether they’re in a window, a puddle, a mirror, or another surface. They can dramatically affect the feeling and mood of a shot by creating a surreal sense of duality. Think of a city reflecting in a river, a crowd of people reflecting in the glass pane of a building, or — as in the shot I’ve chosen above — a landscape altered by the placement of a simple glass mirror.

The image I’ve selected for this challenge was shot on a dock at a local park. I utilized a simple 12″x12″ mirror to enhance the depth created by the dock’s railings. The limiting size and placement of the mirror creates incomplete symmetry and forces my mind to try and complete and see more of the symmetry than is actually there.

I challenge you to head out and create an image that uses reflections to force the viewer to question and interpret the reality of the shot.

Share a photo that means REFLECTIONS to you!

Tips: Think about using different perspectives and viewing angles to modify a reflection’s impact on your composition. For beginners: You can face a reflective surface head on to compose a creative self-portrait, or you can change your perspective so the reflection focuses on another part of the area around you. For advanced photographers: I’d also recommend playing around with the exposure of the reflections. For instance, if you use a wide aperture and meter an area in the reflection, you can creatively alter the appearance (depth of field) of the areas outside of the reflection.

I’m a civil engineer living in Charleston, South Carolina, who enjoys photography, craft beer, and good music. I bought my first DSLR two years ago, and I seem to have immersed myself in photography since. I particularly enjoy shooting urban and rural landscapes as well as capturing the beauty of the simplicity around us. I frequently post my work at my WordPress blog at jaredbramblett.com. 

You can also follow me on Twitter @JTBramblett or visit my Facebook page.

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New to The Daily Post? Whether you’re a beginner or a professional, you’re invited to get involved in our Weekly Photo Challenge to help you meet your blogging goals and give you another way to take part in Post a Day / Post a Week. Everyone is welcome to participate, even if your blog isn’t about photography.

Here’s how it works:

1. Each week, we’ll provide a theme for creative inspiration. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog (a new post!) anytime before the following Friday when the next photo theme will be announced.

2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “Weekly Photo Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use the “postaday″ tag.

3. Subscribe to The Daily Post so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements. Sign up via the email subscription link in the sidebar or RSS.