# Capturing lume shot in non complete darkness?



## jam3s121

I've seen photos where people post lume shots of watches that seem still generally well light, meaning the room or lightining conditions are not very dark. How is this effect achieved using a camera with manual control?

I am able to take good ones by using long exposure but these photos are not that at all. 
For instance - https://hodinkee.imgix.net/uploads/...usm=12&ch=Width,DPR,Save-Data&fit=crop&w=1200

I'm sure one of the requirements is a watch that actually has very strong lume which most of mine don't (skx is best) but still curious.


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## usclassic

So I found your post interesting since I have never tried doing it. I found it very easy to accomplish using several different techniques.
I set up as usual for lume shot with camera on tripod in a dark closet. For these shots I left the closet door open to let in some light but still very dark to the eye. My camera set on manual and I simply slowed the shutter speed more and more to get the desired shot. Also you can use some post processing to boost exposure as seen in this first example.














































Adjustments are very easy to get the desired contrast. Thanks for asking the question it was fun to find out how really easy it is to achieve.


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## Pallet Spoon

What usclassic said exactly. Find a spot that has very low light and that you can regulate somehow (like he does with his door). I have a bathroom that has a frosted glass door and natural light in the hallway. I regulate the light by how much I stand in front of the doorway to block or let in light, if you can believe it. After that is simply getting the shot in FOCUS and making sure there is no judder or movement. I use a remote shutter release on my point and shoot Canon SX40 HS ... and no, this can be done on a watch with even mediocre lume. I'll show you some tritium below. Faux macro is possible too. I little light on these 15 second exposures goes a long way.


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## Bizcut1

Wow, guys. Just gorgeous shots. Here's one from my iphone...


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## usclassic

Yes I second the remote shutter release necessity I forgot to mention. I use a wired release for my Canon G5 X and previously one on my Lumix FZ1000 for lume shots.


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## usclassic

Pallet Spoon said:


> I little light on these 15 second exposures goes a long way.


Is that a typo? Did you mean 1/15?


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## Pallet Spoon

usclassic said:


> Is that a typo? Did you mean 1/15?


Nope. I'd have to time it on my watch but my cam says it's 15 seconds.


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## usclassic

Pallet Spoon said:


> Nope. I'd have to time it on my watch but my cam says it's 15 seconds.


Then how come the second hand has not moved 15 seconds? 1/15th I bet


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## Nikrnic

This was taken walking in the house from outside.









Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk


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## Sergeant Major

jam3s121 said:


> I've seen photos where people post lume shots of watches that seem still generally well light, meaning the room or lightining conditions are not very dark. How is this effect achieved using a camera with manual control?
> 
> I am able to take good ones by using long exposure but these photos are not that at all.
> For instance - https://hodinkee.imgix.net/uploads/...usm=12&ch=Width,DPR,Save-Data&fit=crop&w=1200
> 
> I'm sure one of the requirements is a watch that actually has very strong lume which most of mine don't (skx is best) but still curious.


It is a trade secret. Step out in the sun for a few minutes and take the pic soon after coming inside.


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## Pallet Spoon

usclassic said:


> Then how come the second hand has not moved 15 seconds?  1/15th I bet


Um, okay ... I didn't come on here to be argumentative. I stall all my watches when I shoot them. You can believe what you want but don't share what I've done and append your advice, because it's wrong.


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## dirtvictim

Use an ultraviolet light in any lightning condition.


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## dfwcowboy

dirtvictim said:


> Use an ultraviolet light in any lightning condition.


Yep, buy a decent UV flashlight and shine it on the watch while taking the pic indoors. No more blurry second hands and out of focus wrist shots.


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## Ginseng108

A UV flashlight is handy. Especially 365nm or shorter in wavelength. At that point, it adds very little violet cast but can really turbocharge the lume. See the following examples. Here, they were just quick shots using my iPhone on full auto. No editing aside from resizing. With skillful exposure settings and the right auxiliary lighting and background, you can get some pretty otherworldly effects.


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## Zhanming057

You need to match ambient lighting with the brightness of the lume on your specific watch


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## usclassic

Pallet Spoon said:


> Um, okay ... I didn't come on here to be argumentative. I stall all my watches when I shoot them. You can believe what you want but don't share what I've done and append your advice, because it's wrong.


Sorry I didn't mean to offend. Thank you for explaining that you stop your watches to make the long exposure shot, that makes sense now.


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## gto05z

Take the shot in the dark with lume fully charged and during the exposure switch a flashlight on then off for a sec or 2


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## ofted42

Like some others have said, charge the hell out of it and control the ambient lighting. Beyond that, three methods I use.

1. Long exposure with a tripod and the watch stopped.

2. My preferred method, fast shutter speed with a higher ISO and a low f stop. Have to be careful with the ISO setting to make sure it doesn't get too grainy, but for posting it can be higher than you'd use for something you'll blow up. 3200 is usually my limit. Easy to do it with a phone in pro mode so you can see the preview in realtime.

3. Cheat, take the pic in brighter light than you want and use an editor to change the exposure. Easier with a RAW file.

Poor example since there's no lume, but if I'd charged it you'd see it burning like a torch. You get the idea though. Taken in RAW and reduced two stops to darken it a bit.

F/1.5
1/125
ISO 1600


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## jam3s121

Thanks guys!


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## MadMex




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## bin79

I was really surprised with this shot as I made zero planning for it. I was roaming at home and just thought "time for a random picture of my new watch", so I took my Pixel 3 from my pocket and just pressed the shutter button in fully auto mode in a poorly lit room. Actually IRL the lume is nowhere near as powerful as the picture shows.










The IA in modern smartphones' camera app sometimes just surprises you.


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## Baldnyc

Love that lume!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BRN

My watch was glowing after spending much of the day outside in the sun. Managed to take this shot in the dark indoors with just my phone.


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## Bradjhomes

I tend to charge up the lume, turn off all the light so I'm in complete darkness (easier to control the amount of light then) set the camera for a 2 or 3 second exposure, and during that 2/3 seconds use some light from my phone moving about in the areas I want it - not the flashlight from the phone, just the light from a white screen. With a longer exposure you really don't need much light.


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## usclassic

Took this one this morning same closet technique.


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## cigamodnalro

dfwcowboy said:


> Yep, buy a decent UV flashlight and shine it on the watch while taking the pic indoors. No more blurry second hands and out of focus wrist shots.
> View attachment 15458997


Awesome recommendation

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## jam3s121

Bradjhomes said:


> I tend to charge up the lume, turn off all the light so I'm in complete darkness (easier to control the amount of light then) set the camera for a 2 or 3 second exposure, and during that 2/3 seconds use some light from my phone moving about in the areas I want it - not the flashlight from the phone, just the light from a white screen. With a longer exposure you really don't need much light.


But with a long exposure isnt the second hand going to be moving if its a 2-3sec exposure


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## Bradjhomes

jam3s121 said:


> But with a long exposure isnt the second hand going to be moving if its a 2-3sec exposure


Notice that the crowns are pulled out


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## stlwatchlvr

Pallet Spoon said:


> What usclassic said exactly. Find a spot that has very low light and that you can regulate somehow (like he does with his door). I have a bathroom that has a frosted glass door and natural light in the hallway. I regulate the light by how much I stand in front of the doorway to block or let in light, if you can believe it. After that is simply getting the shot in FOCUS and making sure there is no judder or movement. I use a remote shutter release on my point and shoot Canon SX40 HS ... and no, this can be done on a watch with even mediocre lume. I'll show you some tritium below. Faux macro is possible too. I little light on these 15 second exposures goes a long way.


This is a very helpful thread. I just don't think I've tried that long of an exposure and just given up. I'm going to give this a try this weekend. Thanks!


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## Pallet Spoon

stlwatchlvr said:


> This is a very helpful thread. I just don't think I've tried that long of an exposure and just given up. I'm going to give this a try this weekend. Thanks!


Obviously for an exposure that long you will need a tripod. A UV flashlight is a good cheap way to charge the lume but I have also used an LED flashlight in the past. The UV will give you a good up front burst but I find the LED method to last a little longer and give off a bit more natural glow on most watches. If your cam supports a remote shutter release I would suggest using that. I had to hack mine to accept one but it really helps remove all the judder from the shot.


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## jam3s121

I guess one more follow up. Some people mentioned pulling the crowns. How do you edit a photo with it pulled out and pushed in in lightroom or photoshop? So that the crown appears pushed in.


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## dfwcowboy

Pallet Spoon said:


> If your cam supports a remote shutter release I would suggest using that. I had to hack mine to accept one but it really helps remove all the judder from the shot.


You can also use the timed shutter release function if your camera has one and/or mirror lock up in the case of SLRs.


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## Pallet Spoon

jam3s121 said:


> I guess one more follow up. Some people mentioned pulling the crowns. How do you edit a photo with it pulled out and pushed in in lightroom or photoshop? So that the crown appears pushed in.


While what you are suggesting is possible, as I said earlier in the thread, I let my autos run down all the way for photography, set the time, then shoot. In the case of a quartz I may use your method. You could pull the battery but I don't think I'd go to the trouble. I use Corel Paintshop Pro. and could probably adjust the photo quite easily. Just "cut out" the crown and move it, then backfill the empty space left with background.



dfwcowboy said:


> You can also use the timed shutter release function if your camera has one and/or mirror lock up in the case of SLRs.


Lol ... I use that too, even with the remote shutter. 2 second delay. Good call.


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## stlwatchlvr

Pallet Spoon said:


> Obviously for an exposure that long you will need a tripod. A UV flashlight is a good cheap way to charge the lume but I have also used an LED flashlight in the past. The UV will give you a good up front burst but I find the LED method to last a little longer and give off a bit more natural glow on most watches. If your cam supports a remote shutter release I would suggest using that. I had to hack mine to accept one but it really helps remove all the judder from the shot.


Tried this on Saturday and I don't think it's a bad first attempt. Ended up using an 8 second exposure. It will take some practice to get some well exposed shots, but the concept is now much more straight forward to me.


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## Pallet Spoon

stlwatchlvr said:


> Tried this on Saturday and I don't think it's a bad first attempt. Ended up using an 8 second exposure. It will take some practice to get some well exposed shots, but the concept is now much more straight forward to me.
> View attachment 15473392


Wonderful shot! Keep practicing as it gets much easier over time. I'd try for just a little less light in the shot to make the watches sing  .


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## simon_nmk

Ginseng108 said:


> A UV flashlight is handy. Especially 365nm or shorter in wavelength. At that point, it adds very little violet cast but can really turbocharge the lume. See the following examples. Here, they were just quick shots using my iPhone on full auto. No editing aside from resizing. With skillful exposure settings and the right auxiliary lighting and background, you can get some pretty otherworldly effects.
> 
> View attachment 15459056
> 
> 
> View attachment 15459057
> 
> 
> View attachment 15459058


Love these lumeshots!


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## usclassic




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## Bradjhomes

stlwatchlvr said:


> Tried this on Saturday and I don't think it's a bad first attempt. Ended up using an 8 second exposure. It will take some practice to get some well exposed shots, but the concept is now much more straight forward to me.
> View attachment 15473392


Excellent


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## flapsslatsup




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## Nikrnic

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk


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## usclassic




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## buddahlou




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## fazmoto

Some beautiful lume shots here. i have always wondered if supercharging the lume (for picture purposes) with a UV light causes any damage to it or not. Any ideas? I always just use my iphone flashlight to charge up the lume if needed.


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## bin79

fazmoto said:


> Some beautiful lume shots here. i have always wondered if supercharging the lume (for picture purposes) with a UV light causes any damage to it or not. Any ideas? I always just use my iphone flashlight to charge up the lume if needed.


Sun is a source of UV light, so you don't expect a hand light to be much more intense.


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## SolarPower




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## Ad-Infinitum

I much prefer to charge my lume with a Philips Light Alarm clock (also great for general photo lighting) or a LED penlight - both work quite well, without the skin cancer risk of the UV flashlight that was a free gift with my chequebook 😅


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## jkpa

I was charging the old Mr. Swanson in the windowsill and he was very luminous for a while afterwards.


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## bruck177

SolarPower said:


>


Wish there was lume on the power reserve dial


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## MadMex

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy using a hacked pirate satellite in a decaying orbit


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## MadMex

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy using a hacked pirate satellite in a decaying orbit


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## WatchObsession




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## Geology Rocks

generally the photographer takes two images and then overlays them. You take one image lit how you want, then turn down the lights and take a lume shot, then overlay them in post.


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## Pat450




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## Pat450




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## TravisMorgan




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## unicratt

Geology Rocks said:


> View attachment 16936104
> 
> 
> generally the photographer takes two images and then overlays them. You take one image lit how you want, then turn down the lights and take a lume shot, then overlay them in post.


 Wow, this looks amazing!


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## c3p0

HHnd held, with My phone. I did charge it before the shot.


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## Saswatch

Step 1: Give your watch a minute in sunlight
Step 2: Go in a shaded area and take a picture


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## Toyo Panzoff

Invest $50 in a good UV torch. Blast it for 1-2 seconds, turn it off, and shoot. 

































Or look into tritium


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## tommy_boy

Gotta keep the lens steady. A tripod sure helps. Here's a couple:


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## cybercat




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## Kugellager




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## Pat450




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## Pat450

Raining and dark outside a job for the golden tuna


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## tommy_boy




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## Haf




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## MadMex

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy using a hacked pirate satellite in a decaying orbit


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## Pat450




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## Pat450

Arnie


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## MadMex

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy using a hacked pirate satellite in a decaying orbit


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## Pat450

Tuna today


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## mui.richard

Nikon D5, 105mm f/8, 1/30s, ISO800. Off camera flash.


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## Akirafur




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