Watch photography tips for reflection on crystal 📸
Hey, look! It's me! 👋
I hate how reflective some of my watches are and it really frustrates me when I can't take a good simple wristcheck picture. Like this picture of my blue black bay 58, all you see is my face, hat, and phone...it ruins the picture!
Anybody (everybody) frustrated with this too??
I don't know much about photography and angles/lighting, so if anybody has any watch photography tips/tricks to share, that would much appreciated! 😊
Thanks in advance!
Ps: I'm new here to watchcrunch! I go by @watchvince on here and IG. Feel free to look me up and DM me to chat watches.
27 comments
Sort by
Vince
Watch enthusiast from Canada. Started with a gshock, now I'm here...
Toronto
Member since
Last active: 1 week ago
It's pretty difficult on anything with a domed crystal that doesn't have fantastic AR. With a phone it's especially tricky, but you can try to have the whole phone cover the crystal to create a dark reflection, and try shooting at a slight angle to the crystal. For shooting with a camera, I cut a hole in a piece of black paper to block the camera and my head from showing up on the photo.
It's pretty difficult on anything with a domed crystal that doesn't have fantastic AR. With a phone it's especially tricky, but you can try to have the whole phone cover the crystal to create a dark reflection, and try shooting at a slight angle to the crystal. For shooting with a camera, I cut a hole in a piece of black paper to block the camera and my head from showing up on the photo.
Man, love this orange dial Samurai!
Not to mention, great job keeping this pic reflection-free there.
It's pretty difficult on anything with a domed crystal that doesn't have fantastic AR. With a phone it's especially tricky, but you can try to have the whole phone cover the crystal to create a dark reflection, and try shooting at a slight angle to the crystal. For shooting with a camera, I cut a hole in a piece of black paper to block the camera and my head from showing up on the photo.
Also, I have the PADI Samurai and the reflections aren't bad in these Seikos.
Must be the flat crystal...
Also, I have the PADI Samurai and the reflections aren't bad in these Seikos.
Must be the flat crystal...
The flat crystal definitely helps! For something with a dome, I try to shoot at an angle, but I still can't always get a great wrist shot with my phone on the fly.
A polarizing filter gets rid of reflections, I got one in my analog camera and gets rid of 90% of reflections. I've seen some for iphones too.
I understand you. I also particularly suck when it comes to take pictures of my watches. It is too bad because see our watch on our wrist is cool but see them in good pictures is really nice too.
A polarizing filter gets rid of reflections, I got one in my analog camera and gets rid of 90% of reflections. I've seen some for iphones too.
iiiiinteresting! I'll look into that
This topic reminds me of this Brodinkee meme 😁
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZFCDGertGN/?utm_medium=copy_link
It's pretty difficult on anything with a domed crystal that doesn't have fantastic AR. With a phone it's especially tricky, but you can try to have the whole phone cover the crystal to create a dark reflection, and try shooting at a slight angle to the crystal. For shooting with a camera, I cut a hole in a piece of black paper to block the camera and my head from showing up on the photo.
Great shot and tip. That orange dial is awesome too.
@StrapHabit set ya up well!
James Stacey wrote a great article on Hodinkee much in the same vein.
I understand you. I also particularly suck when it comes to take pictures of my watches. It is too bad because see our watch on our wrist is cool but see them in good pictures is really nice too.
100% agree with you
@StrapHabit set ya up well!
James Stacey wrote a great article on Hodinkee much in the same vein.
His article is definitely worth a read too!
@StrapHabit set ya up well!
James Stacey wrote a great article on Hodinkee much in the same vein.
slipped under the radar, I'll give it a read. Thanks!
If you have a camera set-up, one way that can manage reflections is a polarizer. I usually play around with angles and using flecto as an additional “umph” feature in most of my shots. Feel free to peek at my IG handle @lifeof_awis
@watchstudies on IG also does tutorials on different shots with tips and tricks to the trade. 🍻
At first glance, I though the reflection was an arched doorway :-)
You seemed to have captured the color of the blue dial BB58 perfectly, at least on my screen.
At first glance, I though the reflection was an arched doorway :-)
You seemed to have captured the color of the blue dial BB58 perfectly, at least on my screen.
Nope lol it's just me 🙃
That's such a nice observation, thank you! That's always the goal with this watch.
Do you own one?
Nope lol it's just me 🙃
That's such a nice observation, thank you! That's always the goal with this watch.
Do you own one?
I have the original black dial BB58 with the gilt dial and hands. I purchased it when it was the only BB58 available. If the blue dial had been available when I bought, I would have had a very difficult time making up my mind. A few members of our local watch enthusiast group here in Winnipeg have the blue dial version, and seeing them in person always makes me want one. It has a much more modern vibe than the black/gilt version.
I have the original black dial BB58 with the gilt dial and hands. I purchased it when it was the only BB58 available. If the blue dial had been available when I bought, I would have had a very difficult time making up my mind. A few members of our local watch enthusiast group here in Winnipeg have the blue dial version, and seeing them in person always makes me want one. It has a much more modern vibe than the black/gilt version.
Oh man, totally get it! I'm so tempted by the black/gilt one...maybe one day.
Wear a hat… big one:
The mustache is optional but I think also assists in composition 😂
@teasdalejr recommendation of the article James Stacy wrote on this specific topic is perfect actually - while I don’t use a phone, the concepts he outlines can be applied to photography in general and will definitely help in the process no matter what piece of equipment your are using to snap shot. You might also embrace reflections where you can still obscure your phone, they sometimes add to the flavor of the photo! Good luck 🤙
I personally find that the best is to get a small light source and observe how the light interacts with the watch. The beauty of smart phones cameras nowadays is what you see is what you get, and so if your eye can see it, likely the camera will too.
I've personally shot and enabled flectos on almost all kinds of crystals, curved, AR coated, flat, acrylic. Each one is like a puzzle to unlock, of which I get lots of joy once I figure it out. Have plenty of examples on my IG so take a look (shameless self-plug here). Haha!
https://www.instagram.com/watchaddictwt/
Wear a hat… big one:
The mustache is optional but I think also assists in composition 😂
@teasdalejr recommendation of the article James Stacy wrote on this specific topic is perfect actually - while I don’t use a phone, the concepts he outlines can be applied to photography in general and will definitely help in the process no matter what piece of equipment your are using to snap shot. You might also embrace reflections where you can still obscure your phone, they sometimes add to the flavor of the photo! Good luck 🤙
man that's hilarious...hhahaahahaha
I think much of your struggle comes from light contamination from multiple sources. Try turning all the lights off, go near a window (use semi transparent curtain if it's a sunny day), then play with angles. You might find a single source of light much earlier to control. Phones tend to overexpose, so try turning exposure down.
When light is coming from different angles and bouncing off bright surfaces, forget it 😅
Natural light is always better until you get into more expensive stuff. "White light" from a cheap LED will be missing much of the visual spectrum and look bad in pictures.
We talk about the CRI (color rendering index) value for light if you wanna read more about it. Especially important for skin tones. I could go on...
I think much of your struggle comes from light contamination from multiple sources. Try turning all the lights off, go near a window (use semi transparent curtain if it's a sunny day), then play with angles. You might find a single source of light much earlier to control. Phones tend to overexpose, so try turning exposure down.
When light is coming from different angles and bouncing off bright surfaces, forget it 😅
Natural light is always better until you get into more expensive stuff. "White light" from a cheap LED will be missing much of the visual spectrum and look bad in pictures.
We talk about the CRI (color rendering index) value for light if you wanna read more about it. Especially important for skin tones. I could go on...
All awesome suggestions, thank you, Max!
Photography is truly all about light, and dealing with reflections is also all about light. If the thing in the reflection is bright enough (like the back of your phone) it’ll be visible, but if it’s dark it won’t. So making sure that your camera and face and hand are darker than your subject will help. Or covering your camera with something dark will help. Or using a dark cone will also help, which I did when I used to take wrist shots.
Photography is truly all about light, and dealing with reflections is also all about light. If the thing in the reflection is bright enough (like the back of your phone) it’ll be visible, but if it’s dark it won’t. So making sure that your camera and face and hand are darker than your subject will help. Or covering your camera with something dark will help. Or using a dark cone will also help, which I did when I used to take wrist shots.
Interesting. Any visual examples of this "cone" you are referring to?
Interesting. Any visual examples of this "cone" you are referring to?
The one I was using when I was taking wrist shots was called the Ultimate Lens Hood. Absolutely did an excellent job of killing all reflections from the camera, your face and hands, when used right. It’s also light and collapsible.
Cut a hole in something black and shoot through the hole! This hole is obviously sized after my camera lens, but still! Blocks out all reflections!