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Reshoot of watch.

C

Cody White

Member
As I said in my other post I was going to re-shoot this watch using different backgrounds and what not.

I know what one I like the best out of this set, however this isn't about that.
let me know what works and what doesn't.

1.
_MG_0064.jpg
2.
_MG_0057-1.jpg
3.
_MG_0055.jpg
4.
_MG_0054.jpg
 
C

Cody White

Member
9.
_MG_0043.jpg
10.
_MG_0040.jpg

The white glass was just plain glass sprayed painted white to reduce the double reflection
The black glass was just plain glass sprayed painted black to reduce the double reflection
 
Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
At Last, a watch!!!

Cody,

I was getting concerned as I looked at picture after picture that were neither taken orthogonally nor at an agreeable angle. Worse, there was dirt on the tabletop and the background distracted.


_MG_0040.jpg


Cody White: Watch #10
​


Here we see a picture that has immediate interest and charm. A far more captivating composition with good color and a reflection that itself adds and's not confusing. I'd like to read about this watch. what would be the text to go with it?

Kudos! This was a wonderful surprise and worth waiting for!

Asher
 
S

Sandrine Bascouert

Member
I also like the ones with the relections, although I have a preference for

_MG_0045.jpg

Cody White: Watch #7​


If I assume that it's not product photography (in a commercial way), then I concentrate on the shape and the lighting, so the dust doesn't distract me that much..
 
Doug Kerr

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Hi, Cody,

Cody White said:
6.
_MG_0046.jpg


Cody White: Watch #6​
Click to expand...


I especially like this one. The color of the background and "tabletop" go well with the colors of the watch.

I think it is appropriate that the reflection be a little "diluted" on the face, but perhaps not quite this much would be ideal.

I think it would have been better without the dark crescent shadow around the face in the reflection.

This is challenging work, and I applaud your pursuit of it.

Best regards,

Doug
 
C

Cody White

Member
Asher Kelman said:
Cody,
Worse, there was dirt on the tabletop and the background distracted.
Click to expand...
I didn't bother to brush off the dirt cause I knew I could fix that problem in photoshop, To make the matter worse, I completely forgot to fix during pp.

Here we see a picture that has immediate interest and charm. A far more captivating composition with good color and a reflection that itself adds and's not confusing. I'd like to read about this watch. what would be the text to go with it?
Click to expand...
So far I never even thought about the text to write for it.

Kudos! This was a wonderful surprise and worth waiting for!

Asher
Click to expand...
Thank you Asher.
Sandrine Bascouert said:
If I assume that it's not product photography (in a commercial way), then I concentrate on the shape and the lighting, so the dust doesn't distract me that much..
Click to expand...
If I ever master the basics on watch photography, I would like to get into it commercially, Someday down the road.
 
C

Cody White

Member
Doug Kerr said:
Hi, Cody,




I especially like this one. The color of the background and "tabletop" go well with the colors of the watch.
Click to expand...
Thank you.

I think it is appropriate that the reflection be a little "diluted" on the face, but perhaps not quite this much would be ideal.
Click to expand...
How would I go about fixing it?

I think it would have been better without the dark crescent shadow around the face in the reflection.
Click to expand...
I shall have to work on that a bit more.

This is challenging work, and I applaud your pursuit of it.

Best regards,

Doug
Click to expand...

Thank you again Doug.
 
Cem_Usakligil

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Hi Cody, Doug,

Doug Kerr said:
...I think it is appropriate that the reflection be a little "diluted" on the face, but perhaps not quite this much would be ideal.

I think it would have been better without the dark crescent shadow around the face in the reflection.
Click to expand...

Cody White said:
Thank you.

How would I go about fixing it?
I shall have to work on that a bit more.
Click to expand...
I too was thinking about it and gave it a go in photoshop. Here is what I have achieved using the web-sized jpg image. Using the original, there should be even better possibilities.

First, the original:
_MG_0046.jpg


Cody White: Watch #6​

And then the edited version:
_MG_0046_edit_cu.jpg


Cody White: Watch #6 edited by Cem Usakligil

Cheers,

​
 
Cem_Usakligil

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Cody White said:
Thanks Cem, That does look better.

How did you fix it?
Click to expand...
I first selected the watch face (the upper one) and duplicated it into a new layer. I have then flipped it horizontally and applied free transform to match it positionally above the mirrored watch face (the lower one). I have applied curves and saturation/lightness to dim this layer. After that, I have selected the gold colored hands from the original reflection (the lower one) and repositioned it above the new reflection layer, since it was black due to being a copy of the original watch face (upper one). Here I had to do some selective painting as it was not quite possible to have a 100% match. Are you still with me? lol. After that, I have chosen the crescent shape of the original lower reflection and turned it into a two-tone gray/dark-gray area. I have then used the structure of the desktop to blend using mode onto this this gray layer. After that, I have put this as the final layer above all and used screen blending mode and lower opacity to simulate the reflection of the glass surface of the watch on the desktop marble. Sounds like a lot of work but easier done than explained :). HTH.

Cheers,
 
K

Ken Tanaka

pro member
Cody,
You appear to be making some progress with your project. I think that you'll find some of the YouTube videos in the ProPhoto Life series to be of instructional value. (Note: There are several other episodes that you'll want to watch, especially this one.)

FWIW, photography of jewelry in general, and watches in particular, turns out to be particularly challenging. There are actually only a relative handful of go-to photographers who get hired to do the top-end of this work. I think your journey is beginning to give you an idea of why this is so.

Have fun.
 
C

Cody White

Member
Cem_Usakligil said:
I first selected the watch face (the upper one) and duplicated it into a new layer. I have then flipped it horizontally and applied free transform to match it positionally above the mirrored watch face (the lower one). I have applied curves and saturation/lightness to dim this layer. After that, I have selected the gold colored hands from the original reflection (the lower one) and repositioned it above the new reflection layer, since it was black due to being a copy of the original watch face (upper one). Here I had to do some selective painting as it was not quite possible to have a 100% match. Are you still with me? lol. After that, I have chosen the crescent shape of the original lower reflection and turned it into a two-tone gray/dark-gray area. I have then used the structure of the desktop to blend using mode onto this this gray layer. After that, I have put this as the final layer above all and used screen blending mode and lower opacity to simulate the reflection of the glass surface of the watch on the desktop marble. Sounds like a lot of work but easier done than explained :). HTH.

Cheers,
Click to expand...
Thank you for the explaining it to me.

Ken Tanaka said:
Cody,
You appear to be making some progress with your project. I think that you'll find some of the YouTube videos in the ProPhoto Life series to be of instructional value. (Note: There are several other episodes that you'll want to watch, especially this one.)

FWIW, photography of jewelry in general, and watches in particular, turns out to be particularly challenging. There are actually only a relative handful of go-to photographers who get hired to do the top-end of this work. I think your journey is beginning to give you an idea of why this is so.

Have fun.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words Ken, and for the links.
In all honesty this would be so much easier if I had all of the lights, backgrounds, and so fourth like they use.

I shall take a photo of how I'm doing it with my Sony P&S and show you all.
 
K

Ken Tanaka

pro member
Cody,
Actually you don't need much gear for this type of shot. You could do a very passable job with just a single nothing-special light. That's the main point of the videos. You just need to understand light and reflection management. In my experience, the more light sources you use the harder the job becomes when dealing with highly reflective objects.

Honestly, the main issues I see in your attempts relates to where you're putting the camera, your decisions for backgrounding, and how you're arranging the watch. I suggest setting the whole lighting issue aside and concentrating first on getting good visual relationships.
 
C

Cody White

Member
Ken Tanaka said:
Cody,
Actually you don't need much gear for this type of shot. You could do a very passable job with just a single nothing-special light. That's the main point of the videos. You just need to understand light and reflection management. In my experience, the more light sources you use the harder the job becomes when dealing with highly reflective objects.

Honestly, the main issues I see in your attempts relates to where you're putting the camera, your decisions for backgrounding, and how you're arranging the watch. I suggest setting the whole lighting issue aside and concentrating first on getting good visual relationships.
Click to expand...

Ken,

Once again you hit the nail on the head.
This is the problem I'm having is with the angle, As I have watch different videos from different people doing them and each having there own style, it gets confusing
 
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