{"id":15874,"date":"2012-04-20T02:52:16","date_gmt":"2012-04-20T06:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/?p=15874"},"modified":"2017-10-24T19:18:50","modified_gmt":"2017-10-24T23:18:50","slug":"through-the-looking-glass-portrait-photography-with-a-diy-two-way-mirror-setup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/through-the-looking-glass-portrait-photography-with-a-diy-two-way-mirror-setup\/","title":{"rendered":"Portrait Photography with a DIY Two Way Mirror Setup"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This is a pull back shot of the setup. Mola Beauty Dish in the corner. When I actually take the photo, the camera lens is placed far into the box frame.<\/p><\/div>\n

This particular project has been rolling around in my head for some time now–using a two way mirror to shoot through.\u00a0 It allows the person posing to see a real time preview of what they look like and make adjustments.\u00a0 It seems like such a silly and novel idea…people who are having their picture taken, probably wouldn’t mind seeing what they look like.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 So here’s the latest addition to the tool box, a two way mirror for up close portraits.<\/p>\n

We live in an age where everyone is a photographer, or at least everyone is a critic of photography, especially when it comes to images of themselves.\u00a0 Every serious camera toting person out there is at the mercy of girls (and even boys) who have to give the final approval after you take their picture.\u00a0 “I don’t like that picture, can you delete it?”<\/em> \u00a0 Photographers, no matter how skilled at composition and the decisive moment, can all be leveled by any normal person that just simply does not like their image.\u00a0 Think of it this way, when the shoe is on the other foot, like when everyone has to go to the DMV for a new license photo, we just know it is going to be bad.\u00a0 Maybe this little two way mirror box we built can help the everyday Joe (including yours truly). \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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DIY Two Way Mirror for Portraits (seen from the back)<\/p><\/div>\n

The above photo is of the second version.\u00a0 The first one I built out of black foam core and it was basically like a matte box that I stuck on the lens hood of the 105mm Micro VR.\u00a0 I wanted to build it around that lens because it is one of the sharpest lenses hands down, and because it can be placed as close as possible to the mirror to minimize reflections.\u00a0 That particular first rev didn’t work so well, since the angle from where you are shooting doesn’t match the sight line of the subject.<\/p>\n

Version II is built around a 12 x 12″ two way mirror.\u00a0 The box frame is powder coated aluminum with a gap that allows the mirror to slide in.\u00a0 The “mirror” is actually 1\/8″ coated acrylic.\u00a0 I think I prefer it to the glass, even though it has drawbacks (see below), but the main factor in choosing it is that it is pretty much unbreakable.\u00a0 Photography stuff takes abuse like any other type of tools, and a large plate of glass breaking into shards is not something you’d want.\u00a0 I’m still deciding on whether to purchase a large 20×30″ one to just use here.<\/p>\n

How a two way mirror works is that the side the subject is on is lit brighter than the back side.\u00a0 So the shooting side has to be darker, or the box frame has to be covered up to prevent light spilling into it.<\/p>\n

It isn’t a perfect system, but it does allow the model\/person\/whoever to just get a better idea of what the picture will kind of look like.\u00a0 The photographer on the other end must still compose the lines and angles and sculpt with the light, but it is a better starting point than just standing there in space.\u00a0 This type of shooting, by that I mean “studio” shooting, is just a different beast than going out to the park, having fun and taking some good honest and fun pictures.\u00a0 Tools like this can perhaps help lessen the “I don’t like any of these.”<\/em> comments. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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For the back I cut a temporary piece of foam core with a hole in it for the lens. This essentially blacks out the shooting side and makes it a one sided mirror for the subject.<\/p><\/div>\n

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You can’t really tell in these web sized images, but the acrylic adds a haziness to the image that is somewhat like a soft focus lens. \u00a0For pictures of people that can be a good thing.<\/p>\n

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You do lose light when you shoot through the acrylic, and it does have a bluish tint to it.\u00a0 Easily corrected if you shoot RAW, but even if you go with the tint, one can get some moody results.\u00a0 So the setup for all these photos are the Mola beauty dish (with the shop made twin speedlight bracket), ABR Ring Light, and DIY Two Way Mirror. \u00a0Processed in Capture NX2.<\/p>\n

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Model: Nhi\u00a0 | MUA\/Hair: Nhi<\/span><\/p>\n

Some More Examples:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our DIY Two Way Mirror Box made from Aluminum and acrylic mirror.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15875,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[279,151,7],"tags":[127,128,269,293,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-15874","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-design","8":"category-photography","9":"category-photos","10":"tag-105mm-f28-micro-vr","11":"tag-17-55mm-f28","12":"tag-mola","13":"tag-photo-gear","14":"tag-strobist","16":"post-with-thumbnail","17":"post-with-thumbnail-large"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/03d.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pelE0-482","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14590,"url":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/mola-twin-speedlight-bracket\/","url_meta":{"origin":15874,"position":0},"title":"Mola Demi Softlight Beauty Dish Twin Speedlight Bracket","author":"Boon.Vong","date":"January 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"We built a custom twin \/ double speedlight bracket for the Mola softlight, or beauty dish.","rel":"","context":"In "Design"","block_context":{"text":"Design","link":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/category\/design\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/w_b-vong.com_pix_mola_custom_bracket_01.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":130410,"url":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/dragon-egg-festival-photos-lawrenceville-ga-2026-03-28\/","url_meta":{"origin":15874,"position":1},"title":"Dragon Egg Festival Photos – Lawrenceville, GA – 2026-03-28","author":"Boon.Vong","date":"March 30, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Had a free day so I stopped by the Dragon Egg Festival in Lawrenceville, after scouting the park in Grayson.\u00a0 Great hanging out with old friends and chatting with new people.\u00a0 It was wild seeing all the little ones preemptively rush the field for Easter Eggs--which are pretty much the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Photos"","block_context":{"text":"Photos","link":"https:\/\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/category\/photos\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Dragon_Egg_Fest-Lville_2026-03-28_239_Boon-Vong.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Dragon_Egg_Fest-Lville_2026-03-28_239_Boon-Vong.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Dragon_Egg_Fest-Lville_2026-03-28_239_Boon-Vong.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.b-vong.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Dragon_Egg_Fest-Lville_2026-03-28_239_Boon-Vong.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, 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