Shooting through glass

HAVE you ever found yourself in a hotel room with a spectacular view over a city yet the window doesn’t open more than a couple of inches? Some cities are blessed with superb vantage points from skyscrapers, hotels or church towers. But this often means shooting through thick glass, which can present a real challenge for long exposures during the blue hour or at night. Dirty or scratched glass, particularly on the exterior, will affect the final image and it can be extremely difficult to deal with in post-production. Another challenge are the reflections caused by interior lights that will ruin your images.

Don’t be put off though as there are ways to make sure your shot is a keeper. First, find the cleanest section of window that gives you the composition you are after. Shoot as close and as straight onto the glass as possible (avoid the lens and glass touching). A circular polariser may help reduce some of the reflections, but this alone is often insufficient. If you can turn off any room lights then do so but recognising this is not always possible, you still need one last step. You will need to cover that light from hitting the window and thus appearing in your image.

There is a ready-made solution for this in the form of a lens skirt: a large, black lens hood, which also attaches to the window with suction cups to cut out reflections. A cheaper, but less practical, alternative is to cover your camera and lens fully with a matt, black top. Holding your top tight to the window and using a remote shutter release or delayed timer can prove as effective – don’t let the top creep into your frame or knock the camera.