Reflection Perfection: 60 Photos That Show You How It’s Done

Capturing beautiful reflections is not as easy as it looks. It takes planning, patience, creativity and sometimes luck to be able to capture that perfect shot off any natural or artificial reflective surface. From the surface of a lake, to a window pane, a broken mirror to a recently polished and waxed car, the world of reflected surfaces will astound you, if you know where to look, and shoot.

A well-executed shot can show perfect symmetry or a slightly distorted one and sometimes the shot is a one-in-a-million opportunity, that may not come again. Take a look at 60 of our most favorite photographs that will take you into the world of reflective photography.

Recommended Reading: 30 Breathtaking Panoramic Photos You Need To See

Vesturhorn Mountain

This is a stunning example of a perfectly symmetrical shot. It’s so clear, the mountain looks like it is floating on a mirror. (Source: Eddie 11uisma)

Invisible

Here’s an incredible yet surreal self-portrait by Laura Williams. She said this photo was never edited, which makes this photo trick more brilliant. (Source: Laura Williams)

Crocodile

Look at that big yellow eye pop out of the water! Getting the reflection of just the crocodile’s eye makes this photograph even more compelling. (Source: Pyreaus)

Ghost Rider

Fire dancing is a pretty intense display of art and skill, as this brilliant image tries to show. (Source: Ravikanth Kurma)

Nature

One of the best shots from Jasper James’ City Silhouettes collection. The series reveals the city of Beijing through the silhouettes of its Chinese residents. (Source: Jasper James)

Stripes

Here’s a very cool photo abstraction. JMeyer uses the refractive effect of water and glass to bend and twist these black and white stripes. (Source: JMeyer)

Ferrari

While there’s a place and time for mirror-like replication, distortion of the reflected subject can sometimes be just as fascinating. (Source: Mark Berriman)

Taj Mahal

The magnificent Taj Mahal with a nice silhouetted camel in Yamuna River at sunset. (Source: Your Arvind Kumar)

Bubble

I think the world needs more bubbles. (Source: Richard Heeks)

Street Art

This graffiti is dope. Is that an alien in the middle of a gorilla fight? (Source: SOKE)

Fluorescent

It looks as if the fluorescent lights are dripping down to that well-waxed floor. This was taken using a fisheye lens at the Dan Flavin exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. (Source: C. Anderson)

Lifelines

Alper Doruk turns a usual sight to an artistic photo. The people, the colors, the noise, the rush — you can feel them all on this image. (Source: Alper Doruk)

Dog Rises

The reflection on the water looks more like a bear! (Source: Simon van Cleeff)

Hanover City Hall

The vibrant color and symmetry of the City Hall makes this picture pop. (Source: Spreng Ben)

Black Skimmer

William Dalton snaps a picture of a Black Skimmer perfectly copied on the surface of the lake. (Source: William Dalton)

Skydiving

Suz Graham captures this amazing moment as she jumped out of the helicopter. You can actually see the chopper from the reflection on her helmet, thanks to her GoPro. (Source: Suz Graham)

Notre Dame

Excellent composition! The mirror-like symmetry draws your eyes to the middle. (Source: Loic Lagarde)

Tanker

Lucky photographic opportunity here. Andy Gocher’s shot turned out pretty well. (Source: Andy Gocher)

Hot Air Balloons

The fall colors are very vibrant in this shot! It looks wonderful. I wish I was there to witness this. (Source: Dave Biddle)

Small Island

It is a simple composition with awesome symmetry due to the reflection of the small island. The slight off-center placement gives a bit of dynamism to this photograph. (Source: Shane Kalyn)

Fireworks display around Petronas Tower

Soaring into the air, these fireworks explode around Malaysia’s landmark, the Petronas Twin Towers during the 2014 New Year celebrations. (Source: Lim Su Seng)

The Finish Line

There’s something pure and mystical about this image. I love it. (Source: Lee Sie)

Field of Love

This wedding photoshoot got a wonderful reflection of a polished car, and tones that convey the most romantic of atmospheres. (Source: Radloff)

Leopard Stare

Chad Cocking deliberately flipped this image upside down which is actually clever. Turn your head upside down, and look again. Chad must have been pretty close to take this shot. (Source: Chad Cocking)

Rhododendron Park in Kromlau

Popularly known as the Devil’s Bridge, this bridge is located between the borders of Germany and Poland. See this on Google maps (Source: Kromlau)

Multiple Personalities

The subtle reflections from the broken mirror depicts the title so perfectly. (Source: Eva Pech Marie)

Rainbow

It’s very rare to spot a rainbow reflected off a watery surface. Great catch by Seffis. (Source: Seffis)

Doppelganger

Lovely focus and softness of the light. Love the colors and contrast clothing. (Source: CasheeFoo)

Lightning

Waiting patiently for a lightning bolt to strike, Lise Sundberg managed to take 4 bolts illuminating its surroundings for just a split second. (Source: News Australia)

Broken Mirror

Bing Wright placed a set of shattered mirrors against the bright sunset. The result is surprisingly appealing. They look like stained glass windows. (Source: Bing Wright)

Drive above the Clouds

This is the world’s largest salt flat and it is located in Bolivia. The rain collects on top of the salt causing this mirror effect. (Source: Tomohiro Nakatate)

Waterway to Orbit

This is a spectacular photograph of a shuttle launched into orbit from the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge, in Ponte Vedra, Florida. (Source: James Vernacotola)

Luray Cave

You’ll find this more fascinating when you realize that the bottom half is actually water reflection. (Source: Wunderground)

Miniature Liquid Worlds

The perfectly timed shots by German photographer Markus Reugels resulted in this beautiful spherical representation of Earth. (Source: Markus Reugels)

Watercolor

Here’s another flipped image of a reflection from a puddle on the streets of Rome. It does feel like the watercolored version of old buildings, doesn’t it? (Source: Patrizia Sapia)

Sin City

I name this one Sin City because it looks like a scene from that movie. (Source: Sina Poursohi)

The Golden Gate

One of the most famous and most photographed bridge in the world. The reflection off the water is just fantastic. (Source: Nathan Spotts)

Levitation

A guy jumping in a puddle in Pittsburgh. The image here is upside down. (Source: naytttt)

Houses

I love the serene feel of this shot. These lovely houses are from the City of Monnickendam in the Netherlands. (Source: Jan Siebring)

Anniversary

Ismael and his wife were toasting their first year anniversary when he noticed the reflection in his glass and decided to take a picture of it. This was taken at Glacier Bay, Alaska on their cruise. (Source: Ismael)

Bullet

With the help of a high-speed camera, Alexander Augusteijn captured the moment a bullet slices through a drop of water. The refection of the bullet is equally stunning. (Source: Alexander Augusteijn)

Aurora Borealis

Johnathan Esper manages to capture the lights reflecting on the surface water of Silfra crack in Thingvellir National Park, Iceland. (Source: Johnathan Esper)

Eye of the beholder

Really good composed shot, with delightful colors and reflections. (Source: Mitchell Phelps)

Dragon’s Mirror

Its’ almost night time as the illuminations of this Chinese dragon sculpture is reflected in the tranquil river. (Source: Nancy Falso)

Pyramid

Here’s a vintage photo of the great Pyramid of Giza. This photo was taken by Felix Bonfils during The Ottoman Empire, between 1860-1880. (Source: Felix Bonfils)

Polar Bear

A polar bear with an unbelievable reflection from crystal clear Arctic ice, gives a confused look towards the camera of Paul Nicklen while he was shooting this in Lancaster Sound, Nunavut, Canada. (Source: Paul Nicklen)

Windmill

Great capture of vivid green with a great composition and reflections off the lake. The angle makes this even better. (Source: Jeff Morgan)

Anamorphosis

Anamorphosis is the distortion of objects or images to create an image on a reflective surface. In short, something like this. (Source: Jonty Hurwitz)

Dubai Panorama

Here’s a beautiful panoramic view of Dubai’s massive skyline. Taken by Beno Saradzic, the glowing buildings are nicely reflected on the desert lake. (Source: Beno Saradzic)

Silhouette

The dark silhouettes of people against the bright yellow background reflected with clear symmetry is beyond amazing. (Source: Piriskoskis)

Space Selfie

Astronaut Mike Hopkins takes an out-of-this-world selfie. (Source: NASA)

City Park

A colorful evening at a quiet river near a theme park. What a great sharp photo! (Source: WallPapersCraft)

Water Droplet

Just seeing an ant pushing a droplet of water is just fascinating. (Source: Teguh Santosa)

Inception: New York

Modern architecture reflecting the old ones. Check this out on Google maps (Source: Trey Ratcliff)

Sphere

What sort of wizardry is this? Very cool idea. (Source: Carlos Gotay Martinez)

Underwater

This image was rotated 90 degrees clockwise to give the standing illusion. (Source: DobsonFly)

Black and White

Taken at Strandvagen, Ostermalm, Stockholm, this captures a terrific reflection of trees after snowfall. (Source: Hannes R)

Mom and Dad

The cutest family portrait I have ever seen. Fantastic angle! (Source: Luna Bella)

Smiley

Perfectly timed photo! Aoao2 captured this water drop refracting an image of a smiley. (Source: Aoao2)