Lazy WatchPhot HOWTO in 4 easy steps - Part 1, Part2, Part 3

[janj_j]

Skrevet på Engelsk - håber det er OK

Eller her på min side - lidt mere info: http://watchblog.dk/watchphoto.html

Watch Photo Part 1: Equipment and Software

Equipment is NOT everything - I still use my old Nikon D70, and with the technology advances this model is way to old.

This is just to say that equipment is not everything but it does help you a little - and for the record I would say that any camera will do nicely - better with a DSLR (digital single lens reflex) than a compact, but some of the compacts out their can really delivery some fantastic photos.

My equipment is this for 98% of my watch photos:


Nikon D70
Nikkor AF Zoom 18-70
Extension tubes - some very unoriginal ones
My Old Old Nikon 50mm 1.4 manual lens
Very rarely used my 135mm 2.0 manual lens
My compact digi camera - nothing special - would love a more high end compact digi camera


This is basically what is needed to make the shots, but the fun part comes when doing the post processing - and there I would recommend anyone to get a dedicated program to manipulate the photos from the camera.
I would also recommend shooting in the RAW format - which is much better than the "default" jpg file output. The RAW format is like the digital negative - from where it is possible to manipulate the photo in great extent without "destroying" the original photo. With RAW you have the possibility to change white balance, increase/decrease exposure, etc. The options are "endless".
So for post processing I would recommend a "good" RAW converter program. I'm not in ANY way religious in that respect - I use BibblePro - as it works on Linux, Windows and Mac - and I think it works well. Other programs might give you the same options - so feel free to use whatever you would like to use.


Digital Photo program - RAW converter - Bibblelabs


With that we are ready to move on to making the first photo;-)

And what I don't use for my photos are, macro-lens (would be nice - but not on my budget yet), no flash (I use existing light only - or fixed lamps) and no table-shoot setup.
My focus is to make it simple (KIS - Keep It Simple) - the equipment, the setup and the post-processing.


Next HowTo is on the setup for the photo - internal/external and the setup on the camera - stay tuned.















Watch Photo Part 2: The Setup - internal and external (on location)

Now we come to the actual photo-shoot - and again I will say - keep it simple - start with internal photos.
I start by finding a place with some good light - better natural light than artificial light - but just place in near the window on a calm background.
The just fire away - move around - change the way the watch lies - don't be afraid to try something different.
Here I have placed the watch on a chair and on my knee - and quickly made some photos. These photos are just quick and dirty photos.
I have used my D70 and extension ring on the manual 50mm 1.4 on Manual (D70 can't be used on Auto with manual lens) - and with white balance set to "flash".
The reason I set white balance to "flash" and not Auto is because I'm a old "fart" - and used to shoot with slide film (Fujichrome 100 and 400) and black and white (Ilford HP5).

From those old days I "know" how slide film will "look" when shoot under daylight and other light sources.

And the beauty of shooting RAW is that changing the white balance is as easy as a click.
Shooting with the manual lens and extension ring does demand a little more concentration than shooting with my AF zoom lens on auto - but I like the photos made with my old 50mm 1.4.














And some of the results ....







But I prefer to make photos outside - the light is much "better" and I like the photos in real environments - so the photos are with some "background" action. Again these photos are made quick and with my AF zoom on 70mm or with my 50mm1.4 and extension ring.
All photos with my watches in water are made with D70 and AF 18-70mm on Auto. That combo is perfect to make some photos without making any detailed planning of the photo.

Here are some examples of the photos in the wild.....












So All I can say is to try to make some new alternative photos of watches - lets try to make some "new" views of what a good watch photo should look like


Watch Photo Part 3: The POST-processing - at home with the PC

When you have change different photos on the camera - it is time to get started on the FUN part - The Post-processing of your newly shoot photos.
Basically you will be able to manipulate you photo into different forms and different looks. Black and White, high contrast, funny colors, white balance manipulation, different views, different crops, etc..
95% of my photos are shoot in RAW format (RAW+Jpeg) becasue the RAW format just give that much more options for manipulation than a straight JPEG photo - but with that said - JPEG can be used as well - you just need to make the adjustments on JPEG files, and each adjustment will result in quality loss.
And don't be afraid - try something different - make high contrast black and white photos, play with the colors. Try to make the "colorspace" special - total washout colors.
If you try out differnt settings, all I can say is that the quality of your photo after post-processing will improve the initial photo greatly.
So don't be afraid - try out different things - and if you don't have any "professionel" photo manipulation tools - their exist many free tools you can try out.












Watch Photo Part 4: MobilePhone photos - be creative

Just because you don't have your camera with you at all times, but most of us have a mobilephone with build-in camera - and the quality of the photos made by these "mobilephone cameras" are becoming better and better.
I own a HTC Hero - the quality of the photos are NOT very good - so when I'm making photos with my watch - I just try to use some special setup - mostly with me in the photo and with "funny" and different frames and colors.

There exit much better phone cameras out there - my old Sony Ericsson did a MUCH better job.

On my HTC hereo I use Android programs like.

Vignette - Free
PicSay - Free
Adobe Photo - Free

But their exist many more kinds of programs - that can turn your phone camera into a fun camera - so with these photos the focus should be on the "artistic" kind of photos.