Is shooting through glass necessarily a bad thing in photography?

Sometimes in photography, we get into a situation where we need to shoot through glass e.g. windows, aquariums, trains etc but most photographers wouldn’t want to do this because of the degradation in image quality. However, even though this is correct, sometimes it is the only choice we have to get the picture so knowing how to shoot through glass is a good thing to know just in case.

If we go to an aquarium, we will see many fishes and be tempted to photograph them. Why not?

This was shot through very dirty and low lit thick aquarium glass. Nikon D810 + Nikon Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VRII @ 195mm 1/250 f3.2 ISO 800

The best way to do this is simple and applies to other situations as well.

Here are some of the things I’ve found with just my own experience:

1. Look for reflections and try to avoid them by moving around a bit.
2. If there is something that’s moving around, just wait for it to get to the spot where you have found and be ready.
3. If it’s a static object or landscape through window, then get as close as possible to the glass and block all light that may be creeping in. Sometimes putting your body to block the light from behind is all you need to do.
4. Try not to shoot through the glass at an angle.
5. Use a polariser to minimise reflections but this will also decrease the amount of light coming in, so use only if necessary.
6. In post, edit out any glass imperfections then add contrast, clarity and sharpness in post.

This was shot through a thick curved stairwell window. Nikon D810 + Nikon Nikkor 28mm f2.8 ais. Sorry, I don't remember the settings :(

Some things are best shot through thick glass :) Fujifilm X-T1 + Fujifilm 18-55mm @ 55mm 1/125 f4 ISO 2000

This was just looking at me, so I shot him :) Fujifilm X-T1 + Fujifilm 18-55mm @ 55mm 1/60 f4 ISO 1600

This was a quick shot but glad I focused quickly enough to capture the moment. Nikon D750 + Nikon Nikkor 105mm f2.5 ais. 105mm 1/640 f2.5 ISO 100

Hope this helps a bit and again, I’m sure there are many other ways to shoot through glass but these are just the ones I have tried with success.

Thank you so much for reading and I will post some more tips on photography soon!!! :)