Some photos I took some time ago...

[lanatir]

Shot at a shop in Starhill... but I only processed them recently...

Franc Vila's FVa No Cuatro SuperLigero Tourbillon Chronograph









Maitre du Temps Chapter Two









Jean Dunand Shabaka











Manufacture Contemporaine du Temps Sequential One

[TheHobbit]

Nice..... 

[takashi78]

That really is some time ago

I remember seeing the Chapter-2 about 2yrs ago during Journey Through Time and had the pleasure together with gigiplastic to meet the owner of the company and had a nice long chat over dinner and tea.

Chapter2 is really a big and HEAVY watch in gold!

Love the bold designs of Franc Vila.

Never had the chance to see the Jean Dunand though.

About your pics, i always see the background is dark, is it a result of you editing it out and concentrate solely on the watch?
Or is that just the surrounding's lighting is less optimal?

[Scott C.]

Excellent 

[lanatir]

background being dark? it's not due post shot manipulation. actually it's quite easy to do - just need to control shutter speed and work with flash at lower ISO. something i will show if ever the tutorial on watch photos is ever organized 

[TheHobbit]

background being dark? it's not due post shot manipulation. actually it's quite easy to do - just need to control shutter speed and work with flash at lower ISO. something i will show if ever the tutorial on watch photos is ever organized 

Care to provide some info on this? Flash on bounce, shooting on S mode? shutter speed? ISO setting? Background material - black cloth? Asking as I don't think I will be able to attend the tutorial. Thanks.

[lanatir]

background being dark? it's not due post shot manipulation. actually it's quite easy to do - just need to control shutter speed and work with flash at lower ISO. something i will show if ever the tutorial on watch photos is ever organized 

Care to provide some info on this? Flash on bounce, shooting on S mode? shutter speed? ISO setting? Background material - black cloth? Asking as I don't think I will be able to attend the tutorial. Thanks.

the settings are very dependent on the location, available lighting, environment (whether low white ceiling, reflections, distracting lamps etc). in ideal situations

1) the ISO should be as low as possible (depending on ceiling/wall distance height and colour and flash power)
2) flash must be tilt/swivel and TTL capable
3) shoot in full manual mode. you can set the aperture according to the desired effect and also the other variables mentioned
4) shutter speed is dependent on how much background light you wish to capture and the choice of ISO and aperture.

as u want the background to be as dark as possible, choose the lowest ISO with as small aperture as u need and ensure that any walls/floor/ceiling in the background is as far away as possible. the flash should then be directed to reflect off the wall/ceiling ensuring that it only falls on the watch and as little elsewhere.

of course all these choices are again dependent on the variables mentioned.

with TTL, the camera, at low ISOs only capture just as much light from the flash as needed before closing the shutter. the flash actually fires at around 1/9000th to 1/11000th of a second therefore effectively freezing the picture at those speeds.

[takashi78]

Working on the date for the tutorial with the mods hehe.

Is an add-on flash a MUST for watch photography?

[siodee]

background being dark? it's not due post shot manipulation. actually it's quite easy to do - just need to control shutter speed and work with flash at lower ISO. something i will show if ever the tutorial on watch photos is ever organized 

Care to provide some info on this? Flash on bounce, shooting on S mode? shutter speed? ISO setting? Background material - black cloth? Asking as I don't think I will be able to attend the tutorial. Thanks.

the settings are very dependent on the location, available lighting, environment (whether low white ceiling, reflections, distracting lamps etc). in ideal situations

1) the ISO should be as low as possible (depending on ceiling/wall distance height and colour and flash power)
2) flash must be tilt/swivel and TTL capable
3) shoot in full manual mode. you can set the aperture according to the desired effect and also the other variables mentioned
4) shutter speed is dependent on how much background light you wish to capture and the choice of ISO and aperture.

as u want the background to be as dark as possible, choose the lowest ISO with as small aperture as u need and ensure that any walls/floor/ceiling in the background is as far away as possible. the flash should then be directed to reflect off the wall/ceiling ensuring that it only falls on the watch and as little elsewhere.

of course all these choices are again dependent on the variables mentioned.

with TTL, the camera, at low ISOs only capture just as much light from the flash as needed before closing the shutter. the flash actually fires at around 1/9000th to 1/11000th of a second therefore effectively freezing the picture at those speeds.

Using kit len or prime len?

[Fairy Oly]

!

background being dark? it's not due post shot manipulation. actually it's quite easy to do - just need to control shutter speed and work with flash at lower ISO. something i will show if ever the tutorial on watch photos is ever organized 

Care to provide some info on this? Flash on bounce, shooting on S mode? shutter speed? ISO setting? Background material - black cloth? Asking as I don't think I will be able to attend the tutorial. Thanks.

the settings are very dependent on the location, available lighting, environment (whether low white ceiling, reflections, distracting lamps etc). in ideal situations

1) the ISO should be as low as possible (depending on ceiling/wall distance height and colour and flash power)
2) flash must be tilt/swivel and TTL capable
3) shoot in full manual mode. you can set the aperture according to the desired effect and also the other variables mentioned
4) shutter speed is dependent on how much background light you wish to capture and the choice of ISO and aperture.

as u want the background to be as dark as possible, choose the lowest ISO with as small aperture as u need and ensure that any walls/floor/ceiling in the background is as far away as possible. the flash should then be directed to reflect off the wall/ceiling ensuring that it only falls on the watch and as little elsewhere.

of course all these choices are again dependent on the variables mentioned.

with TTL, the camera, at low ISOs only capture just as much light from the flash as needed before closing the shutter. the flash actually fires at around 1/9000th to 1/11000th of a second therefore effectively freezing the picture at those speeds.

VERY VERY VERY nice pictures!! and VERY VERY VERY nice watches!! OMG... cant breath... now my target, work really hard in order to own more watches i like gosh im poisoned.. 

and btw, thanks for sharing on the camera setting, gona try it soon!!

[lanatir]

siodee, using a macro lens which is a prime lens.

takashi, a flash gun is almost necessary unless you're shooting in a very bright area or in bright sunlight. without the flash, you will have problems handholding (especially more so if using a macro lens). the tilt/swivel is to ensure that you can always control the direction of the light. an on board flash will simply reflect the light off shiny watches and crystals back into the lens.

off camera flash is good if you want to be creative with the lighting and also control the reflections a bit more (especially pesky AR coating and domed crystals) but most of the time, you will not have the luxury of bringing a bulky and inconvenient setup to the shop/location. if you're at events, no way are you going to handle all of this as well as a glass of champagne. at most, if time/location/owner permits, then the most versatile setup is to have a tilt/swivel flashgun and maybe one portable reflector.

this was done with one reflector and one off-hotshoe flash (controlled remotely) on a chair at the AD itself.



the HM4 was shot quickly at a japanese restaurant sushi bar with just an on-hotshoe flash gun





if you're at home or some convenient place, then of course you can get creative with backdrops and also work to ensure that the backdrops are sufficient lit.

[Fairy Oly]

COOL

[TheHobbit]

background being dark? it's not due post shot manipulation. actually it's quite easy to do - just need to control shutter speed and work with flash at lower ISO. something i will show if ever the tutorial on watch photos is ever organized 

Care to provide some info on this? Flash on bounce, shooting on S mode? shutter speed? ISO setting? Background material - black cloth? Asking as I don't think I will be able to attend the tutorial. Thanks.

the settings are very dependent on the location, available lighting, environment (whether low white ceiling, reflections, distracting lamps etc). in ideal situations

1) the ISO should be as low as possible (depending on ceiling/wall distance height and colour and flash power)
2) flash must be tilt/swivel and TTL capable
3) shoot in full manual mode. you can set the aperture according to the desired effect and also the other variables mentioned
4) shutter speed is dependent on how much background light you wish to capture and the choice of ISO and aperture.

as u want the background to be as dark as possible, choose the lowest ISO with as small aperture as u need and ensure that any walls/floor/ceiling in the background is as far away as possible. the flash should then be directed to reflect off the wall/ceiling ensuring that it only falls on the watch and as little elsewhere.

of course all these choices are again dependent on the variables mentioned.

with TTL, the camera, at low ISOs only capture just as much light from the flash as needed before closing the shutter. the flash actually fires at around 1/9000th to 1/11000th of a second therefore effectively freezing the picture at those speeds.

Cool info. What are your normal settings in terms of ISO? Do you set the flash speed manually?

[jonhtks]

wow very very impressive pictures bro 

it really makes the watch look so nice !

although i dun really understand all the camera talks but your photoshotting skills are really eye catching 

[lanatir]

background being dark? it's not due post shot manipulation. actually it's quite easy to do - just need to control shutter speed and work with flash at lower ISO. something i will show if ever the tutorial on watch photos is ever organized 

Care to provide some info on this? Flash on bounce, shooting on S mode? shutter speed? ISO setting? Background material - black cloth? Asking as I don't think I will be able to attend the tutorial. Thanks.

the settings are very dependent on the location, available lighting, environment (whether low white ceiling, reflections, distracting lamps etc). in ideal situations

1) the ISO should be as low as possible (depending on ceiling/wall distance height and colour and flash power)
2) flash must be tilt/swivel and TTL capable
3) shoot in full manual mode. you can set the aperture according to the desired effect and also the other variables mentioned
4) shutter speed is dependent on how much background light you wish to capture and the choice of ISO and aperture.

as u want the background to be as dark as possible, choose the lowest ISO with as small aperture as u need and ensure that any walls/floor/ceiling in the background is as far away as possible. the flash should then be directed to reflect off the wall/ceiling ensuring that it only falls on the watch and as little elsewhere.

of course all these choices are again dependent on the variables mentioned.

with TTL, the camera, at low ISOs only capture just as much light from the flash as needed before closing the shutter. the flash actually fires at around 1/9000th to 1/11000th of a second therefore effectively freezing the picture at those speeds.

Cool info. What are your normal settings in terms of ISO? Do you set the flash speed manually?

Pls refer to the info related to the ISO that I spoke about i.e. how to choose your ISO. You cannot set flash speed manually. Flash speed is always literally illumination going at the speed of light. The bulb only stays on for the time that I talked about i.e. between 1/9000th to 1/11000th of a second.

[takashi78]

Wow the pic of the Freak is just heavenly!
Beacon of light shinning from up, just amazing.

The Freak is THE watch IMO that i first discovered to really push the boundaries of design but still maintaining the classic watch case. 

[takashi78]

Macro lens.

[chrisyen]

 

[shamtv2555]

marvelous......

[ezza88]

Shot at a shop in Starhill... but I only processed them recently...

Franc Vila's FVa No Cuatro SuperLigero Tourbillon Chronograph

FRANC VILA?my love....was wonder how much it cost for the their basis model?

[Apac959]

This is one of a piece that is awesome!! I used to see someone wearing this n wonder wat watch is dat! Nice on bro!!