# Photography Help Needed



## PaulBoy (Dec 2, 2007)

Hi - I've read the Hints & Tips Sticky & it's excellent with plenty of food for thought there - I was hoping for some specific advice about

taking pics of watches with a D-SLR - I have a Nikon D80 & kit lens (18-70mm) the only other lens I own is a telephoto

(70-300mm) - I bought a light box thingy from Maplin but have no specific lights for it etc - The light in my bungalow

always seems to be poor so presumably I need to set up my shot with the camera on a tripod & be prepared to use a long

exposure time to compensate for the lack of light? - Also I presume it'd be a good idea to use a mid to high f-stop to help improve

depth of field in my shots? Any help would be greatly appreciated ... Paul


----------



## seiko6139 (Aug 25, 2003)

Hi Paul,

Your 18-70 will serve you very well. It's an excellent lens for the price and its very sharp when stopped down a couple of stops.

Keep your ISO set to 100 to reduce noise.

Make sure that your watch is evenly illuminated.

Use your camera in spot metering mode.

Aperture priority, say F8.

Make sure that neither your camera or watch can move. Use a tripod.

Shoot away.

If you want to get closer, don't fanny around with extension tubes. Buy a Sigma macro lens.

The D80 is a decent camera, enjoy it!


----------



## PaulBoy (Dec 2, 2007)

seiko6139 said:


> Hi Paul,
> 
> Your 18-70 will serve you very well. It's an excellent lens for the price and its very sharp when stopped down a couple of stops.
> 
> ...


Thanks seiko6139 - I follow most of what you say apart from the illumination - What's the best way to achieve this indoors?

I dont have any flash other than the built in one although I suspect flash wouldn't be a huge help (?)

Cheers ... Paul


----------



## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

PaulBoy said:


> What's the best way to achieve this indoors?
> 
> I dont have any flash other than the built in one although I suspect flash wouldn't be a huge help (?)
> 
> Cheers ... Paul


You should use some type of light cube whether taking indoors or outdoors. Flash is definitely a nono







unless you're bouncing the light of a wall etc...never directly on the watch though.

Maplins currently have a very good value cube for Â£9.99 here

As for light source indoors, in the past I've used a couple of angle poise lights either side of the light cube....but I _always_ prefer natural light...weather permitting, so rarely take photos indoors.

Cheers

Paul


----------



## PaulBoy (Dec 2, 2007)

Silver Hawk said:


> PaulBoy said:
> 
> 
> > What's the best way to achieve this indoors?
> ...


Hi Paul - That's the sort of light box thing I have! I just wanted to know what sort of light(s) to use with it & how/where to place them - I will get a lamp(s) to try - Those desk lamps with a bright flourescent tube should do I presume?

Paul


----------



## Absolute (Jan 20, 2008)

I'd try and stick to ISO 100 for product photography like this. Shooting by a window if you want the cheapest possible setup is the best idea, and an hour before sunset would be a great time, not so harsh light etc.

Long exposures can work though with watch photography, you could introduce some cool techniques, for example using around 5/10sec exposures with a black background, using a torch and either creating light trails or pointing it for different lighting effects.


----------



## kornafluckees (Jan 25, 2008)

For indoor photography of watches without use of flashguns or tungsten lights:

Assuming you have a room with a eg a 1 metre wide or greater window ... a table ... and a tripod or other means of holding the camera steady.

Place table next to window ... set up camera so that the main light source (the window daylight) is coming from the side of the camera onto the table

Place or support a large reflector on the other side of the table and opposite the window ... ask someone else to hold the reflector if you have no means of supporting it . A large piece of surplus polystyrene as used for domestic appliance packaging is ideal for use as a reflector ... or a sheet of matt aluminium cooking foil stuck onto a piece of cardboard will do the job.

Place subject (the watch) with suitable background on the table

Focus on the camera on the watch (and if necessary adjust white balance )

Move the reflector to obtain the best fill in light ... look through the viewfinder to see the effect of moving the fill-in reflector

When satisfied and after selecting appropriate aperture fire the shutter ... an aperture of f8 or less eg f11 or f16 is best

The foregoing assumes the camera lens is capable of close-up photographs .... use supplementary close-up lenses on the front of the lens to get in closer if necessary

Cheers

dunk


----------



## chris l (Aug 5, 2005)

A sheet of A4 black card with a hole in the middle to fit over the front of the lens is a good way to cut reflections. Or buy a polarisng filter.


----------



## kornafluckees (Jan 25, 2008)

chris l said:


> A sheet of A4 black card with a hole in the middle to fit over the front of the lens is a good way to cut reflections. Or buy a polarisng filter.


I used to photograph framed and glazed art exhibits and used the large "black card with a hole in it " method to prevent reflections in the glass of the picture frames ... but also had to "black out" the manufacturer's white logo around the front of the lens to prevent it reflecting in the glass ... ie used a Staedtler pen ... All done with a Canon 50mm standard lens kept for the purpose.

dunk


----------



## chris l (Aug 5, 2005)

kornafluckees said:


> chris l said:
> 
> 
> > A sheet of A4 black card with a hole in the middle to fit over the front of the lens is a good way to cut reflections. Or buy a polarisng filter.
> ...


Never thought of that! I used this method with monorails and view cameras, and used to make the hole small enough to cover the front of the lens... stuck it on with the studio staple..... gaffer tape!

(Why is gaffer tape like the Force?

Because it has a light side, and a dark side.....

and it holds the Universe together)


----------

