I tried watch photography for the first time!! I'd really like some tips on editing

Take note of the reflections and framing. The composition of the first photo (Raymond Weil) is nice, but you cropped out a bit of the bracelet. Shift a bit down and to the left so that the entire watch and bracelet are in frame. It will also make the composition more balanced. Also, note the reflection of the fingers in the dial. That absolutely ruined it for me. Sorry.

The Omega photos don’t really look good. It’s the lighting and shadows that distract, especially the last photo, the shadows have distorted the appearance of the watch.

Yeahh I noticed about the reflection on the Raymond. The shadows are so intense because I had a warm light shining directly on them 😂😂

It’s all about lighting. You want to soften the lighting so the highlights and shadows are less extreme. Especially with the glass crystals, you need to pay attention to “specular lighting”. Lots of tutorials online about that and soft lighting.

Good thing the reflection was only fingers… 😆

My only tip that and I see many people making this mistake. Is not cleaning their phone camera lens that their photos look like a Motorola flip from 2005.

You have lighting down. That is most of the work to good photography.

Watch some general tutorials about photography, watches are not unique and the rules still apply I. E the rule of thirds and composition etc... The reason your photos look a little off is because of the composition.

As others have already mentioned, lighting is a thing. You don't want to use lighting that is gonna create shadows in the wrong places. Also the colour of the lighting is key, most house lights lean yellow which is not ideal.

Get a decent photo editing app, lots out there, photoshop express is really good.

James Stacey is and editor and photographer at Hodinkee. He wrote a nice piece on how to take better photos using a smartphone here which I think it’s a good place to get started.

Based on the photos you shared I recommend three things:

1. Give some consideration on where your subject is located in the frame and the angle/perspective you are choosing to shoot from. Some of these feel unbalanced. I think your last shot in the series is your best.

2. Take your photos using daylight and not lamps. Specifically diffused daylight, not directly exposed to the sun. This will reduce harsh highlights and shadows (unless that’s what you want), and provide softer, less yellow/warm color tone to your photos.

3. Best way to get better is to review and replicate. Find photos you admire from other folks and try to determine what about them you like. Then try to replicate/recreate that same photo as best you can. Set them side by side and try to identify what separates the two… and then try again. Trial and error is best way to learn!

Good luck!

I called that built in filter…

90’s filter..