Reflections are one of the fastest ways to sell a composite as real. When a composited element casts a reflection on a surface, the viewer’s brain accepts it as physically present. When the reflection is missing or wrong, the brain flags something as off, even if the viewer can’t articulate why.

The Physics of Reflections

Before opening Photoshop, understand what reflections actually do. A reflection is a mirror image of the object, flipped along the axis of the reflecting surface. The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection — meaning the reflection appears at the same angle below the surface as the object appears above it.

For perfectly flat surfaces like still water or polished floors, the reflection is a clean vertical flip. For rough surfaces like wet pavement, the reflection stretches and distorts vertically. For curved surfaces like car bodies, the reflection warps according to the surface curvature.

Flat Surface Reflections (Still Water, Polished Floors)

This is the most common reflection type in compositing:

  1. Duplicate the element layer
  2. Flip it vertically (Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical)
  3. Position it so the bottom edge of the original meets the top edge of the reflection at the surface line
  4. Reduce opacity to 30-70% depending on surface reflectivity (still water is highly reflective; matte floors much less so)
  5. Add slight Gaussian Blur (1-3px) to soften the reflection — even highly reflective surfaces aren’t as sharp as the direct view
  6. Apply a gradient mask fading the reflection to transparent as it gets farther from the object

Wet Surface Reflections (Puddles, Wet Pavement)

Wet surfaces produce elongated, distorted reflections:

  1. Start with the flat reflection technique above
  2. Apply Motion Blur at 90 degrees (vertical), 5-15px — this stretches the reflection downward
  3. Apply Ripple filter (Filter > Distort > Ripple) at small amount (10-30) with Medium ripple size
  4. Scale the reflection to 120-150% vertically using Free Transform — wet surface reflections appear stretched
  5. Mask the reflection to only appear in the wet areas

The key is that wet pavement reflections are never as clear as mirror reflections. They’re stretched, slightly rippled, and confined to the wet areas.

Glass and Window Reflections

Glass reflections are partial — you see both through the glass and the reflection simultaneously:

  1. Create the reflection on its own layer
  2. Set opacity to 15-30% (glass is mostly transparent)
  3. Apply a very slight Gaussian Blur (0.5-1px)
  4. Add a layer mask and paint away the reflection where the glass would be dirty, frosted, or at steep angles
  5. Reflections on glass are strongest at shallow viewing angles (when you’re looking at the glass from the side) and weakest when looking straight through it

Metal and Chrome Reflections

Highly curved metal surfaces create warped reflections:

  1. Create the base reflection
  2. Use the Warp tool (Edit > Transform > Warp) to distort the reflection according to the surface curvature
  3. Increase contrast and saturation in the reflection — metal surfaces reflect light more intensely than matte surfaces
  4. Chrome reflects at nearly 100% — keep the opacity high
  5. Brushed metal has directional blur in the reflection — apply Motion Blur at the angle of the brush pattern

Color Matching Reflections

Reflections pick up the color of the reflecting surface. A reflection in green-tinted glass has a green cast. A reflection on a warm wooden floor shifts warm. After creating your reflection:

  1. Add a Color Balance or Photo Filter adjustment layer clipped to the reflection
  2. Shift the reflection’s color toward the surface color
  3. Keep the adjustment subtle — a slight shift is more convincing than an obvious tint

Common Mistakes

Reflection too sharp. Real reflections are always slightly softer than direct views. Even a perfect mirror introduces micro-imperfections.

Reflection too opaque. Most surfaces aren’t perfectly reflective. Start at 50% opacity and work down.

Wrong perspective. The reflection must match the perspective angle of the scene. A straight-down reflection in a scene shot at eye level looks wrong immediately.

Missing contact shadows. Where the object meets the surface, there should be a dark contact shadow in addition to the reflection. Without it, the object appears to float.

Reflection extends beyond the surface. Mask reflections to the actual reflective area. A puddle reflection that extends onto dry concrete breaks the illusion instantly.

Final Integration

After building the reflection, zoom out and evaluate the complete composite. The reflection should be something you notice when you look for it but don’t consciously see at first glance. If it draws attention to itself, it’s too strong, too sharp, or incorrectly placed. The best reflections are the ones that make the viewer think “this looks right” without knowing why.