When I first posted about using mirrors to accentuate available light for photography instead of adding in more light sources, there were a lot of requests for side-by-side comparisons. As a visual learner, I couldn’t have agreed more that it would be helpful to see this difference, so here’s a shot I took yesterday, with and without a mirror.
(Yes, the angles are slightly different, but I wasn’t using a tripod.)
Admittedly, it’s a very small change here, and those who skim quickly over their pictures will easily miss it, but it makes a world of difference to my eyes. Before adding a single mirror right in front of the plate, the close side of that pie was plunged into darkness, obscuring details, lacking color, and hiding texture. It makes the whole picture look very dark to me, since it’s already on a black background. With the mirror in place, it just seems to brighten up the whole composition, and really put a spotlight on the pie at the same time.
I wouldn’t blame you if you’re not dying to run out and buy a mirror after seeing this, but if you ask me, it’s worth the [very small] investment. This is just one mirror- Imagine what a handful of them could do for a dark set. It’s the small details that count, right?
Oh, and that pie right there? That will be part of an e-book I’m working on, which you’ll be hearing more about very soon…!