Getting Still Water Reflections

If you want a sure bet for a landscape image people will love, find some still water (in a lake, a pond, etc.), put a mountain in your background, and the magic will happen. People are drawn to images with reflections, and the more mirror-like and glassy the reflection, the better. The challenge is that water isn’t often perfectly still to create those reflections, which is probably why we like them so much. Any minor bit of wind creates choppy water and you’ve lost that reflection. So, what’s the secret to getting that still, glassy water? Get up super-early. First thing in the morning is your absolute best shot at getting still water, so you can nab that reflection. While there’s great light twice a day (dawn and dusk), you’ve usually only got one shot to get that glassy water, and that’s around dawn. So, set your alarm and hope for calm winds.