Manual

The Complete Guide to Glass Prism Photography
(ideas & tutorials)

As photographers, we're always looking for the next idea to add that extra touch of creativity to our work. When you're in a creative rut or just want to try something new, sometimes achieving those fresh concepts is as easy as getting a new prop for your kit.

What is a photography prism? And how does a glass prism work?

A glass prism is essentially a light refractor!
White light is made up of the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet—and prisms literally show these true colors. You may have seen it on Pink Floyd's iconic Dark Side of the Moon album cover - simply put, white light goes into a prism, colors come out.
What does that mean in a photographic context?
The range of refracting (also called light bending) prisms gives your photos unique looks - you can project rainbows, reflect your frames, multiply your subjects, blur distracting background elements and much more! The best part? It's all in camera, no editing required.

How to use a glass prism for photography

• To start, just hold your prism in front of your lens

• Find a light source to add color to your photos (sunlight, neon, anything!)

• Don't completely cover the lens with your prism

• Use your viewfinder to preview images on the go

• Experiment with different angles by turning the prism around

• Set the aperture as low as possible (aperture of about 2 or lower works best)

• Set the focus mode to manual and use trial and error to get the exact effect you want!

Effects and ideas for glass prism photography

Now that we know what prisms are and how to use them - let's get to the best part: ideas and inspiration for your own prism photos!

Refract light for a colorful rainbow effect

Since a prism literally takes white light and refracts it - and projects all the individual hues - one of the most popular ways to use a prism is to project a rainbow! Whether on the face of your portrait subject or against a still life subject, this technique will add color and energy to your photos.

Photos by Audrey Kwok & The Pfayfer Journal

Create reflections and leading lines

With a triangular glass prism, you can bend your mind and reflect your image into the camera simply by tilting the prism in a specific direction in front of the camera. For this technique to work, you want the corner of the prism to be pointing straight at your lens to capture a 45º angle that tilts inward on either side of the corner.
A unique, lesser-known technique for prisms in photography is to use these reflections to create guide lines! Use the reflectivity of prisms to your advantage to draw attention to your subject. You can even work in a certain symmetry.

Photos from Digital Photography School

Compensate for an overexposed light source

A prism can also be used to block a source of overexposed illumination. If you're shooting at midday and your subject is directly lit by the background, you can use the prism to block or diffuse the light source to balance the exposure.

Photos fromShaun Samuels & Stefanie Bales

Creative video transition in camera

For the filmmakers here, prisms are great for in-camera creative transitions. From vlog b-rolls to wedding films, get that dreamy, starry, broken look to seamlessly stitch your footage together

Images by Tom Richardson on YouTube

Minimize distracting objects in the shot

Last but not least, an underused prism technique uses them to minimize clutter in your frame. Whether you're shooting in a tree-lined forest or on a busy sidewalk, the prism can help blur the background for at least half of your image.

Photos by Chettara T. Photography & Sarah Ching