# Best Way to Shoot Lume?



## mp_chronorides (Nov 15, 2020)

Hi watch photogs! I'm looking to step up my game with lume shots and would love to hear your process on getting some great shots. I know about the UV light trick buy I'm interested in seeing how you guys approach your shots. What lenses do you use, ISO/f-stop/shutter settings, lights & light positioning, light levels, etc? Here are some of my examples that I feel needed more tweaking in post to look somewhat decent. The first 2 were my first using a UV light to charge the lume. Thanks!


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## mp_chronorides (Nov 15, 2020)

Would love to see some of your favorite shots as well for some inspiration 😁


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## Wolfsatz (Jun 27, 2016)

mp_chronorides said:


> Would love to see some of your favorite shots as well for some inspiration 😁


Lume?

Timex Lume by Wolfsatz, on Flickr

Lume Works by Wolfsatz, on Flickr


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## Beenflik (Jul 26, 2021)

this p.o.s. shines bright like a flashlight
I usually hold a uv light in one hand and take a photo with the other


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## [BOBO] (May 12, 2020)

Macro lume is quite tricky. Satisfied with this one.


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## Nokie (Jul 4, 2011)




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## munizfire (Oct 25, 2018)

mp_chronorides said:


> Hi watch photogs! I'm looking to step up my game with lume shots and would love to hear your process on getting some great shots. I know about the UV light trick buy I'm interested in seeing how you guys approach your shots. What lenses do you use, ISO/f-stop/shutter settings, lights & light positioning, light levels, etc? Here are some of my examples that I feel needed more tweaking in post to look somewhat decent. The first 2 were my first using a UV light to charge the lume. Thanks!
> 
> View attachment 16158654
> 
> View attachment 16158655


Those first 2 pictures are pretty darn good, if you ask me.



Beenflik said:


> this p.o.s. shines bright like a flashlight
> I usually hold a uv light in one hand and take a photo with the other


 I sometimes take pictures with the UV light on, for a funky purply tone in the photos.
Exhibit A:











OP: Last year I did a very fun lume photoshoot of some watches (took like 500 pics, maybe 50ish came out good) haven't really done much Post on any of them, nor uploaded them; but the basics were:
*- Have camera ready*; I used (personal preference, I am very new to photography, and not too serious about it)
- Wide aperture (for more light)
- Relatively low ISO (I typically do 100-400; unless using extension tubes, which require a bunch of light)
- Relatively slow shutter speed (I typically use a couple of seconds, since I like to turn off all the lights except for a feint distant light, and this way the slow exposure can grab light slowly)
*- Turn off the lights*, but keep a background dim light on (such as a computer screen not too close)
*- Charge up lume with UV
- Turn off the UV at the same time as you take the picture, *preferably using a remote shutter, since the camera will need absolute stillness for a couple of seconds

I'm about to re-start my photoshop subscription, so hopefully I'll process those pictures from last year soon. The Omega picture posted here was not part of that photoshoot; that was me playing with macro and UV a couple of weeks ago.


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## munizfire (Oct 25, 2018)

Nokie said:


> View attachment 16162872



Oh my!


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## mp_chronorides (Nov 15, 2020)

munizfire said:


> Those first 2 pictures are pretty darn good, if you ask me.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This is great stuff, thanks for the info!


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## MasterOfGears (Jul 28, 2021)

Definitely better with a camera, where I can control iso and other settings. Top one was taken with the phone and I find it very hard to focus properly. But I see there are some really beautiful shots above. Gotta keep learning


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## TimeDilation (Jun 5, 2015)




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## EngineerHack (Jan 18, 2017)

for the best lume shots I usually use a black light small torch and then turn off the lights


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## dfwcowboy (Jan 22, 2017)

ISO 400, 1/25 sec, f/16. UV flashlight aimed at watch while exposure was taken. Some natural light coming from yonder window. Converted to B/W with Adobe Lightroom.


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## Catalin8503 (Sep 12, 2021)

Nice. Thank you for information. Good to know!

Trimis de pe al meu SM-A515F folosind Tapatalk


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## munizfire (Oct 25, 2018)

munizfire said:


> Those first 2 pictures are pretty darn good, if you ask me.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Took another last night:


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## stonecastle (Dec 6, 2021)

Nokie said:


> View attachment 16162870
> 
> 
> View attachment 16162871
> ...





munizfire said:


> Took another last night:


Love love love all these lume shots. Gonna try a UV light and lave a little fun ))


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## dubhead (Jan 14, 2020)

The pictures you posted are looking great. There is no way that you can do a proper exposure in one picture with the lume and the background and see every detail unless you got a few studio lights, modifiers and know how to use them. The dynamic range is too wide for the sensor. Our eyes can see the difference but if you want better pictures it must be Photoshopped together with different exposures and I like to focus stack them too to get the perfect sharpness throughout the whole watch.


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## mp_chronorides (Nov 15, 2020)

I've definitely been practicing a little more and got a few good ones in!


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## david_h_moss (Mar 24, 2019)

These shots are amazing. Sorry if I missed it but is there a Thread on how to take good watch pics with your phone? Mine are always blown out or too much glare 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## munizfire (Oct 25, 2018)

david_h_moss said:


> These shots are amazing. Sorry if I missed it but is there a Thread on how to take good watch pics with your phone? Mine are always blown out or too much glare
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


In all honesty, I gave up trying to take great pictures with my phone.
Can it be done? Definitely!

But most my DSLR pictures come out waaaaaaaay better


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## mp_chronorides (Nov 15, 2020)

munizfire said:


> In all honesty, I gave up trying to take great pictures with my phone.
> Can it be done? Definitely!
> 
> But most my DSLR pictures come out waaaaaaaay better


Yup! Unless you get patient with some phones manual mode but I still feel the dslrs will be your best bet for lume shots. 

Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk


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## Timepeacekeeper (Jun 2, 2021)

Does anyone have a UV light they recommend? These shots are amazing!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Mozjo33 (May 10, 2011)

Here's a couple from years ago. I deleted my Photobucket account where I had way too many watch pictures. For some reason, I still have these three. These watches are long gone, except for the Russian Diver. They are a guilty pleasure.

I took them in a room with minimal light and on a tripod.


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## munizfire (Oct 25, 2018)

Timepeacekeeper said:


> Does anyone have a UV light they recommend? These shots are amazing!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I bought a cheapo one from eBay, around $5. Works well enough for charging up lume for photoshoots.

But kinda want something bigger now


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## atennisplayah (Oct 29, 2010)

I find the lume shots incredibly hard to achieve but with patience and some post process edits I'm sure the results would be pretty sweet.

Most of my watches are too old to even have any lume either way 🙃


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