Take timepiece photography as an example to teach you the lighting and setting of commercial still life photography

23 6月 Take timepiece photography as an example to teach you the lighting and setting of commercial still life photography

Commercial Still Life-Watch Photography

Watch photography is one of the areas where image correction is most needed. The dial, text, hands, and materials will be carefully corrected one by one. The clock has a sophisticated structure and should be handled with care when shooting. In particular, expensive watches such as pure gold casings will be demanded for compensation if they are flawed during shooting. Therefore, you must wear white gloves when setting and lighting.

One, the light source

a. Light source selection

When shooting clocks, any light source is suitable. Although tungsten light is also possible, when shooting high-end watches, if the strap is made of luxurious material, you are worried about damage. Therefore, it is safer to use a flash light source without heat. In addition, small watches are basically shiny reflective objects, and they are not suitable for point light sources. Instead, they should be based on a surface light source with a large lighting area.

When shooting a watch, I often use a 150W tungsten lamp or a 300W floodlight, and then place a diffuser to achieve the lighting effect of a point light source.

b. Number of light sources

There is no limit to the number of light sources. A light can also fully express an atmosphere. However, if the details of the box, dial, and strap need to be clearly expressed, the lights must be separately arranged according to the material characteristics, so the number of lights will also increase.

Second, lighting techniques

If it is a metal box with a metal bracelet watch, shoot it as a reflective object; if it is a wooden wall clock, shoot it as an absorptive object to achieve the desired effect. However, almost all watches are made of metal, the cover is made of glass, the strap is made of leather and other materials. In this case, the lighting includes the reflective objects classified by the subject material in section 2.5. Transparent objects and absorptive objects, so how to set the light and shoot will be at a loss.

At this time, the lighting cannot be determined only based on the material of the subject, but the lighting preparation should be made according to whether the subject is a smooth surface or a rough surface. The clock materials listed above are almost all shiny items. In order to show beautiful luster, the use of high gloss is the key. After that, lighting with sulfuric acid paper or a soft light source through the plexiglass plate as the center will surely produce ideal photos. .

When adjusting the highlights, it is also very important to adjust the position of the lighting equipment and the angle of illumination. At the same time, the subtle difference between the position of the subject and the position of the scene should also be taken into account, because this will also affect the light receiving of the highlights. Therefore, when lighting, not only lighting equipment, but also the placement angle and position of the subject must be taken into consideration.

If it is combined with a reflector, the effect will be better. The reflected light from the white or silver reflector is irradiated on the subject, and the light source is adjusted according to the reflection of the shiny part. Using the black reflector to create the contrast between the bright and dark parts, it is possible to take sharp pictures. So how to improve work efficiency when using reflectors? First fix the illumination angle of the flash, then adjust the position and angle of the reflector until you are satisfied, and finally fine-tune the amount of light and the illumination angle. When there is reflection on the dial and watch band, the PL filter works well. And so on, try more.

Watches are smaller than wall clocks and desk clocks, and the fine dust will be very conspicuous. The dust can be removed through post-image processing, but it takes a lot of time, so it is best to clean it up before shooting. I would think of using hair dryers and vacuum cleaners to remove dust, but the watch is small in size and vacuum cleaners are not suitable. Although strong suction can suck up the dust, the subject will also be affected by the suction and move, or destroy the setting.

Third, the choice of pedestal and background

When choosing a pedestal or background, consider the value of the subject and the environment in which it will be used. Compared with food and beverage photography, watch photography needs to consider the age and gender of the user, especially the wearing of watches. When shooting clocks that are geared toward young people or popular in color matching, choose a bright background, and when shooting a watch that must ensure accurate timekeeping under harsh conditions or a high-end watch handmade by a watchmaker, you should choose A solid background.

In addition, when photographing the watch worn by the model, you should determine in advance the location where the model feels less burdensome, and it is best to place your arms easily. If the arm is overloaded, not only will the skin become red, but the hand will also shake, which will affect the shooting.

A few years ago, as a product of the heyday of commodity production-photos of Swiss-made mechanical watches. Whiten the background and sprinkle with wheat flour.

Four, photography aids

The size of the desk clock or wall clock is moderate, so there is no problem shooting with a normal lens. It is very helpful to use a macro lens when shooting small watches or pocket watches.

When shooting a watch, it is usually taken with a strap or bracelet on. At this time, it is necessary to find a way to make lighting easy, that is, to increase the freedom of lighting the scenery. Generally, when the strap is fastened, a metal plate or sponge that can be bent freely is put into the strap. Try to avoid the use of adhesive when fixing, but try various other ways to fix the watch.

Five, time setting

The best shooting results are when the hour hand is at 10 o’clock, the minute hand is 8 to 10 minutes, and the second hand is 35 to 42 seconds.

When shooting clocks, the hands of the watch are usually adjusted to a position where it seems to have a sense of balance. If there are three hands, the hour hand is at 10 o’clock, the minute hand is 8-10 minutes, and the second hand is 35-42 seconds. Because ① the hands are scattered, it is easy to identify the number of hands; ② the direction of the hands is basically upward, which is beautiful (if there are two hands facing down, the dial is like a crying face); ③ the position of the hands is just right on the clock Both sides of the manufacturer’s trademark are easy to see the watch trademark. However, if there are more function displays in the watch dial, such as a timer, sometimes the hands will be adjusted to the position of 8:20 to shoot. The dial has many display functions. Be careful not to block the trademark with the hands or block the unique functions and features of this watch.

Regarding digital clocks, it is impossible to stop the watch during shooting, so the picture needs to be post-processed and synthesized.

The above content is an excerpt from People’s Posts and Telecommunications Press “Kumagu Akira Commercial Shenzhen Product Photography Lighting and Setting”

ISBN 978-7-115-38120-0/
Author【日】Kumiya Akira
Pricing: 99 yuan

Executive summary:

Mr. Kumagaya Akira is a well-known Japanese commercial Shenzhen product photographer. His works are harmonious and rigorous, with strong texture, elegant and fresh pictures. He is a representative figure among Japanese commercial photographers. This book uses more than 20 kinds of products as examples to show their shooting techniques one by one. In the book, you can not only appreciate Mr. Kumagaya Akira’s excellent commercial still life works. This book not only introduces the lighting method of a single product in detail, but also shows the relationship between the main product and the background, the setting skills, how to choose matching items, how to place and composition in an excellent advertising work. It is a rare shooting book for commercial photographers. The book also includes the lighting bitmap drawn by Mr. Kumagaya Akira himself, and the book is very detailed. Suitable for professional photographers to learn and reference.

About the Author:

A well-known Japanese commercial photographer who shoots commercials for beer, beverages, food and cosmetics for well-known companies such as Kirin Beer, Koiwai Dairy, and Yakulut Cosmetics. Originally invited by Fuji Company as a photographer. He has published a series of articles in the Japanese “Photography” magazine, introducing his experience in shooting commercials. At the invitation of the magazine “Photography World” sponsored by Xinhua News Agency, from 2001 to 2006, he introduced to Chinese readers the shooting skills and know-how he accumulated through his long-term career in advertising photography for six consecutive years.

To learn more, please click to read the full text

The original text was published on the WeChat public account (Hummingbird): Taking watch photography as an example to teach you the lighting and setting of commercial Shenzhen product photography