My Watch Photography...

[stektan]

Decided to take up watch photography this year and so, invested in a Sony Nex 5N and some lens including a manual Nikon 60mm AF-D F2.8 lens as well as light tent, light etc.. Still a newbie in this and appreciate other photographers giving me your feedback and inputs. Still learning to take the professional pictures we see in those glossy magazines! Here are some pictures of my Rolex GMT 2C...









More to come as I start to experiment more! Appreciate if avid photographers can give me some tips too! ONe of my biggest problem is trying to keep the watch hands from moving from the 10:10 timings but if I pull out the crown, it would look ugly...

[stektan]

And here are pictures of my Pam 351... Having some problems with taking the case back. Although aperature at 22, still blur in some areas. Guess it;s because of the Macro lens. Perhaps a 90 or 105mm lens would be better.









Again, appreciate any advice to make it better..

[triton]

thanks for sharing.

a common mistake that i still make, forgetting to remove finger prints on watches.

as to how to set it to 10:10 without removing the crown, there are couple of ways you can do it. set your watch to 10:05 (couple of minutes before 10:10) instead. then set your camera on tripod. adjust the angle you want, wait for the moment to arrive to take it. keep repeating this process which is tiring.

another way to do it is release the power reserve(let your watch wind down or if you want, open case back, release the power reserve, close case back). then take all the pictures needed.

[triton]

click here for link on watch photography which you may find useful

[stektan]

thanks for sharing.

a common mistake that i still make, forgetting to remove finger prints on watches.

as to how to set it to 10:10 without removing the crown, there are couple of ways you can do it. set your watch to 10:05 (couple of minutes before 10:10) instead. then set your camera on tripod. adjust the angle you want, wait for the moment to arrive to take it. keep repeating this process which is tiring.

another way to do it is release the power reserve(let your watch wind down or if you want, open case back, release the power reserve, close case back). then take all the pictures needed.

Yes, setting the time at 10 or 10.05 is a good idea. I still have problems trying to take a picture whereby all the details of the watch are clear but the background is blur. I think it has to do with the lens. Perhaps I should not use a macro lens but a standard lens instead. Then the next issue is which focal lens. I think 90 - 105mm would be good but that means must stand far from the watch and unable to cover the front of the light tent. Still trying to experiment with more lens but appreciate if anyone knows what is the best. Compact cameras seems to work but most of them are not detailed enough.

[triton]

are you trying to achieve such effect of 'blurred background'?

[stektan]

Yes something like that but with better front lighting as well. An angle like my 2nd Pam pic but with the crown in sharpness..

[triton]

for crown sharp, why not you change the camera focus points. i am not sure how many focus points your camera has and if it is possible to switch between them. with reference to the picture below, see if you can place point 5 in the centre of the object you want to capture, then switch the focus point to 6. hope this method can achieve your intention shot.

Yes something like that but with better front lighting as well. An angle like my 2nd Pam pic but with the crown in sharpness..

[stektan]

Good point.. Will try it out

[michi0301]

And here are pictures of my Pam 351... Having some problems with taking the case back. Although aperature at 22, still blur in some areas. Guess it;s because of the Macro lens. Perhaps a 90 or 105mm lens would be better.

Again, appreciate any advice to make it better..

Having a 90 or 105mm doesnt change much about e blurry bits, it helps to get you closer but e portion in focus will be smaller as well. Had an opportunity to attend a photography talk last year by our very own Mr Peter Chong, international watch photographer and collector. There he demonstrate a technique known as focus stacking, where by mutiple shots of e watch was taken at different focus point, and combined into one. You might want to google around for that

[patuick]

You want a blur background or the "bokeh" effect, first zoom in and focus on object, ie your watch. Then press and hold the AE-L/ AF-L button to "lock" the focus before zooming out a little to include some objects in background. This should give you the "blurred" effect.

You can also try with a 50mm f1.8 or f1.4 for the same effect.

Have fun!!!

[Valjean]

Great shots, especially with the Panerai and its reflective bezel. I too like the 2nd shot of the PAM 351 best.

Keep shooting!

[triton]

are you and i using the same technique or slightly different?

You want a blur background or the "bokeh" effect, first zoom in and focus on object, ie your watch. Then press and hold the AE-L/ AF-L button to "lock" the focus before zooming out a little to include some objects in background. This should give you the "blurred" effect.

You can also try with a 50mm f1.8 or f1.4 for the same effect.

Have fun!!!

for crown sharp, why not you change the camera focus points. i am not sure how many focus points your camera has and if it is possible to switch between them. with reference to the picture below, see if you can place point 5 in the centre of the object you want to capture, then switch the focus point to 6. hope this method can achieve your intention shot.

[patuick]

are you and i using the same technique or slightly different?

fundamentally same - getting the surrounding to be "out of focus" for the blurred effect or as you described as "changing the focus pt"

[stektan]

OK more pics taken today...



Another try on the Pam 351



This one on my IWC FA Jones SS



Another shot of the FA JOnes...