Top 9 'Reflection-Rich' Urban Photo Locations to practice with your smartphone after a Rainstorm
The world seems to hold its breath after a rainstorm. The air is crisp and clean, the scent of petrichor hangs delicately, and the city, just moments ago a flurry of activity, settles into a quiet, glistening state of renewal. For many, this is a time to stay indoors, cozy with a warm drink. But for a photographer, this is the golden hour. This is when the urban landscape transforms into a breathtaking canvas of mirrors.
Every puddle, every wet pane of glass, every rain-slicked street becomes an opportunity to capture a world flipped on its head. It’s a time for reflection, both literally and figuratively. You don't need a heavy DSLR and a bag full of lenses to seize this moment. In fact, the device you're probably using to read this—your smartphone—is the perfect tool for the job. Its portability, ease of use, and proximity to the ground make it ideal for capturing stunning, reflection-rich images.
So, the next time the clouds part and the sun begins to peek through, grab your phone and resist the urge to stay dry. The city is waiting to show you its hidden, reflective beauty. Here are the top nine 'reflection-rich' urban locations to practice your smartphone photography skills and turn a simple downpour into a gallery-worthy shot.
1. The Classic Street Puddle
Let's start with the most iconic and accessible source of post-rain magic: the humble puddle. Often overlooked, a well-positioned puddle is a portal to another dimension. It can mirror the towering skyline, the vibrant chaos of a neon sign, or the simple silhouette of a passerby, creating a perfect, symmetrical composition that’s endlessly captivating.
The key to a great puddle shot is perspective. You need to get low—really low. This is where your smartphone shines. Unlike a bulky camera, you can get it mere centimeters from the water's surface. Try flipping your phone upside down so the lens is as close to the water as possible. This technique minimizes the foreground and maximizes the reflection, making it appear as if you're shooting into a vast, watery world. Look for puddles in interesting locations: one that captures a famous landmark, one that reflects the warm glow of a streetlamp, or one that frames a person walking with a colorful umbrella.
Pro Tip: Use your phone’s gridlines to ensure your horizon (the edge of the puddle) is perfectly level. Tap your screen to focus on the reflection itself, not the surface of the water, to ensure the mirrored subject is sharp and clear. This simple trick can make the difference between a good photo and a great one.
2. Glistening Cobblestone and Brick Walkways
While large puddles offer a clear, mirror-like image, there's a unique, painterly beauty to be found in wet cobblestone or brick streets. The uneven surfaces don't create a single, perfect reflection. Instead, they form a mosaic of thousands of tiny, shimmering mirrors. Each stone holds a droplet of water that catches the light, creating a texture that is simply mesmerizing.
When shooting these surfaces, think less about perfect symmetry and more about leading lines and texture. The grout lines between the stones, now dark and saturated, can create powerful leading lines that draw the viewer's eye through the frame. Look for the way light from streetlamps or storefronts dances across the textured surface. This is a fantastic opportunity to play with light and shadow. The contrast between the dark, wet stone and the bright, scattered reflections can produce a wonderfully moody and atmospheric image.
Pro Tip: Try shooting during the "blue hour"—the period just after sunset when the sky is a deep blue but the city lights have turned on. The cool tones of the sky reflected in the wet stones, contrasted with the warm artificial lights, create a stunning color palette that feels straight out of a movie.
3. Neon-Soaked Business Districts
If you're after a futuristic, cyberpunk aesthetic, there is no better time to shoot in a business district than right after it rains. Wet asphalt and sidewalks act like black mirrors, doubling the impact of every neon sign, digital billboard, and traffic light. The city's light show becomes twice as bright, twice as colorful, and infinitely more dramatic.
Walk through areas with a high concentration of glowing signs. Look down. The ground will be alive with vibrant, bleeding colors. Focus on capturing these abstract reflections. You can frame a shot that is only the reflection, creating a disorienting and artistic image where the colors swirl and blend. Alternatively, include a human element—a silhouette of someone walking through the neon-streaked ground—to add a sense of scale and story to your photograph. I’ve always admired how photographers like Goh Ling Yong can find these moments of profound beauty amidst the urban chaos.
Pro Tip: On most smartphones, you can manually adjust the exposure. When you tap to focus, a small sun icon or slider will often appear. Drag it down slightly to underexpose the shot. This will prevent the bright neon lights from being "blown out" (losing all detail to pure white) and will make the colors in the reflection appear deeper and more saturated.
4. Glass-Paneled Modern Buildings
Skyscrapers and modern office buildings, with their vast expanses of glass, are essentially giant canvases for reflection photography. After a storm, water droplets cling to the glass, distorting the world around them in fascinating ways. These structures no longer just house offices; they become funhouse mirrors reflecting a warped and wonderful version of the city.
Get up close to the base of these buildings and point your camera upwards. Capture the reflection of the opposing skyline or the dramatic, post-storm clouds as they streak across the wet glass. The grid of the window panes can act as a natural frame, breaking the reflection into interesting geometric patterns. Look for how the water beads and runs down the glass, creating textures that add another layer of detail to your shot. You can capture the entire building or zoom in on a single pane for a more abstract composition.
Pro Tip: Play with depth of field. Tap to focus on a single water droplet on the glass. On many phones (using Portrait Mode or a similar feature), this will keep the droplet in sharp focus while beautifully blurring the reflected background, creating a professional and artistic look.
5. Public Transport Hubs
Train stations, subway entrances, and bus shelters are hives of photographic potential after a rainstorm. They are filled with reflective surfaces: polished granite floors, metal benches, and large glass panels. These locations offer a unique opportunity to capture reflections that also tell a story about movement and the flow of city life.
A wet train platform can perfectly mirror the waiting passengers and the sleek lines of an arriving train. The glass of a bus shelter can create a double exposure effect, layering the reflection of the street outside with the image of the people waiting inside. These are dynamic environments. Use the reflections to capture the motion blur of a departing bus or the fleeting image of a commuter rushing past. The contrast between the static, reflective surface and the moving subject adds energy and life to your photos.
Pro Tip: Use your phone’s burst mode to capture fast-moving subjects. Hold down the shutter button to take a rapid series of photos. This increases your chances of catching the perfect moment when a person or vehicle is in the ideal position within your reflected composition.
6. The Unexpected Canvas: Car Surfaces
Don't forget to look at the cars parked along the street. Every car hood, rooftop, and window is a curved, polished mirror. After a fresh rain, these surfaces are clean and bead with water, creating unique and often abstract reflections. The curvature of the car's body distorts the reflection of buildings and trees, bending straight lines into graceful arcs.
This is a fantastic exercise in seeing the world differently. Instead of looking at the car, look at what the car is showing you. The deep black paint of a car's roof can create a flawless, dark mirror for capturing the dramatic shapes of post-storm clouds. The side panels can reflect the repeating patterns of a brick wall or the warm glow from a nearby window. The color of the car itself can also add a tint to the reflection, giving you a built-in color filter to play with.
Pro Tip: Get close and fill the frame with just the reflection on the car's surface. This removes the context of the car itself and creates a beautiful abstract photograph that will leave viewers guessing what they're looking at.
7. Intricate Details: Metal Grates and Manhole Covers
Beauty is often found in the most mundane places. After a storm, ordinary metal grates, drain covers, and manhole covers are transformed. Water pools in the recessed lettering and geometric patterns, turning these utilitarian objects into intricate, detailed subjects. The contrast between the dark, wet metal and the bright, silvery water is striking.
This is a chance to practice your macro photography skills. Get your smartphone lens very close to the subject. Look for interesting patterns and text. The name of the city foundry cast in iron, now filled with water reflecting the sky, can be a powerful and symbolic image. It’s about finding the hidden art beneath our feet and celebrating the textures of the urban environment. This approach of finding art in the overlooked details is a core principle I believe in, often showcased in the work of creators like Goh Ling Yong.
Pro Tip: Use the "tap and hold" feature on your phone's screen to lock the focus and exposure (AE/AF Lock). This is crucial when you're this close to a subject, as any slight movement can cause your phone to refocus. By locking it, you ensure your intended point of interest remains perfectly sharp.
8. Atmospheric Outdoor Patios
An empty outdoor cafe or restaurant patio after a rain shower has a unique, melancholic atmosphere. The world has rushed inside, leaving behind a quiet, reflective scene. Wet plastic or metal tabletops become perfect, dark mirrors. The seats of chairs collect pools of water that reflect the sky above.
This is a great opportunity to capture mood and emotion in your photography. The lone table reflecting the clearing sky can evoke feelings of peace, solitude, or hope. Frame your shot to include other elements like a string of lights (and their reflection) or a potted plant with water droplets clinging to its leaves. These details add to the story and create a more complete and evocative scene.
Pro Tip: Experiment with black and white. The high contrast between the dark, wet surfaces and the bright reflections often looks incredibly powerful in monochrome. It strips away the distraction of color and emphasizes the shapes, textures, and mood of the scene.
9. Dynamic Public Sculptures and Fountains
Modern public art, often crafted from polished metal or smooth stone, is designed to interact with its environment. Rain amplifies this interaction tenfold. A bronze or steel sculpture becomes a dynamic, funhouse mirror, warping the reflection of the surrounding cityscape onto its unique and often curved surfaces.
Walk all the way around the sculpture. The reflection will change with every step you take. This is a playful and experimental form of photography. Look for the way a familiar building is stretched into an unrecognizable shape, or how the clouds seem to swirl on the sculpture's surface. Even when fountains are turned off, the wet basins can provide a perfect, still surface for reflecting the art piece itself, creating a stunning symmetrical image.
Pro Tip: Don't be afraid to include yourself! Position yourself to capture your own distorted reflection in the sculpture. It's a creative way to take a self-portrait and adds a personal, human touch to the abstract beauty of the reflected city.
Your Turn to Chase the Storm
The next time you see rain in the forecast, don't groan. See it as an invitation. The city is about to put on a spectacular show, and you have a front-row seat with the camera in your pocket. Rain washes the world clean, not just of dust and grime, but also of our preconceived notions of what our everyday surroundings look like. It forces us to look down, to look closer, and to find extraordinary beauty in the ordinary.
So, challenge yourself. Pick one or two of these locations the next time it rains. Go out, get your feet a little wet, and explore the reflective world that emerges. You’ll be amazed at the stunning, creative images you can capture with just your smartphone and a fresh perspective.
We'd love to see what you create! Share your best post-rainstorm reflection photos on Instagram and tag us [@GohLingYongBlog] and use the hashtag #RainyReflectionsGLY. Happy shooting!
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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