ubiquitous Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Okay fellers, Short of using a polarizing filter (which seems to only help a little), what's the best way to avoid getting those pesky crystal reflections? Especially in watches with domed crystals? Seems to be quite the bugger... Any thoughts or ideas (without having to use editing software)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utheman Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Take only lume shots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Are you using a light box? Because without a light box it's going to be very difficult. The dial and crystal are reflecting everything what there is to reflect. Looks like the Omega dial is reflecting light from a window or something. i.e you have to block it off. You don't need any camera tricks. Camera is probably 3% of the overall watch photo quality. 97% is lighting. No tricks are needed. Just the sharpening (macro/flower) option and click. Try shooting that watch in a lightbox in a dark room so that the watch face is facing the darkness. Simultaneously use three or four lights: one on top, one on the left & right (so that both these lights are directed at the dial, angled) and one on the back. That light is filtered through the lightbox walls (which should be white and transparent). I don't recommend using any "black reflector cards". They simply kill the dial details, reduce lighting and create noise. You can also play with the light reflections (left & right lamps). These photos have the lamps reflected to the dial more directly (on purpose, to bring up dial characteristics). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asf Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 there is trick called specular highlights, where you light your watch with the light source slowly edging away from the watch. If you are using the window, you would figure a way to twist the watch crystal from the actual window. sounds crazy, strobist can explain it better though. Lighting 102: Unit 2.2 - Specular Highlight Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted January 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 BT- No light box here. I tried one in the past, but with little luck. I got frustrated and went back to shooting natural light Maybe I'm just not patient enough... If I can find where I stashed it away, maybe I'll give it another go. ASF- I think I've managed to use that technique, but it leaves me limited in the kinds of shots I can take No head-on direct shots... Unless the crystal is flat and the dial is white (or if the crystal has chief AR; good for modern sapphire pieces, but not so good for vintage Rolex) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asf Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 time to get some lighting equipment...or send them to redwatch and I and we'll shoot em for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 there is trick called specular highlights, where you light your watch with the light source slowly edging away from the watch. If you are using the window, you would figure a way to twist the watch crystal from the actual window. sounds crazy, strobist can explain it better though. Lighting 102: Unit 2.2 - Specular Highlight Control Haha! Nice K! I am just getting to that Unit now! I started doing Lighting 102 in the beginning of Jan. @Ubi - all trial and error my friend, but those domed crystals wont make it easy on you, that's for sure. You will want to change the apparent light size so the watch sees one big light. Then adjust the watch to minimize the reflection in the dial. A shoot thru umbrella makes for a great diffuser and they are quite reasonable in cost. Similar concept to BT's suggestion of using a light box with mulitple lights. The worst one for me is the cyclops on the submariners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted January 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Hmmmm... Maybe a bit better... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Hmmmm... Maybe a bit better... Looking good Ubi! If you have a chance, can you post a set-up shot? We can help you out a little easier if we see what you are using to accomplish the shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted January 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Not a lot to really show... Just a watch sitting on the granite with a window near by Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 R...this is a great video on controlling reflection and specular highlights when using natural lighting. And this would definitely apply if you were using flash or monolights as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ThePhilosopher Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Light, Science, Magic is a great book for learning to deal with such things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 R... You want to use a large piece of black construction paper strategically placed to block the reflection. Examples: Here I used a round piece of black paper, and intentionally let a small moon shaped reflection through on the right side of the crystal. I was actually holding the black paper in my right hand while using my left hand to press the cable actuated shutter: Here I completely blocked all reflections with the black cardboard: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eton Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Great shots R, you won't get any complaint emails from me! What B is saying about the black construction paper is a great and inexpensive way to block reflections, and it works! But taking pictures with Chief AR'd crystals just makes life so much easier! I'm always amazed at the insane quality of shots you guys take! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capice Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 instead of BT's tips, I definately use black cardboard (and wear a black sweater, see the pinkish reflection is Chiefs awesome pics) to avoid reflections, and whites to lighten up I tried expanded polystyrene boards but the rough surface was clearliy visible on the watch... Basicly it's all about positioning the watch/light(s) I made a kind of holder to give the watch slight turns from the cameraposition so I can control my reflections Shooting in RAW gives you the opportunity to "develop" the images multiple times to get the correct tone/darkness on the dial, make a sandwich of the 2 images and dodge/burn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted January 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Red- Thanks for the clip; I'll try and check it out today! Philosopher- Thanks for the suggestion on that title- I'll see if I can find that book chief/eton- I've used the black construction paper technique before, but found that in a lot of cases it blocked the light. Maybe I need to experiment a little more with that as well. capice- Is the editing method of merging RAW images similar to HDR? Sorry for the noobish question... I'm not very savvy when it comes to digital editing. Thanks all for the suggestions and advice! Seems it's going to be a lot of trial and error for me Cheers! //ubi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justasgood Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 My word man, don't you have enough on your plate? Now you are concerned with Pic quality? You seemed to have a pretty good record of great pics....at least in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickHiC Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 The simple answer is you have to control where the light is coming from. Using ambient light can give a pleasing image, but it's very hard to place the light that way. Here's a shot of my 5th gen omega PO shot lit with a single ring light in very close (this is a re-sized full-frame with no cropping). You can see where it is just nicking the beveled edge of the crystal but not the face. All light is from the ring flash. It would be a pitch black frame without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capice Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 send me a pm and i will explain it bro...its in fact really easy, just as building frankenwatches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asf Posted January 23, 2011 Report Share Posted January 23, 2011 definately the benefit of the ring flash is the shadowless fill light Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewFuller Posted June 10, 2013 Report Share Posted June 10, 2013 I guess there might be some kind of trick to avoid those reflections..really they are just killing while taking photos.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolexaddict Posted November 20, 2013 Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 I guess there might be some kind of trick to avoid those reflections..really they are just killing while taking photos.. Use a circular polar filter and a tripod as the filter will affect the aperture value and/or the shutter speed Disconnect all these stupid auto programs and work in manual mode Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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