Silverspeed 10 Posted February 14, 2010 How to take photos of your watch. We have all seen some amazing photos of watches on the different boards. In this tutorial I will try to give a few basic and simple tips on how to take good quality photos of your watch. First off all the equipment...you'll need a digital camera and off course a watch... To take good photos there is absolutely no need to buy an expensive DSLR camera and lenses worth thousands of $...any decent Point and Shoot digital camera can produce amazing quality watch photos. So this tutorial is based on a normal Point and Shoot digital camera. In my case a Sony Cyber Shot. So put your watch on the table grab your point and shoot digital camera put it on auto and click away..... Ah crap ...the pics are rubbish aren't they??? ...so what went wrong? Well first a few basics principles on photography.. Photography is all about light....and focussing first there was light.... There are 3 factors that determine the amount of light which enters your camera 1. Shutterspeed = how long the camera shutters stays open when you take a picture...long shutterspeed will blur the shot 2. Aperture (f/Stop) = how long the eye/iris of your lens opens up...adjusting the aperture also changes Depth Of Field (DoP) DoP = how much of the area is in focus. 3. ISO = a measurement of how sensitive your camera's sensor is to light...the larger the ISO, the more sensitive it is to light which is good for photo is low light, but it also generates much more grain When photographing a small object like a watch with all those details it,s very important to have good light and to get the object well focussed in order to get as much details as possible in your picture. A light tent is ideal for watch photography so we'll need one of those, a light tent can easily be made from a cardboard like this http://digital-photography-school.com/how-...sive-light-tent or if you're lazy, like me, buy one cheaply from ebay . Since photographing is all about light we need some lamps and a couple 0f 100w lightbolbs. And last but certainly not least you need something to stabilize the camera with.... preferably a tripod again you can buy one these for a few $ on ebay. here's my set up....the lightbulbs I use are photographic daylight lightbulbs, but a 100W lightbulb will do just fine... So we now have: 1. digital camera 2. a watch 3. light tent 4. light 5. tripod ....we're good to go...oh one last thing clean your watch before you take pictures of...it'll be a real shame to have a good shot of a watch covered in smudges, fingerprints, body fluids etc.....clean the damn thing... very important! Now we need to set up the camera. Obviously the set up depends on your camera so read the manual if needed. 1. First and most important turn off the damn flash!! ...in a light tent you definitely don't need a flash, in any other circumstance if you need the flash to take a watch photo...don't bother to take the photo but wait for better light! So now the flash is off. 2. Then you want to set the camera in the macro setting, usually there's a flower symbol to indicate the macro setting. In macro the camera will take the photo with much more detail and allows you to zoom in closer on the watch. 3. Most point and shoot camera's have a self timer setting...Use it!! Combining the tripod and the self timer setting you will stabilize your camera the best way possible So now with your camera set up, the watch in the light tent...we're good to go. Focus on the watch, press the button, stand back since we're using the self timer....and presto your watch photo is ready!!!!! And a little more zoomed in on the object... Again a bit more zoomed in on the object... Hopefully you'll agree these look much better. These are straight out of the camera, untouched with photo software. It'll be nice to know that every good photographer has taken tens, hundreds even thousands of shots to get a couple of good shots....so as with most things in life...practise makes perfect. Practise this for a while and try out different shutterspeeds and apertures to get the hang of what light does to a photo and how to use it to get the result you want. Again don't be surprised if it takes a hundred shots before you're satisfied. The good thing about practising a lot is that you don't have to do much with photo software to touch things up. If you want use photo software there's free Picasa which is pretty good or you can use Photo Shop Elements....Photo Shop CS4 or CS6 is overkill imo So basically if you understand the importance of good light (did I mention this before the importance of good light..?? ), getting the camera stable and focussed on the object there's not much that can go wrong Hopefully this little tutorial helps. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sconehead 5 Posted February 14, 2010 I'm going to study this SS, great post... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg_r 107 Posted February 14, 2010 Great tutorial, Silver! I hope you're going to enter the tute/review competition with this Instant sticky btw Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iabounty 8 Posted February 14, 2010 Thats a great deal of helpful information for people like me that used the flash, didn't know what the tulip was and have shakey camera hands...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dingle 62 Posted February 15, 2010 AWESOME POST!...................finally..... .......now I have to find a tent and some of those curly pig tail looking light bulbs.......thanks SS. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebzen02 341 Posted February 15, 2010 AWESOME POST!...................finally..... .......now I have to find a tent and some of those curly pig tail looking light bulbs.......thanks SS. Two thumbs and two big toes for you SS!!! Great tutorial! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PCSAM 0 Posted February 15, 2010 a great simple post showing how to do it ..........well done mate great work ..................... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
q5? 0 Posted February 15, 2010 Thanks a bunch! Very good tips indeed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KinCaidk 0 Posted February 15, 2010 Good tutorial mate. Very helpful - especially for a bloke who just bought his first point and shoot, some weeks ago. I'm getting a tent too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pix 0 Posted February 15, 2010 Thx for that, it's true taht shooting watches is a full part of our hobby. May I also suggest that you clean your watch before shooting : it avoids nasty fingerprints and dusts Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dingle 62 Posted February 15, 2010 SS--where did you get your tent? the cardboard box looks to "redneck" for me..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KBH 7 Posted February 15, 2010 AWESOME POST!...................finally..... .......now I have to find a tent and some of those curly pig tail looking light bulbs.......thanks SS. Walmart sells a fold up light box kit that has the tent, 2 lights, tripod and 2 different colored backgrounds for around $20. You can't beat it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dingle 62 Posted February 16, 2010 AWESOME POST!...................finally..... .......now I have to find a tent and some of those curly pig tail looking light bulbs.......thanks SS. Walmart sells a fold up light box kit that has the tent, 2 lights, tripod and 2 different colored backgrounds for around $20. You can't beat it. walmart? for real?........I hate going to wal-mart, but I will need to make a special trip just for this. thanks B. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luthier 1 Posted February 16, 2010 We don't have Walmart in L.A., I think... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg_r 107 Posted February 16, 2010 We don't have Walmart in L.A., I think... 4101 Crenshaw Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90008, Walmart is everywhere. Including over here (except it's called Asda here). We stay well away, but our daughter seems to live there... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luthier 1 Posted February 16, 2010 We don't have Walmart in L.A., I think... 4101 Crenshaw Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90008, Walmart is everywhere. Including over here (except it's called Asda here). We stay well away, but our daughter seems to live there... Crenshaw is very expensive area, Greg, need to spend at least a few grands on machine guns and ammo, plus bulletproof windows for your car, then, and only then whites can go there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg_r 107 Posted February 16, 2010 We don't have Walmart in L.A., I think... 4101 Crenshaw Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90008, Walmart is everywhere. Including over here (except it's called Asda here). We stay well away, but our daughter seems to live there... Crenshaw is very expensive area, Greg, need to spend at least a few grands on machine guns and ammo, plus bulletproof windows for your car, then, and only then whites can go there. Well, you got another 8 to choose from in LA alone.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luthier 1 Posted February 16, 2010 1. Los Angeles, CA 90008 2. Panorama City, CA 91402 3. West Hills, CA 91307 4. Rosemead, CA 91770 5. Porter Ranch, CA 91326 6. Pico Rivera, CA 90660 7. Torrance, CA 90501 8. Paramount, CA 90723 9. Norwalk, CA 90650 10. Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670 11. Duarte, CA 91010 12. Lakewood, CA 90712 13. Stevenson Ranch, CA 91381 14. Baldwin Park, CA 91706 15. Santa Clarita, CA 91350 16. Cerritos, CA 90703 17. Long Beach, CA 90808 18. Long Beach, CA 90802 19. La Habra, CA 90631 20. Santa Clarita, CA 91355 Only 1 in L.A., and it's Crenshaw. Others - quite far, 20-30 miles from Hollywood. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg_r 107 Posted February 16, 2010 You got a car don't you? excuses, excuses.... Anyhow, you said "we don't have Walmart in LA" You said nothing about Hollywood. Well, you do have Walmart in LA. The fact that you don't want to go there is your problem (and I don't blame you - I wouldn't either! ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dingle 62 Posted February 16, 2010 You got a car don't you? excuses, excuses.... Anyhow, you said "we don't have Walmart in LA" You said nothing about Hollywood. Well, you do have Walmart in LA. The fact that you don't want to go there is your problem (and I don't blame you - I wouldn't either! ) wal-mart is online. 0 miles to travel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lildaddym 0 Posted March 11, 2010 I took a different route...I don't own a point-and-shoot yet, and I don't have a tent...don't use it often enough to justify a purchase. What I did was used one of my DSLRs and a flash, bounced off the ceiling, with the exposure compensated for. I plan on writing a review on this rep... For those of you that want the specifics, if you have an EXIF viewer you can see them. Michael Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dingle 62 Posted March 11, 2010 Very nice Michael. Be sure to post your review in the giveaway section by 3/31. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
watchwing 0 Posted April 15, 2010 professional person at take photoes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TAGster 5 Posted May 7, 2010 (edited) Great thread!, I will get my light tent asap. I used to take pictures in my kitchen countertop which is white and using the natural light from the window. The other day tried to make some photos using my dinner table (brown) to try to give a nice dark background to my pics, but the photos went not so well: I had to use the flash with my macro lens and the result was images revealing may scratches on my watches, I do not liked that at all. I see you, also knows the DPS website, I am a forum member there too, he he. Edited May 7, 2010 by TAGster Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baldrick 1 Posted May 7, 2010 Anyone ever see TTK's photo setup, if not, here it is, that's a big tripod and a big ball and socket head Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
