Here are a few questions for those product photography wizards out there:
1) What's the cleanest way to shoot this exact shot (read minimal post-production)? How would you prop the watch up so the inside band is still viewable without having to composite multiple images together.
2) For those of you who have shot watches before, how difficult is it to get LCD screen exposed/lit correctly in the same frame as everything else (band, etc.).
3) Any other tips you can offer for this type of photography are welcome. Again, easiest way to shoot this without much post-work.
Question #1: That shadow is Photoshopped in (poorly I might add). Try shooting the watch on it's side sitting on a softbox so it's lit from the bottom. That will remove the shadow so when you rotate it 90 degrees it will look like it was lit from the side.
That's good for the crystal and dial of a mechanical watch (the best kind); but the OP said minimal PP, so a composite shot may not be what he wants in this particlular case, and a polarizer on the camera can do odd things to an LCD display.
Good video in general, though. Thanks for linking that.
This shot is straight out of camera except for the 4x5 crop. Shot with a Canon 1DsII with 90mm TS-E f/2.8. Photo style = Standard.
The fuel injection module is set on a light table. There is a 2x3 softbox directly above and it is flat (no tilt) and pointed straight down. The table is bottom lit with a Profoto Magnum reflector with two pieces of Roscoe Tough Spun set on it to turn it into a softbox.
The table would be more evenly bottom lit if I had used a 2x3 softbox instead of the Magnum. But the Magnum is a lot quicker to set-up under the table and it only takes a couple of minuets to clean-up in PS/whatever.
Notice how the bottom lighting exposes the black nut, brass canister and the bottom of the black block. You can't get this exact look without bottom lighting.
C.D.
Could you photo your light setup? I am in the process of building a light table and would like to see yours and your lighting. I have milky white plexi glass and just ordered a plastic bending heat strip to make something similar to the Bogen table.
BrianO wrote:
That's good for the crystal and dial of a mechanical watch (the best kind); but the OP said minimal PP, so a composite shot may not be what he wants in this particlular case, and a polarizer on the camera can do odd things to an LCD display.
Good video in general, though. Thanks for linking that.
Who do you make watches for?
I've got an Omega Seamaster of unverified vintage.
dougstroud wrote:
C.D.
Could you photo your light setup? I am in the process of building a light table and would like to see yours and your lighting. I have milky white plexi glass and just ordered a plastic bending heat strip to make something similar to the Bogen table.
Thanks,
Doug
Sorry no pictures, I don't often shoot lighting set-ups. The set-up is very simple, one softbox over the table pointing down and one light under the table pointing up. No bounce cards for additive bounce or black cards for subtractive bounce Though you do need a selection of small things to prop the product at the angle you want, in this case a 3/8" nut
The table is nothing special, just a Calumet. I was over at AHA today to talk about several upcoming video shoots, but Scott was shooting some green screen video and the shooting table was buried in a corner, so no pix of it. BTW I don't own much. I rent what I need when I need it. In this case I rented studio space, the shooting table, some Profoto lighting gear and a Mac with Capture One from AHA.
A shooting table has a hinge that allows the curve at the back to be anything from flat to vertical with a nice gentle sweep. You don't have to heat the plexi and bend it ;D Here's a link to the Elinchrom table http://www.elinchrom.com/products.php?p_id=67#content looks like it would be easy to duplicate.
What little magic there is to doing table top shots comes from shooting tethered, so that you have large digital Polaroids. And using a tilt/shift lens for increased depth of field.
I worked at a Rolex service center for a while, and at a Movado company store for a while, but I went into another field shortly thereafter. I still keep a bench at home, and do occasional repair and restoration as a hobby/sideline.
I've worked on Rolex, Tudor, Boluva, Piaget, Movado, Concord, ESQ, Seiko 5, and many others, but to date I've never worked on an Omega. The Seamaster in particular needs a special case opener die that I don't have. I've rebuilt chronometers and chronographs, and I'm an expert at precision timing of modern watches, but my joy is restoring old American pocket watches like Walthams and Elgins.
I love old pocket watches Brian. I have 5 or 6 that run pretty good. I just take them out once in awhile just to listen to them clicking. I may need your expertise one day!
Yep. Watches, both old and new, are a fascinating subject; part art, part craft, part technology, part history...
This thread has aroused in me an interest in doing some watch photography. I've thought for some time of getting a macro lens and setting up a light table, but never had a firm idea of why and for what; now I'm going to actually set a schedule for getting 'er done.
Hi BrianO. I envy your watchmaking education! I'm a self taught hobby watchmaker and I've done a lot of repairs and restoration of old watches I pick up in antique stores, etc. It's a fascinating art! I'm a hand engraver by profession.
~Sam
Sam_Alfano wrote:
Hi BrianO. I envy your watchmaking education!
I was lucky to have the time and the money to go to the school, which is only 20 miles from my house. My grandfather was a watchmaker, and I've been interested in it ever since watching him work when I was 7 or 8 years old.
Demand for watchmakers is so high right now (all the old guys are retiring) that Rolex has set up a tuition-free school in Lititz, Pennsylvania, the Lititz Watch Technicum.
Starting pay isn't great, and the market is saturated in the cities that have schools (only three or four WOSTEP affiliated schools in the USA), which is why I'm not doing it for a living. At some point I may move to Los Angeles or New York, but it's not on the horizon.
I may need your expertise one day!