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A practical guide · Light & materials

Add Duo glass reflections without hiding the interface

Tune Duo’s screen Reflection control with the camera and lighting, then shape the metal with light direction while preserving readable app artwork.

Open Night Sky iPhone Duo with readable screen artwork on a pale blue background
An open screen lets you judge reflection and interface readability together.

A screen reflection should explain the glass without becoming the subject. Start with a visible reflection, place it carefully, then judge it at the size your audience will see.

Try it in SynthMock

Start with a Duo scene.

Use a reusable template as your starting point, then apply the choices in this article.

A paid plan is required to use templates and export.

Separate reflection strength from light placement

In the device controls, Reflection ranges from 0 to 1 and adjusts reflected detail on the screen glass. The metal body retains its material response separately, so this slider is not a master reflectivity control for the whole phone.

The lighting environment and camera determine where glass reflections appear. If the screen still looks flat at Reflection 1, inspect Light Rotation and the camera angle. For a flat-looking frame or hinge, adjust the environment and key light rather than the screen Reflection slider.

Place the reflection around important content

Use a screen containing real headings and controls while tuning the effect. A plain test color can conceal readability problems that become obvious when your app’s text returns.

  1. Set Reflection to 1 to inspect the full screen-glass effect.
  2. Rotate the light environment until the glass highlight sits along the display edge or a less important region of the screen.
  3. Adjust Light Tilt or the camera angle in small steps if the reflection crosses the main task.
  4. Reduce Reflection if the glass highlight makes the source harder to read.
  5. Check both the cover and inner display, and scrub any camera move through its full range.

Judge the result as a product image

The clearest reflection is not automatically the best one. A launch visual needs enough material information to feel solid and enough screen clarity to explain the app. Compare the scene at full resolution and as a small thumbnail.

If the highlight shifts during motion, that can be the natural result of a changing view. If the reflection strength itself changes unexpectedly, inspect the shot or effect endpoint state. Keep the treatment consistent unless the lighting transition is intentional. Paid image export gives you a final still to review without relying only on the editor preview.

Final pass

Before you call it finished

  • A useful reflected highlight describes the screen glass.
  • Important interface labels remain legible.
  • Reflection strength stays intentional across shot boundaries.

Make the next version yours.

Explore Duo templates