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d4m.test

Guest
I plan to pick up a light box this weekend and never thought about it before this thread. I'm assuming a DSLR is needed to get the best out of these watch shots. Any additional advice is much appreciated.

Lightbox, tripod, auto-timer and cleaning off the dust and You´re fine. I often use one of those air-dusters to clean pc´s and happy with that. To be able to set shutter and aperture seperately is ideal, must´nt be a DSLR.
 

wertyu

Known Member
25/12/15
182
2
18
This should titled watch photography as it does not show in search just stumbled on this .

Really got into watch photography since being on here .

Im going to get one of the light boxes , i just bought a 50mm 1.8 which i was told was perfect for watch photos , but i cannot get in really close and target with AF or set manually .

this is as close as it gets in and targets , maybe need to finally upgrade camera i have nikon D50 18-70mm lens and now 50mm 1.8.

 

diablogt

You're Saying I Can Sell?
11/4/10
63
7
8
Use tungsten light, i.e white light. I noticed it when I visit the watch retailers. They all use white light and the watches looks much better in store than in daylight.

Also clean up your watches before taking pictures, especially if you want to show the AR :)
 
D

d4m.test

Guest
I think newer members are sometimes reluctant to post photos of their replicas because of the extremely high quality of other members photos that are posted in wrist checks and other show off areas.

I am not great with a camera, I do not know photoshop and overall, my photo skills suck.

I was able to drastically improve the way my photos looked by simply getting familiar with my camera a little bit. Like most men, we break open the box to our new camera (or receiver, or computer, or whatever else) and we pitch the owners manual in the junk drawer and start snapping pictures on the Automatic setting.

Fight the trend fellas, go brush off that owners manual and begin to understand how your camera works! What do these crazy settings mean, what do they do, what does it look like after you change the settings.. you have to experiment! Have some fun!!

Ok, I still now squat about my camera, but I now know a little more to get me by until I am more patient and not wanting to do yardwork! lol

Go and get yourself a small light tent from walmart or ebay. My wife surprised me with my light tent that she bought from walmart. It came with 2 lights and a tripod.. Oh yeah... You MUST have a tripod. Just get yourself a little one that can sit on the table. They are 4-6 inches tall.

People will tell you that you dont have to buy a light tent.. that is true, I just found it a lot easier.. that's all..

Pugwash has some tutorials on this stuff which is great. I wont even touch polarized lenses and photoshop or gimp use.. I dont have a clue..
My point is to encourage people to have some fun, dont get bogged down trying to doctor up your photos until you can simply get a photo to work with,, then start looking at the software to make they By-Tor'ish.. :)

This is really easy, I promise you will improve the look of your photos 500% with just a couple simple steps, plus... You will have a blast doing it!

Here is my setup.. It's pretty simple,, a couple lamps that I purchased on clearance from Office Depot.

lightbox.jpg~original


I was taking photo's of this:

sprint6.jpg~original


sprint9.jpg~original



Good Luck... hope to see some new participants in wrist shots and the "My Collection" area..

Fixed.
 

Hesekiel

Vintage Watch Enthusiast
Supporter
Certified
4/1/17
862
953
93
California
I take photos for a living, and have been doing so since 1999. It's been a steep learning curve for me, and I followed the entire development of digital cameras. For small item photography, I built a lightbox out of a cardboard box and white tissue paper from the hobby supply. I bought lamps, tried direct and indirect flashes, and can produce great photos if I take my time and spend another day perfecting them with Photoshop. But here's the news: none of this is needed, and, in fact, none of this makes really sense for someone who wants to just take accurate yet good photos of his watch(es). Today's iPhones (X and up) have such high-end cameras and software that allows composition as well as basic editing, that their photo quality matches that of a pro rig. In fact, if you use the Portrait feature, you can set aparture, light ambience, tonal preference, basically all things that require lots of know-how in the Photoshop world. Few things get easier these days, but taking great photos with a cell phone camera do.
If you don't believe me, check out a photo guru's Web site @ kenrockwell.com and see what he can do with an iPhone.
 
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netacc123456

Looking Around
9/3/22
0
15
3
I just use my iPhone 14 pro with an addtional flashlight switched on for extra lighting. camera flash is a bit too harsh imo