Watch photography tips

[rigs23]

Its been a month since my first proper watch (Bond seamaster) arrived, thanks to you guys and dimer from Ace. I promised some photos in a thread I started, but I've neglected to post any yet as I figured there really isn't much need for more shots of another 2222.80 taken with an iPhone. However, after noticing all the absolutely gorgeous and original photos many of you WUS members have shot, it feels a lot more relevant to take a few photos of this popular watch. What are the basics to taking a beautiful watch photo? Im talking about shot settings, light, and any other general tips. I would love to post some photos that are even half as good as some of the stunning pictures that can be found here!

[NMGE17]

Experts will chime in with great advice. Someone will point you to an earlier thread where they did just that. I will say just keep snapping and eventually you will get something you think is worth posting here. However I will also say that any picture of your watch you take will be welcomed here regardless of your opinion of the relative quality - so post them already!

Nigel

[Eddwright]

Experts will chime in with great advice. Someone will point you to an earlier thread where they did just that. I will say just keep snapping and eventually you will get something you think is worth posting here. However I will also say that any picture of your watch you take will be welcomed here regardless of your opinion of the relative quality - so post them already!

Nigel

What Nigel said

[Mcbeck]

A lot of the advice will depend on what kind of camera you have and how familiar you are with F-stops, shutter speeds, etc. If you have a DSLR, you may want to experiment with various aperture settings .... from larger to smaller. Having a macro lens helps as well.

Obviously decent lighting is key as well. For the shots that I have in the gallery in my profile, I used natural light. It happened to be a little cloudy out that day .. which gave me nice even lighting and minimal shadows. I used manual exposure on my camera to allow me some flexibility. I also used a polarizing filter to help cut any glare down. I need to retake some of the back of my watch with the bracelet removed so that i can get a straight shot of the display of the movement.

There are some really good watch photographers you might check out for some ideas .... here's one great photographer's blog: http://watchinghorology.com/

One of his Omega images ..

[Bronte]

Here's a thread with lots of advice: Tips and tricks.... There's some external links in there and here's another one: thirtyfivemill. Seems like a tripod and a lightbox go a long way.

[Jon]

Here you can see how a pro is doing it....
This is from an old friend, Ming Thein

On assignment and studio review: Watch photography with the Leica M9-P


To the rest of us - keep trying until it seems okay.
I do like cloudy daylight and a tripod, but are trying out a lot of different ways.
Black&white can help a picture to look better;)



Lately I have mostly been taking other pictures than watches....




Jon

[Chibatastic]

Use your imagination, have fun and enjoy. Pay attention to focus and light. A tripod isn't necessary but will help a lot!

Chibatastic

[Muddy250]

What Chiba said. Focus and light and fun and I'd add, composition. A cheap light tent is useful in creating an even light and controlling reflections too.
Buckets of water and string help sometimes.

[Jon]

What Chiba said. Focus and light and fun and I'd add, composition. A cheap light tent is useful in creating an even light and controlling reflections too.
Buckets of water and string help sometimes.

Reminds me of.....



And I agree - water is adding something nice

Jon

[solesman]

Some great tips. I will have to start searching for a light tent. Also can someone recommend a decent macro lens to fit a Canon dslr?

Cheers guys & gals