How To Shoot Through Glass
Monday, July 25, 2011 at 9:00AM
8-track tapes with an old 8-track car stereo. This was on display behind glass at the Route 66 Museum, Clinton, OK
We've probably all been to a museum of some sort and attempted to take a photo of something that was behind glass. Not paying much attention to camera settings, we've probably just took aim and shot, flash and all.
If you shoot into glass with the flash on, your results will not be good. The flash will reflect back into your camera causing a big bright spot on the image. You'll probably also have lots of glare and part of your own reflection.
So here's the way to make it work:
1. Turn off your flash.
2. Place your camera lens right up against the glass (most cameras have some kind of lens hood, so the lens doesn't actually touch the glass). This will help you cut down on glare and maintain a longer exposure.
3. Focus and shoot.
If you're able to change your aperture and shutter speed, I'd recommend aperture priority setting. Your shutter speed will be slower than you usually shoot with, so be sure to hold the camera as sturdy as you can. Holding it right up against the glass will make this much easier to do rather than just holding it. Many digital cameras also have some sort of image stabilization built in, as do many DSLR lenses.
Another trick I like to do is to change the camera setting to AUTO and see how close the camera comes to what I want, then adjust accordingly in one of the manual settings.
And speaking of "manual," be sure to read the one that came with your camera!