I do my photography in the bathroom (bathbombs, glittery waters, etc) I would like to capture the shimmer trails under the water without the reflection of the water fixtures in the photo. Please help!
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3Does this answer your question? How to "NOT" photograph reflections on water – Tetsujin Jan 09 '21 at 16:45
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Does this answer your question? How does one use circular polarizers? – Michael C Jan 10 '21 at 03:59
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Also related: In which situations should I use my circular polarizing filter? and How to make macro photography when the subject is placed in shallow water? and How can I take advantage of the transparency of water in a landscape photo? – Michael C Jan 10 '21 at 04:01
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What aspect of the fixtures' reflections do you want to remove? Is it the highlights or is it reflections of the environment (i.e. the bathroom, the camera and the photographer)? – slingeraap Feb 11 '21 at 11:31
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The comments and other answer mostly focus on reflections of ambient light on the surface of the water, which can indeed be greatly reduced by a polarizing filter. However, you ask about reflections from the water fixtures. Those will be very hard to remove using only a filter. The reason is that the fixtures, which most likely are reflective chrome, reflect light in various angles and from various sources, and so some of the reflected rays will always be able to pass the polarizer.
I think you will need to look into setting up dedicated lighting (i.e. don't use ambient room light) and use black cloth to cover everything around your actual scene. Alternatively, use a dedicated tub that you only use for photography.
jstarek
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Thank you @jstarek ! The polarizing filter took care of -most- of the reflections on top of the water. I will try covering the sorrounding area with black cloth. I am currently using a continues light that creates a lot of shadows (but that’s another topic :)) and I always turn off the light in the bathroom. Your second alternative is what my husband continues to suggest - buy a tub for the garage! Thank You!! – Cel7858 Jan 13 '21 at 02:12
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That's utterly backwards. A polariser will remove polarised light, and light hitting the water at Brewster's angle will be completely polarised. Water is not a diffuse reflector, so if you just point the camera at the water at Brewster's angle, what gets reflected into the camera will be polarised. Diffuse light just doesn't play into it at all. The wider the focal length of your lens (and to some degree, the wider the aperture), the less complete the polarisation you can work with will end up. But the best effect still will be in direction of Brewster's angle at the water. – user98068 Jun 11 '21 at 11:37
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An easy way to cover everything else would be to use some kind of giant lens hood that reaches into the water. Won't work if you want to have anything above the water in the picture, though. – user24582 Jun 14 '21 at 14:43
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I am not entirely sure I understand this correctly, perhaps you can describe it a little more. But generally, the glare from the water's surface can be reduced by using a circular polarizer filter in front of your lens. By turning the orientation of the circular filter, you can adjust how it filters out the glare.
emmit
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