The making of a Rob Clayton Real Bubble
Real Reflections | Real Bubbles | Single-Capture Photographs
Every image created for Rob Clayton’s Real Bubbles series is a genuine photograph of a real reflection captured on the surface of a real soap bubble.
There are no CGI environments, digital composites, or artificially created reflections involved. Each image is captured in-camera, in a single exposure, using the natural distortion and refraction created by the curved surface of the bubble itself.
Chasing the Perfect Bubble
Creating a Rob Clayton Real Bubble image requires patience, timing, and a lot of failed attempts.
Bubbles are fragile, unpredictable, and constantly moving. Wind, light, reflections, and the shape of the bubble can change in seconds, meaning thousands of photographs may be taken before a single successful image is captured.
Much of the process involves spending hours chasing drifting bubbles through busy public locations while trying to align the perfect reflection for a fraction of a moment.
Rob uses specially refined soap bubble mixtures developed through years of experimentation and testing.
The reflections seen in the images are genuine optical distortions created naturally by the bubble surface. Buildings, landmarks, and cityscapes become warped and transformed in-camera, creating surreal but entirely real perspectives.
No two bubbles ever produce the same result.
Editing & Authenticity
Once captured, each image undergoes only minimal post-production adjustments to enhance the natural colour, detail, and clarity already present within the bubble.
The photographs are not digitally composited or artificially manipulated.
The only consistent edit is the removal of Rob’s own reflection, which can sometimes appear in the centre of the bubble due to its curved reflective surface.
RAW unprocessed file
Edited Real Bubble