The idea was born surprisingly and simply after I had watched enough videos and photos of my favorite content creator: KutovaKika. After the ideas for the extravagant portraits without faces, I was ready for a new challenge, and shooting a non-standard portrait with glasses was inspiring enough. It turned out that it wasn’t as easy as it seemed to me as a final shot. If you are also intrigued by the idea, here are some tips I would like to know before I start shooting…
Tricks and tips for good results
- Use a tripod if the photos will be self-portraits;
- A self-timer will not be useful in this case, as adjusting your position relative to the cups is very delicate and the slightest shift can spoil your shot. Use a buddy who knows what you’re doing, a remote trigger (but again, you have to be precise in your posing until the end), or if you’re shooting with a Sony photosystem like mine, use Image Edge Mobile. The latter option is the easiest for me, and fortunately, it was possible.
- Do not overdo the background. In other words, it doesn’t matter where you shoot or what the background is, the focus will be different, so choose something neutral.
- Lighting: If you are shooting with studio lighting, you can control the glare in the glass. However, be careful with them. If like me, you rely on natural light (on the terrace), then there will be glare. I also tried a CPL filter, but the difference was barely noticeable, despite everything, I recommend you try it, especially if you have a similar filter.
- The glasses turn into magnifying glasses that refract the image behind them, but to find the point of focus and generally, a point where you can see and recognize what is behind, you need a little patience and try. As I told you earlier, the slightest movement can affect the end result. Try to move not only closer and farther from the cups themselves, but also up and down with them suspended.
- Fill the glasses more to have more area through which to refract the images.
As a conclusion
Have fun and don’t get angry that it’s not OK the first time. It took me personally about 2 days to clarify the concept of “where I’m wrong” and create photos that I like. Speaking of photos, below you can see the shots I created.
Here you also can watch my YouTube video with the process behind the scenes and processing one of the photos.