Why is the phone reflected in a photo it took?

Question

I was looking through my pictures and just found this photo I took a while ago:

In the upper right corner, there's a reflection of the phone (iPhone 5s) I took the picture with (and you can see a part of my finger as well). Why is it reflected like that? Is it because of the water or the weather or something? I have another pictures from the same scene, and it's also reflected there. But that is the only time it has happened. I couldn't find a good answer through Google, but does anyone know?

You took this picture while sitting in a car, or more likely something with a more vertical windshield like a pickup truck, right? — Olin Lathrop, Dec 18 '15 at 12:36
I totally didn't think of that, that must be the reason. Sorry for asking such stupid question. Thank you guys for your answers! — Discopika, Dec 18 '15 at 12:39
Are you sure that's an iPhone 5s? Look at the size of it in relation to the finger. Looks like a tablet to me. — Octopus, Dec 21 '15 at 22:16

score 8 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 18 '15 at 12:51

8

Looks like a reflection from glass. You probably took this image from inside or through a glass barrier. At least you did not use flash, otherwise you would have just seen a big bright blob.

answered Dec 18 '15 at 12:51

Itai

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score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 29 '19 at 02:12

@Itai's answer is of course correct, but there is a second part to it.

The phone's reflection is only visible/noticeable because it is also illuminated, in this case not only by the scene itself but most likely by direct sunlight coming through the window from the upper-right.

Had you been able to use your hand, a hat or some other object to shade your camera from the sunlight (and keep that object and its reflection out of the frame) the camera's reflection might have been much less noticeable.

enter image description here

Why is the phone reflected in a photo it took?

2 Answers2