**** Shiny Shiny ****

[is that my watch]

Well as the title says am talking about shiny watches. I got some I wear but never take pics of as they are like mirrors so how do you do yours.. be dammed with it let the reflections free .... black box ... white box... A bloody big torch ..??.

As the egg people say how do you like yours ...

Any hints tips on getting the best shots ..

And why not some pics of the good the bad and the ugly. If you want to ?? .

I might join in if I every get a decent shot of this....

As always Ismy

[tempocalypse]

My Daytona is by far the shiniest watch I have, shiny chapter rings on the minute counters, polished bezel, polished crown guards, polished case side, polished lugs and polished centre links!

You can go two routes of course, trying to minimise reflections or embracing and making use of them.

1)

For the one below I used soft indirect natural light and a curtain on the other side to create a sort of soft box look but there are still some reflections from outside and the tripod itself. The additional little secret for me is that with cameras with large sensors and long or "fast" lenses, the content of the reflections are also thrown out of focus especially when the subject is close up.



This shallow focus trick helps even when you cant control the light so much. No attempts at softening the light itself in this next one but again the reflections are indistinct due to the shallow focus. This is effective is the stuff being reflected are at a distance.



Once again busy environment, hard light yet taken up close with a fast lens



2)

This one was taken with an iphone though, no hiding reflections with shallow focus here! Working with reflections is harder though, I usually work to minimise them



I think you could have some fun trying to get some interesting reflections onto that cushion shaped vostock!

(not my pic!)

[is that my watch]

My Daytona is by far the shiniest watch I have, shiny chapter rings on the minute counters, polished bezel, polished crown guards, polished case side, polished lugs and polished centre links!

You can go two routes of course, trying to minimise reflections or embracing and making use of them.

1)

For the one below I used soft indirect natural light and a curtain on the other side to create a sort of soft box look but there are still some reflections from outside and the tripod itself. The additional little secret for me is that with cameras with large sensors and long or "fast" lenses, the content of the reflections are also thrown out of focus especially when the subject is close up.



This shallow focus trick helps even when you cant control the light so much. No attempts at softening the light itself in this next one but again the reflections are indistinct due to the shallow focus. This is effective is the stuff being reflected are at a distance.



Once again busy environment, hard light yet taken up close with a fast lens



2)

This one was taken with an iphone though, no hiding reflections with shallow focus here! Working with reflections is harder though, I usually work to minimise them



I think you could have some fun trying to get some interesting reflections onto that cushion shaped vostock!

(not my pic!)

very well thought out and the pics are great
So then I see the first course of action is to bin my cheap it does every thing camera and go back to my fujifilm as that seams the best .. the cheap alba digital camorder/cam is good for quick and dirty shots but for these occasions needs to get the big boy out for it so it seems.

so in my case then like in my school reports more effort is need

[Steppy]

I can offer no tips at all when it comes to taking photos.



I like shiny !

[is that my watch]

I can offer no tips at all when it comes to taking photos.



I like shiny !

this one works well

[tempocalypse]

very well thought out and the pics are great
So then I see the first course of action is to bin my cheap it does every thing camera and go back to my fujifilm as that seams the best .. the cheap alba digital camorder/cam is good for quick and dirty shots but for these occasions needs to get the big boy out for it so it seems.

so in my case then like in my school reports more effort is need

I actually feel bad that my post came off sounding a bit along the lines of "get fancier equipment!"

Its true that throwing the reflections out of focus will require ore high end gear but finding ways to deliberately work with reflections doesn't need anything specialised. Any camera will do, its about experimenting and what you can think up!

For softening the light I use indirect lighting from windows and sometimes makeshift softboxes made from A4 paper

I've even used a desklamp instead of a flash and aimed it at a watch through some paper, while using other pieces of paper off to the side to kill annoying reflections.

[ck1109]

I've found that the best pics of the Daytona can be taken in soft, low lighting or cloudy days outside and positioning the watch so that the light source is not overhead or behind you. It helps lower the shine and the reflections.
I keep the camera on a slightly higher ISO, so I can still keep a fast shutter speed. B&W filters also helps mute the shininess.

[Henry Krinkle]

Every once in a while I celebrate the shiny



P7080004 by Hank Blanc, on Flickr

P1014864 by Hank Blanc, on Flickr

P9141133 by Hank Blanc, on Flickr

[Henry Krinkle]

Otherwise Tempo's advice is solid.

P1310756 by Hank Blanc, on Flickr

P2190534 by Hank Blanc, on Flickr

P1063309 by Hank Blanc, on Flickr

[is that my watch]

I actually feel bad that my post came off sounding a bit along the lines of "get fancier equipment!"

Its true that throwing the reflections out of focus will require ore high end gear but finding ways to deliberately work with reflections doesn't need anything specialised. Any camera will do, its about experimenting and what you can think up!

For softening the light I use indirect lighting from windows and sometimes makeshift softboxes made from A4 paper

I've even used a desklamp instead of a flash and aimed it at a watch through some paper, while using other pieces of paper off to the side to kill annoying reflections.

yeah I use a lot of sun light when I can get it to white out the reflection and and as I said thought you explained it rather well mate yes indeed in some occasion the better equipment is a must but on the whole as you say it's more effort then equipment on the whole that get's the best results I find.. one of the lads on the mwc bought a micro lenses for his phone then done wonders to the pics taking but some time it is still the thought that goes in to framing the shot and the rest that make it