Floating Pool Reflections

[SuizoPR]

Hey Guys!
I took this shoot on a dirty pool that was on the brink of overflowing. It creates an illusion that the reflection is floating in mid-air. I'd like some overall constructive critique!



EXIF
1/400
f/8.0
20.8mm (117mm in 35mm)
ISO: 160
No Flash
No Post-Editing Whatsoever
Nikon P100

[SwissJon]

I think you need to be a bit more specific about what you want to know..

[SuizoPR]

Originally Posted by SwissJon

I think you need to be a bit more specific about what you want to know..

True, I am sorry SwissJon. I would like some critique on composition, and the overall effect of the picture, if the reflection does look as if it was floating. On a side note, I want to thank you for commenting on all my threads! Thank You!

[SwissJon]

Lol.. That's what it's there for.

It looks like you've taken a picture of a field and sky, put a ripple effect on it, cropped it and pasted it on a picture of paving slabs. The reflection appears to be the wrong way up. One would expect the horizon in a reflection to be towards the top of the picture, the opposite of the reality it's reflecting. Also the angle in the reflection is wrong, compared to the angle of the floor, which suggests the reflection should be a sharper angle. And I've never seen a perfect reflection, to add to the effect, you ought to put a very slight bit of detail of the pool you're supposed to be reflecting from, otherwise it looks as though it's a pool of Mercury.

Clever idea, but I think this would be better in the Post Processing thread, you'll get better feedback there.

[SuizoPR]

SwissJon, I'm sorry but this picture has no type of editing whatsoever! It is uploaded as it was taken.

[SwissJon]

Like I said, the "reflection" is the wrong way up for a reflection.. You want some critique, it follows:

I take hundreds of photos down by the lake (Probably thousands) and in every single one, the horizon in the reflection is at the top of the photo where it's closest to the real horizon. Your "grass" is at the bottom of the photograph, when it should be at the top.

All the reflections I've taken get darker towards the camera and lighter further away.. The reason for this is one of physics, but to cut a long story short, the angle closer to the camera is steeper, so the distance light has to travel to reach the blackness of space is shorter. Your darker "sky" is towards the top of the photograph, when it should be to the bottom.

The trees in your "photograph" appear to be growing from the bottom of the frame towards the top.. In a reflection, the'y be growing from the top downward..

The clouds are the same way up you'd find them in real life.. Dark towards the bottom, cumulonimbus climbing upward.. Again.. The wrong way up

All these are basically why we call something a reflection.. They reflect reality.. Up becomes down..

There are a few issues I have with your photoshop work too, but since you say you didn't do any I really can't be bothered to comment further on that. The most obvious problem is that the picture doesn't match what you describe it as being.

You've had my critique.. If you don't like it, that doesn't matter to me.

Here's an example of a reflection showing the elements I mentioned above, trees frowing downwards, horizon coming up to meet the horizon, sky darkening towards the camera, upside-down clouds, I suggest if you want to create this kind of image, you at least start be making fantasy look like reality.

[Krusty79]

When I look at your image, it looks upside down to me. Like Jon said, reflections are always upside down. Walk up to any lake and look at the reflection of the trees - they are upside down, correct? Someone on another thread said that reflections are better when the water is glassy and calm because the rippled reflections are not as cool and I have to agree with that. So, my recommendation would be to flip this image upside down (or right side up?) and if you take another shot like this, try to wait for the ripples in the water to calm down.

Jon - did something happen to you between your 2nd and 3rd posts here? You went from "Lol.. That's what it's there for." to "You've had my critique.. If you don't like it, that doesn't matter to me."