# Watch photography tutorial, post Your pic for a friendly critique



## cadencio05 (Jan 28, 2017)

Hi,
I love a good picture as much as I love a good watch, so I got into the watch photography. I wanted to make a tutorial for those who want to improve their photo skills, as many of You upload tons of pics either here or on IG.

I get a lot of questions about what is Your camera etc. For me, that's not the most important thing.
The most important is the LIGHTING, later the lens and later the camera. You can have a really nice shot with Your smartphone, and a terrible shot with the most expensive
full-frame DSLR.

Let's talk about *lighting*.
The most important is to well diffuse the light.

You can use either:
- natural light(daylight)
- artificial light (continuous light, Speedlight flash or light painting technique)

*natural light*
The simplest and the least expensive way, You can shoot either outdoors or use a window as a light source
- never shoot in direct sunlight, watches hate it and You will most probably end up with lots of
overexposed spots, and unwanted reflections. Cloudy days are the best for the watch pics(clouds act as diffusers)

- be aware of what's behind You, it would be best to have a dial without any strange shadows, etc. Try different angles

- If it's not a wristwatch check, but the watch is lying on something, You can add some sheets of paper next to the watch, to bounce the light into the spots
that are in the shadows(so that the whole case, lugs or bracelet were well exposed)

- You can try using cheap light diffusers like this - it will make the light much softer 








example:








*artificial light*
You can use either continuous light, flashguns/strobes, or a light painting technique

Continuous light
Even if You don't have special studio lights, everyone has some kind of a desk lamp or a flashlight at home - try to use it through a diffuser(without it the light will be too harsh), a tripod is necessary
as the shutter speed will not be fast

examples:
























Here is the setup:








speedlights/strobes

That's what I'm using now - I have a few strobes, they are better than flashguns, because they have more power, and they have a modeling light, so You can
see what the shot will look like

I've been trying 3 different methods:
-softboxes - the pictures where nice but the light was still a bit too harsh - probably biggest softboxes would be better









-bouncing the light off a ceiling or wall - that I still use very often, the light is well diffused, I can just add some bouncers(as with the natural light shots)









- using strobe reflectors (with Honeycomb grids) and firing them through diffusers - that I've been using for not so long time, but the light is soft and more concentrated, You get a nicer shading, but You will need multiple strobes 
You can combine different methods









The most important is to try and try and try, sometimes moving a light source by a few centimeters can change really a lot.

light painting
it's a long exposure shot - good for lume shots, You will need a tripod, and to set a self-timer, later You move a small light source
(it maybe be your phone with a screen set to white color, or other) around the watch, while the shot is being taken









*lens*
if You're using a DSLR what lens should You use? The best would be a macro lens because it's a fast lens (most of them are f 2.8 or f2) and You can do some close-up shots
a 50mm f1.8 (famous nifty fifty) would be good as well, the most important is to choose a fast lens - that way You will be able to create a bokeh.

*Camera and its settings*
I shoot on manual mode, the f-stop should be enough to capture the whole watch in focus, exposure time depends on what kind of lighting You use, ISO lowest possible.

*Some other tips:*
don't forget to clean up the watch
set the hands to 10:10
try to find a nice backdrop and composition
if You're shooting with a DSLR, shoot RAW - it gives more options while editing

*Editing*
Well that could be a topic for a whole another thread, I use Lightroom and Photoshop on my PC, but nowadays there are apps for a smartphone which are really capable like Photoshop/Lightroom or Snapseed.

what I do in Lightroom is:
-crop my picture
-adjust the white balance
-adjust the whites, highlights, clarity
-by using a masking tool I desaturate some parts of a watch, correct some exposure problems

In photoshop I:
-clean up the dust 
-I adjust the contrast - normally You would do it in Lightroom but I use a plugin called Color Efex Pro - it lets You adjust a dynamic contrast that is more in the mid-tones
-I do some final adjustments
-I sharpen the image using a high pass filter(You copy the last layer, desaturate it, use high pass filter, set blending mode to overlay)

The biggest problem with editing is to know when to stop, not do overdo it.

This is it, hope someone finds it useful, if You have any questions, write them down and I will try to answer.

I was thinking that It could be a good idea to use this thread for a friendly critique as well - if You have a pic and You want to have other people's opinions on what to improve, post it here and let's comment on it.

I post daily watch pics here:
www.instagram.com/cadencio05

Cheers


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## SolarPower (May 14, 2012)

Why 10:10?


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## Sherpat (Aug 9, 2017)

SolarPower said:


> Why 10:10?


That's pretty traditional for watch advertisement pictures. The most popular explanation I've heard over the years is that it mimics a smile, and that's a subliminal cue to like something. But other watch photography videos I've seen claim it's just the best hand positioning to see the majority of the face (other than when the hour and minute hands overlap of course, which can look awkward and asymmetrical unless done purposely for effect). That's what I've heard, anyway....


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## FBPB (Aug 1, 2016)

Sherpat said:


> That's pretty traditional for watch advertisement pictures. The most popular explanation I've heard over the years is that it mimics a smile, and that's a subliminal cue to like something. But other watch photography videos I've seen claim it's just the best hand positioning to see the majority of the face (other than when the hour and minute hands overlap of course, which can look awkward and asymmetrical unless done purposely for effect). That's what I've heard, anyway....


The 10:10 placement of the hands also acts to highlight and draw attention to the logo


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## gto05z (Apr 24, 2017)

Couple of pics of 2 of my Oris watches. Any tips ?


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## DiegoCastellanos (May 13, 2016)

Great tips, I will add that if you have a very glossy and reflective dial, it's very important to realize what is being reflected in the dial. A blue sky will add blue to the dial color. An overcast grey sky will make it appear more dull and gray. Both can look good, it's just something to look out for.


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## gto05z (Apr 24, 2017)

pfffft most pointless thread EVER


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## sophiemckinney (May 4, 2020)

I will try some tips, thanks


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## Wolfsatz (Jun 27, 2016)

Journalistic approach to use what is given from the surroundings.

NightHawk by Wolfsatz, on Flickr

Timex Mk1 by Wolfsatz, on Flickr

TX Lume by Wolfsatz, on Flickr


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## Wolfsatz (Jun 27, 2016)

gto05z said:


> pfffft most pointless thread EVER


The Kool Aid is strong Down Under!


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## johnny action (Oct 8, 2011)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## lexminute (Jan 29, 2019)

oh, man. thanks for this initiative! hopefully I get to share some trials soon

edit: when I saw that unique Seiko 5 I knew you're familiar. I saw your post in a FB Seiko watch group and since then followed you in IG. awesome :-!


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## cowboyjack (Apr 21, 2020)

Okay, my watch photos are weak by comparison... guess I’ll have to get to work! Thanks for the pointers.


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## dubhead (Jan 14, 2020)

Double post, sorry. Newbie here still trying to figure it out how it works...


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## dubhead (Jan 14, 2020)

Wolfsatz said:


> Journalistic approach to use what is given from the surroundings.
> 
> NightHawk by Wolfsatz, on Flickr
> 
> ...


Good pictures! Like the Citizen, always thinking about getting one of these. Nice picture, the reflection on the surface takes a bit of attention away from the details. Nice light and sharp image with good details.
On the second image the focus is on the furthest watch, it should be on the first watch's dial, but I love the mood. The third is a nice lume shot but because it was handheld it not as sharp as it would be if you use a tripod or something sturdy to put the camera on. Hope these helps!


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## dubhead (Jan 14, 2020)

gto05z said:


> View attachment 14880999
> 
> View attachment 14881001
> 
> ...


Let me share my thought about these images, the following are strictly my opinion hopefully you can find something helpful in my constructive critique.

I love the first picture of the Aquis and the little harmony with the colors add to the picture. First of all the rubber band color matching with the hand and in the background the black and a touch of red in the regulator makes it even better. It was a smart placement and composition with the diving equipment, one looking at the picture and immediately dive watch comes to one's mind. Gorgeous light somewhat diffused (cloudy day?) but i'm missing a touch more light on the top of the dial to match the bottom part where the date window is. When we look at any picture the eye goes to the brightest point of the image and we can use it in our advantage to attract the viewer focus where we want. That being said I would have darkened the bottom left of the image where you can see the light grey table(?) or when taking the picture place something there to match the rest of the picture and does not take away the attention from the Oris. Love the watch-bracelet combo by the way...

The second picture is really cool, love the bubbles and how it sticks to the watch. Then again unmistakable dive watch image when I look at it. I would edit the bottom of the image or crop it tighter to get rid of the grey area without bubbles. I'm on the edge with that one bubble in front of the Oris logo, it bothers me that its in the front of the logo on the other hand how interesting is the distortion inside that bubble changing the shape of the letters in the background. I guess you did a few of these and it is not an accident the bubble being there, but imagine if we could control that bubble and shoot the bubble with that optical illusion in there... Love the yellow color pop against the blue but it not as sharp as I would like it to be all around the watch, the bezel is not sharp enough while the Aquis logo on the dial is perfect. I can tell you edit this in post, and while the quality is ok the first one was better, smoother. This one need more light to be able to shoot where the depth of field is not this shallow. Or focus stack but that might be challenging because the bubbles moving constantly. Then again, these are my opinion, it might be intentional to focus on the dial and having the bezel not as sharp to draw the attention to the details, not sure.

Anyway these are great images, keep up the good work, found you on Instagram, you got a bunch of great dive watch pictures!


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## dubhead (Jan 14, 2020)

johnny action said:


> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Love the look of the watch but the picture need more light or a different background. You probably did this inside the house with a weak yellowish light source. Take it outside on a cloudy day or not direct sunlight and it will be totally different. Good luck!


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## johnny action (Oct 8, 2011)

dubhead said:


> Love the look of the watch but the picture need more light or a different background. You probably did this inside the house with a weak yellowish light source. Take it outside on a cloudy day or not direct sunlight and it will be totally different. Good luck!


Why would I want it to look like it was taken outside?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## apudabam (Aug 18, 2013)

cadencio05 said:


> Hi,
> I love a good picture as much as I love a good watch, so I got into the watch photography. I wanted to make a tutorial for those who want to improve their photo skills, as many of You upload tons of pics either here or on IG.
> 
> I get a lot of questions about what is Your camera etc. For me, that's not the most important thing.
> ...


I just took these yesterday.

iPhone with a macro lens (10x) 
Natural light by window
Used a tiny white board as reflector

Any feedback appreciated









































Thank you


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## tommy_boy (Jul 11, 2010)

Panasonic DMC-ZS7 (Leica lens). Light box (5000K lamps from both sides) with black micro fiber backdrop and a glass paper weight for a prop:

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## Patek Krejcik (Jan 22, 2018)

I bought my first camera three days ago, so I´m opened to every critique + tips 

Here is my first better pic


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## johnny action (Oct 8, 2011)

apudabam said:


> I just took these yesterday.
> 
> iPhone with a macro lens (10x)
> Natural light by window
> ...


Too many. Pick your best shot and be done with it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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