advice on photo technique

[merlin1027]

Hello all,
I need a little advice or a few pointers. What is the best way to capture a clean shot when shooting through glass.

below is an example of a photo that i took.


as you can see I got a lot of reflections from behind me in the glass. Is there a better way to do this? All pointer on this and the photos are welcome.

thanks

[DanK]

Scott,

I don't generally do this. however, I think the general rule is that if there are lights behind you, the only way to avoid reflections would be to block that light.

I have been mulling this over because I want to do a night shot of three towers or steeples that line up in Cambridge (MA): one relatively new and ugly, one Victorian and ornate, and a third that is a traditional old New England church steeple. The only way to do it is from one of the top floors of a nearby building. My plan is to set up the camera on a tripod, in part to free my hands, and then hold a towel around the camera and up against the window. A rubber lens hood that you could push against the glass would be a simpler alternative, if you have one that won't cause vignetting with your lens.

Dan

[Brev00]

Take off your hood, if it is on, and put your lens right up against the glass. Make sure your filter, if one is on, and your lens are clean. Taking off the filter is probably a good idea. That is all I know.

[pnodrog]

A polarizing filter can often be used to reduce some of the reflection. Cleaning/polish the glass with a cloth, shade the glass as much as possible and keep the front of the lens as close as you can without mucking up zoom or focus adjustments. I sometimes cup my hand edge against the glass, palm towards the lens using it as a shade.

[dubaiphil]

Or just stop being a wimp and get on the other side of that glass...

As above:

"I sometimes cup my hand edge against the glass, palm towards the lens using it as a shade."

That's what I do, as you're rarely shooting straight through the glass.

[Inkanyezi]

A rubber lens hood does the trick when you put it against the window pane.

[rpcrowe]

I avoid the use of a CPL filter because, most often, the "glass" is actually not real glass but a Plexiglas of sorts, like on airline windows. The CPL shooting through the Plexiglas will often cause a moire pattern to appear and/or cause some other distortion.

I have replaced my toilet plunger with a new and more efficient model. I am "recycling" the old cup by discarding the handle and cutting a hole a tiny bit larger than the outside diameter of my lens.



This will allow me to place the rubber cup against the glass/Plexiglas and to shoot through it avoiding reflections from my rear. I will be able to frame my images because the cup will allow me to move the angle of my lens a bit (although shooting at a 90 degree angle to the glass/Plexiglas is best to avoid distortions).

The drawback of this concept is the weight/bulk of the cup. I am trying to develop a more transportable version. Perhaps like a rubber collapsing lens hood but somewhat larger...