Hi Friends. Photography and sharing has always been a big part of all my hobbies, but while most my hobbies are fast moving with a degree of distance, watch photography seems to be quite a challenge.
Whats your tool of choice and your secrets to a great photo?
Here are a few of my latest photos.

 

taken by a Samsung S20

 

Honestly? I certainly wouldn't claim to be an expert, but your lighting, focus, composition and background could all do with a bit of work!

It's not hard to get a semi-decent photo of a watch with most modern phones and their standard image manipulating capabilities.

Natural lighting will always be best against standard household/office lighting and sometimes it's better to take a shot from further away then zoom/crop (as long as the focus is good).

 

There are a few threads on the topic including using iPhones and using real cameras. As a photographer, I usually advise people looking to take better pictures to look at other peoples work and learn to distinguish good from bad (pretty easy when you see them side-by-side.
Plow through some of the WRUW pages and you will see a mixture of both- mostly good, and most done with ambient light and phones....it’s just about thinking through your lighting, composing your frame and using the tools the phones give you (zoom, tap to meter/focus) and taking many with different tap-points and saving the best one.

 

I used this in a other thread but this is a prime example of using the tap features on a phone to get a good pic. Lighting is in the shade of a brightly lit marble colonnade, I pulled the phone away from my arm and zoomed in to not distort the size of the watch (too close/wide and it looks huge) and I tapped in the dial and around the perimeter of the bezel to minimize glare as I moved my arm slightly to get the glare off the crystal. If you look at the series from one to the next, you will see the subtle differences as I tap and shot (focus also shifting) from one to the next- the second to last one being the best IMO.

 

I really enjoy watch photography but i have to admit it's a bit tricky at the start.
Best tip has to be good lighting, it makes 90% of the shot.
I use my old trusty Canon 7d

 

I’m trying to move past cell phone shots, and the lighting is quite tricky with so many reflective surfaces. Here is a BTS shot from some experimenting I was doing the other night.



@alefar I like the way you’ve used the book in that photo, I might borrow from it the next time I’m taking some pics. Your lighting is great too, so soft and warm.

 

Thanks a lot!
Lighting can be super tricky depending on the watch! I have a longines evidenza and i find it the trickiest watch to shoot, especially cause of the domed sapphire. On the other hand, the skx is one of my favourite watches to shoot!


My standard lighting setup is a 100w led lamp, a diy softbox made out of cardboard and baking paper (you can use any light diffusion material) and paper sheets to bounce the light from the opposite side

 

The only modern camera I own is my cell phone, which is what I used for all of these. Nothing special but fun regardless
Seiko Mod using all OEM Seiko parts. The bezel insert looks crooked but that's because of the iPhone's offset corner camera. I used Lightroom to fix the perspective. The bezel insert is 100% lined up accurately.


Grand Seiko styled build


Damien Hirst Swatch


'69 Rolex Air-King

 

And after a little spa treatment!

 

I love reflections and tryed to work with …

 

one of my favourite pictures … i call it "sunset"

 

Really quick snap and a bit of processing in the phone

 

I bought one of the macro lenses, lots of fun. It is called Moment.

 

Beautiful! Is this a macro on a DSLR or a macro attachment for the phone?

 

I used a macro lens attached to my pixel 3 phone.

I posted some on my IG, @speedmaster_decades_collection

 

I'm pretty sure Moment is a brand of lens attachments for phones.

 

The best you can get, to expensive for me. I just purchased a macro and wide angle made by XENVO and am
very impressed both by the quality of the lens and the different attachments and by the quality of the pictures..

 

I bought a used Moment macro for $75. No bargain but lots of fun. Xenvo has a great price and lots of positive reviews but never used.
Nice pics

 

I find the lighting right and no reflection very difficult.