By-Tor Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Maybe you have noticed that I haven't taken many watch photos lately. I haven't had time, which is the main reason... but I'm not that inspired with studio photos in the lightbox setup anymore. I guess it's safe to say that I'm (at least temporarily) bored with them. And they don't offer much challenge anymore... there's so much you can do when you figure out the lighting and post processing tricks. When I started doing watch reviews I spent HOURS to get 5-6 technically good photos. It was very hard but that's exactly why it was fun and fascinating. There was a genuine challenge. Now I can pretty much shoot all pictures in one take (10 minutes) and they're all usable. I'm not saying this because I'm bragging about it, just explaining why they don't inspire me any more. As you become a better photographer (and better with PS) your photos tend to become a bit "sterile". The photo might be technically good but the watches aren't in their natural evinronment in artificial lighting. They're also plasticy "glamour photos" which aren't completely realistic. However, I love glamour photos. But read on... I love seeing watch photos and discussing watch photography. My friends Bazz, Pugs, Ubi and many others have always shared our techniques and secrets. We used to discuss photography with Neil too (when he was still around). However, the biggest photo inspiration for me here has been RobbieG. Why? Because his wrist shot and natural light photos are completely different from mine. We always shot lightbox shots. But Robbie was the first one who made "glamour wrist shots" and Photoshopped them. When I mean "Photoshopped" I mean that he cleaned them up, but didn't "fake" anything and the end result looked very authentic (no pun). That's what the goal SHOULD be... use PS to make the watch look exactly like it would look in real life. I never paid attention to natural light photos and my wrist shots have always been average at best. I'm only good with my setup and the studio pictures. But lately I've been trying to take some inspiring wrist shots. They're much more fascinating than studio pics because you'll see the watch in its natural evinronment: On someone's wrist. I'll start. This is a tribute to Robbie, who's blue genuine SFSO wrist shot is the best and most attractive wrist shot I have seen, and pushed me to think about the gen purchase. My SFSO is just a rep (so far) but it tries to capture the same magic. Let's try to get some really, really attractive wrist shots. I'm sure you all have them already... so post your favorites and special ones. New or old shots, doesn't matter. And remember... this is not a competition... just an excuse to see more lovely watches. One per post to avoid "flooding". Quality over quantity. Only the very special ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P4GTR Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 I like to think I can take halfway decent pictures, but whenever I try to get a wristshot there's ghosts in the machine! I can't get a good one to save my life. Edit: One of the tells I immediately look for on SFSO is the end links and yours look gen. Did you reprofile them? Excellent watch, excellent picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utheman Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 One of my favorite photogs is Freddy333. All of his shots are fun, imaginative always well done. Here's my latest favorite w Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted September 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Yes of course. Freddy's photos are great and often very clever. But this was supposed to be a wrist shot thread where members post their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Great idea BT I am not versed in Photoshop and usually just edit my shots in Picassa. I liked the way this one came out in the natural light. Shows the dial features well. It is my Gen Dial, Gen movement PAM 090 Power Reserve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ammandel Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 This is one of my favourite wristies I've ever taken. I'm not sure whether I'm seeing something special about it that just isnt really there since its my own work. The idea was to really give the truest to life impression of the watch and its settings. I wanted the photo to show how my eye really sees it, exactly how it sees it. I liked showing the whole arm in the photo as you would glimpse at your watch in the daytime, in its real, true environment, with a size relative to how you would view it in person. On my 19" 1280x1024 monitor it displays at almost 1:1. The other really important factor for me was to really capture the clarity of the GMT IIC, a feature that I rarely see captured in pictures of it, including my own. When you look at this watch on a sunny day, the whole dial just has the most immense 'jumping out' feature. It's different to AR, and something which I find superior to AR, the jet black with pure white markers and the crystal that Rolex use is just truely unreal. There is absolutely no distortion and the way it handles glare is incredible. That along with the AR'd cyclops make for extremely clear legibility and capturing that whole sense of contrast was really what I was going for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utheman Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Yes of course. Freddy's photos are great and often very clever. But this was supposed to be a wrist shot thread where members post their own. OK, my bad. I misinterpreted your intent. I did take a small liberty however, since his shot was posted in a wristcheck thread. Here's "my" favorite wristie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest asim Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Something about the lighting and the setting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted September 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Great stuff guys. Keep 'em coming! @ammandel: Exactly my point. The blue rep SFSO, for example, is a tricky to capture well (without motion) because the strong AR makes the dial look sometimes very blue, sometimes very "violet blue", sometimes more cyan and sometimes simply dark/grey. Gen SFSO dial is very similar in that sense, but it reflects colors a bit differently. That's why studio shots don't always tell the full story. I also love the SFSO bracelet which is amazingly cool (despite being very simple in design). Bracelet is very important to present in the photo properly. It's quite easy in the lightbox where you can control the exposure but not necessarily in natural lighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 An old one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted September 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 That is a classic shot Ubi. Daytona is tough because the bezel is so reflective. That is almost noiseless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demsey Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 This debuted in a wrist thread, but I've used it in other threads that were apropos. I'm pretty sick of the pic actually. I've used it too much. But, I received one very gracious email from a member who said he thought it a great wrist shot. That was nice, but took me by surprise. I only think it is; 'Meh. Not bad. I guess'........................I think here, on a watch forum, the subject matter just tops the bill to the photography. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff g Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Not the greatest photo... but still my favorite wrist shot because it is such a beautiful watch. My Seamaster Pro 2254.50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 This one is a subtle HDR shot where the arm and watch were edited back in from the best exposure. It's possibly the only heavily post-processed wrist-shot I have. A beautiful day on the beach last year. This one is an f1.4 (borrowed lens) shot with the tightest DoF I could get and a very atmospheric setting. This one was taken backstage at a Mogwai gig. Rubbish photo, great setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casanile Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Good old time when I had a good camera... But no big skills as a macro photographer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andei3000 Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Great idea there By-Tor, it's really hard to decide which is the best wristy. Here are a few, which I consider the better ones: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vlydog Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 I feel that a good wrist shot is one of the toughest for me to capture. I would much rather have the watch photographed in a still life setting. We that said, it is truly humbling to see the brilliant work of my fellow RWG members. An old friend passed on to a new friend: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted September 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Good stuff guys. Here's 2 different wrist shots, showing my gen GMT. First one from the front. Not very inspiring. The second one from the angled view. Shows the watch profile, rehaut, crystal height and that (supposedly) "whiter" Rolex 904 steel nicely. To be honest with you guys, it's a much of noise for nothing. I have never noticed much difference. Anyway... I like this kind of wrist shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker01 Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Excellent idea BT! I have favorites of each of my watch wristie, but I'll post just a few: My AP ROO Safari, which I think is out of it's "natural environment", but worked perfectly: and then the others....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Here's a few of my personal favorites. All of these have been edited and the first two are completely black and white. The third is black and white with some color enhancement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertk Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Here's one that happens to be in focus?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllergyDoc Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 I like this one because the watch turned out so nice: I liked this one, too: Lastly, my old EVO: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 I strive for emotion over technique, which is why my shots never approach the quality of any of By-Tor's or some of the other pro-quality photogs here. An old pic, but my favorite wristie (today) I got bored with standard light-box style wristies eons ago, which is why I try to post more out-of-the-box compositions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomhorn Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 (edited) Still not 100% happy with my 'wristys' but here are my favorites ... My new Accutron. A pair of my Tag Classic 2000 on the links. Edited September 9, 2009 by tomhorn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 my recently finished project: 6152-1 SF240 8days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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