Product photography Question "Wrist watch"

[STPStudio]

Ok, so I have to photograph a wrist watch and I have a question. I don't know what time to set the hands to. Isn't there some sort of general guide line to follow in this industry on time pieces and proper hand placement? I agree that the name and all writing must be seen on the face but that is all I can guess. Also, I feel that the hands should be placed in a position to limit shadows caused by the hands. If anyone knows anything about time piece photography I sure would appreciate it.

[Flea77]

The correct time to use is 10:10 although many people break this rule. I look at it like the rule of thirds, most of the time it is better to use the rule unless you have a specific reason to break it.

Next, look at a lot of watch photography, I would suggest www.timezone.com for lots of examples (good and bad) as well as what people want to see in their watches. Use a soft box and limit reflections as much as possible (I like to use a dark room, everything in front of the watch black, the rest lit by continuous lights so I can see all the reflections and get rid of them).

My last tidbit is that if you are photographing high end watches commercially you will need awesome sharpness and detail. Either the best DSLR and lens on the market and awesome photoshop skills, or medium format digital, or large format film. The market is cutthroat and some of these companies pay big bucks for the ultimate in advertising images. We aren't talking people spending $350 at some mall jewelery store, we are talking $3,000 to $300,000 per watch. People spending that kind of money will not accept any, and I mean any, flaw.

When I bought my GP, one speck of dust under the crystal visible with a loupe would have caused me to not purchase it. For that amount of money, it had to be flawless.

Allan

[CaptainTom]

The magazine images you see of watches are usually composites of many exposures which are layered so that every detail can be perfect.

If you are just shooting it for craigslist or ebay you don't need to be so exacting.

[STPStudio]

Thank you very much Allan,

that was extremely helpful information. I certainly understand a high-end watch image must be flawless, no doubt. I have been searching high end, top quality watch images online and in magazines and noticed 10:10 or 01:50 was used in most ads I found. The only thing I can figure is that with the hands separated the viewer can see the name brand not to mention the quality of each individual hand.

Sheesh, It would be nice to earn a $300,000 paycheck from one time piece image. Couple of those a month and I can afford the Ferrari I want.

Thanks again and have a nice evening,
STeve

STPStudio added 7 Minutes and 34 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

Thanks Tom,

I think your right.

When lighting the watch face, it is difficult to illuminate all elements inside (or, under the glass face) without causing awful reflections on the outer glass. This is proving to be a very interesting shoot.

STeve

[Hogleg 44]

If it's for a soda pop add, 10, 2 and 4 should be appropriate!

Sorry!

[STPStudio]

Thanks Paul.

[The Loft Studios]

The standard is 10:10 or 1:50.....
This is so that most watches that have hands or arms have either the watches logo at the top or bottom of the face. Then you have some of the more modern watches that will feature these little faces (seconds and dates) that are located at the 10 O'Clock and 2 O'Clock areas. If that's the case, then you want to set the hands at around 8:20 or 4:40..... again this clears the watches' face and allows for the most available real estate to view all possible features of the watch.

[STPStudio]

Fantastic information! Thank you Mark, that's what I was looking for.

[The Philos]

I have a couple examples of some watch photography I've done, nothing professional quality though. PM me if you want to see them.

[Mr. B]

I really like to think it all depends on the composition of your shot.
Is it a photo of a full watch? Is it just the face? What is the background, if there is one?

ex:
A Kenneth Cole watch with 3 subfaces I would best frame it with the time 03:52:35.
This gives the photo a sense of balance.

It all depends on what you are overall trying to achieve.

[STPStudio]

Thanks Brian,

the image was of the full watch with the band fastened. I hung it from a piece of fishing line to suspend it and made the proper adjustments to light it. I did create a devise to fit inside of the watch to keep it rounded and looking like it was actually on a human arm with out being on the arm. I did not need to show the inside of the band so I ran with it. I then set the watch image on a preselected background using photoshop.

[Mr. B]

Originally Posted by STPStudio

Thanks Brian,

the image was of the full watch with the band fastened. I hung it from a piece of fishing line to suspend it and made the proper adjustments to light it. I did create a devise to fit inside of the watch to keep it rounded and looking like it was actually on a human arm with out being on the arm. I did not need to show the inside of the band so I ran with it. I then set the watch image on a preselected background using photoshop.

Sounds like you know what you wanted, and that is the hard part.

Ever thought of shooting with a glass table light?
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2008/03...ight-beer.html