Glasses and Portraits: How to Avoid Glare and Shadows in Your Photos
As a portrait photographer, I love capturing my clients at their best. But if you wear glasses, you’ve probably noticed how tricky they can be in photos. Since I use a large umbrella to light my clients, reflections and shadows from your lenses are something we have to work around—but don’t worry, I have solutions!
Why Do Glasses Cause Issues?
Glasses reflect light, and my large umbrella softbox can sometimes bounce light directly into your lenses, causing glare. With new glare technology that glare will appear blue when a strobe light hits it. On top of that, glasses with thick frames or lenses that sit far from your face can block light, creating shadows over your eyes. This can make your face look uneven or darker in certain areas.
What Works Best?
Non-coated lenses: Surprisingly, anti-glare coatings can sometimes make reflections worse (blue) because they are designed to reduce glare from everyday lighting, not professional photography setups.
Positioning adjustments: A slight tilt of your head or adjusting my light source can sometimes help reduce reflections.
Glasses without lenses: Some clients bring empty frames to keep their look while avoiding glare entirely!
Will You Have to Remove Them?
I’m always happy to try working with your glasses first, adjusting angles and lighting as needed. But if glare or shadows are still an issue, you may need to remove them. My goal is to make sure you look your best—glasses or not!
Ready for your session? Let’s make sure you shine, not the glare on your glasses!
