What I realized throughout quarantine: Capturing watches with the Hasselblad X1D II and Godox V1 flash
Placing it mildly, we live in fascinating occasions. Longstanding habits, together with getting out into the world, have been damaged for many of us. And whereas many of the world is now rising from months of non-public isolation, right here in america it seems as if we’d should get used to enforced loneliness once more pretty quickly.
However that doesn’t imply that we are able to’t keep busy and even study a factor or two. From the torrent of rather well completed watch photographs showing on Instagram and different media lately, it seems as if numerous watch fans have been spending at the very least a few of their time sharpening their macro images and wrist taking pictures.
Flash(y) taking pictures: the creator’s Vacheron Constantin Reference 4560
And I’m amongst them! My images instructor, professional shooter, and watch company “benevolent dictator” Ming Thein had been bugging me for some time so as to add the usage of flash weapons to my macro method – and with the posh of time and Ming’s variety steerage, I’ve shot greater than 4,600 flash photographs since late March within the gentle tent as I’ve begun to study the ins and outs of flash macro images.
One fast notice: in case you are already a practiced flash macro photographer, a lot of what follows could also be painfully apparent to you; however I’m hoping that at the very least a few of it might be helpful to some others who, like myself, are early on the flash-shooting journey.
Getting began with flashes
The journey began with a little bit of Ming-guided GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome, a widely known phenomenon amongst shooters of all skills) so as to add a surprisingly inexpensive set of Godox V1 flashes and accompanying controller to my pile of substances.
Gearing up: tabletop macro taking pictures setup with Godox flashes, contrasted with a standing LED panel gentle
After a reasonably prolonged video tutorial from Ming, I began merely with a single flash and my Vacheron Constantin Reference 4560, working towards the basics of sunshine placement and depth and grabbing quite a lot of photographs together with the one which begins this text.
I anticipated to have actual difficulties with setting lighting angles in comparison with how I’d been doing it with my acquainted always-on LED panels, however the small modeling lights within the flash heads do permit a tough preview of the place shadows and light-weight scatters will fall as soon as the gun is triggered, and that helped loads.
Motion view, Grönefeld 1941 Remontoire
When unsure (or beginning out), select a straightforward goal! My subsequent topic was the motion aspect of the Grönefeld 1941 Remontoire, a caliber whose pronounced textures, scattered shiny bits, and a number of layers make it certainly one of my favourite items to shoot.
With a little bit of observe, I realized that it was simply doable to throw extra gentle onto the motion and to generate deeper shadows than I sometimes was capable of do with my standing lights. The outcomes have been photographs that basically popped – with sturdy contrasts however with out shedding the interior workings of the motion in darkness.
Shining gentle into the depths
Illuminating the depths of varied actions rapidly grew to become addictive; and I quickly turned to a different masterpiece of motion design, the Datograph Perpetual from A. Lange & Söhne.
Depth studying: A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual
If something, Caliber L952.1 of the A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual is even deeper than the Grönefeld motion, and for visible curiosity it provides a stunning hue of German silver. Utilizing the flashes, I discovered it fairly easy (after a bunch of observe, that’s) to seize the colour variations of the motion with out having the gold-colored components bounce out as harshly and overly yellow as I’d so usually skilled with standing lights.
The Datograph additionally did me a favor with its brushed rear bezel, as one difficult a part of utilizing flashes is the danger of blowing out polished metallic surfaces in the event you don’t diffuse the sunshine sufficient.
Motion view, Pour le Mérite Tourbillon by A. Lange & Söhne
I’ve all the time discovered the motion of A. Lange & Söhne’s Pour le Mérite Tourbillon to be fairly troublesome to seize appropriately, however with flashes I’m beginning to get there, I believe. And a shot that has lengthy bedeviled me, the motion of my Voutilainen Chronograph II, now appears inside attain via the usage of the case again inside as a bounce floor for a high-mounted flash.
Voutilainen Masterpiece Chronograph II, motion aspect
Because of Kari Voutilainen and his case-making operation, I’ve the pleasure of seeing and photographing Caliber 12-600 AT of my Patek Philippe Reference 2526 at any time when I need; the power to place and pinpoint a flash to get gentle into the inside with out blowing out the case was enormously useful, and as with all the motion photographs the depth of the flash actually helped to make the jewels shine with a heat pink glow.
Patek Philippe Caliber 12-600 AT, Reference 2526 with customized Voutilainen-Cattin case again
I used to be having sufficient enjoyable that I cloned collectively two motion photographs of the Reference 2526, one taken with the crown to the appropriate and the opposite with the crown to the left, after which erased the overlapping outer part of the gold rotor in every to yield a view of a “rotorless” motion.
Thriller rotor? Cloned motion photographs, Patek Philippe Reference 2526 with customized case again
Not all depths are on the backs of watches, both; the entrance of the Greubel Forsey Invention Piece 1 offered an appropriate take a look at mattress for some high-contrast taking pictures as effectively.
Invention Piece 1, No. 01/11 by Greubel Forsey
Bringing out particulars and shedding new gentle
The power to modulate the depth of sunshine over a really wide selection, and to make use of combos of sunshine that don’t exist within the pure world (for example, a brilliant major gentle with a dimmer fill gentle from the identical course), seems to be very helpful in illuminating particulars that aren’t simply captured with steady and pretty giant panel lights.
Dial aspect, A. Lange & Söhne Pour le Mérite Tourbillon
A working example: the dial of the A. Lange & Söhne Pour le Mérite Tourbillon, which I’d had bother previously capturing as something aside from a blah gray or overly brilliant white.
With the appropriate flashes, the grainy silver floor of the dial is plainly evident, and on the identical time the blued fingers are an apparent blue. We are able to additionally see the play of sunshine within the diamond endstone of the tourbillon.
The power to direct gentle tightly via the “snoot” that comes with the Godox gun helps with topic isolation, as within the shot beneath of the H. Moser x MB&F Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon, by which the tourbillon with its cylindrical spring is emphasised each via spotlighted gentle and depth of area.
H. Moser x MB&F Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon
New seems: past fundamental black
Watches bursting out of (or typically sinking into) a stark black background are the staple of my watch taking pictures model, but it surely doesn’t damage to department out. With new instruments at hand and the ensuing impetus to strive new issues, I’ve been diversifying a bit.
In an upcoming article, I’ll be taking an in-depth take a look at an excellent good friend’s Vianney Halter Anniversary Traditional. For now, right here’s one teaser shot, taken as a single publicity (with out stacking) in opposition to a light-weight background and on a reflective base.
A bit totally different: Vianney Halter Anniversary Traditional
Subsequent up was an outdated favourite of mine, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Géographique positioned in opposition to a brighter background and at a extreme angle.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Géographique
Lastly, a shot of the Greubel Forsey Invention Piece 1 utilizing a coloured filter on one of many flashes to provide a softer impact. For instance of how sure photographs are better-suited to some media than others, I’ll notice that this picture appeared tremendous when cropped to 2×1 and displayed as a double-wide picture on Instagram; you possibly can choose for your self whether or not it interprets as effectively right here.
Greubel Forsey Invention Piece 1, softer impact via coloured filter
Capturing troublesome topics and working in non-ideal circumstances
As famous above, some watches are more durable to seize than others. And a few varieties of setups are extraordinarily more difficult than their counterparts.
One good instance, and a sort of shot that I fairly like to aim, is a multi-watch setup by which two or extra items are exhibited aspect by aspect. Particularly with black backgrounds, it’s fairly simple to cheat this sort of shot by taking two separate photographs and pasting them collectively. However then once more, what’s the enjoyable in that?
Right here’s one current shot from my review of the collaboration pieces of MB&F and H. Moser: the 2 watches in a single picture, with the inexperienced MB&F dial clearly seen within the crystal of the Moser. It’s a shot that may have been very troublesome to seize with out with the ability to fireplace two flashes with totally different intensities from two instructions concurrently.
Aspect by aspect: H. Moser x MB&F collaboration watches, 2020
One other two-watch shot from the identical article additionally concerned the Venture LpX loupe holder. You’ll be able to see the placement of the first flash gun mirrored within the crystals of the 2 watches; what you possibly can’t see is that this picture was shot in the course of the daytime and outdoors of the sunshine tent, utilizing the power of brilliant flashes and really brief publicity occasions to make ambient gentle irrelevant.
After years of taking pictures with fastened LED panels and needing to verify not solely that brilliant ambient gentle was blocked but in addition that vibrations have been held to an absolute minimal, it’s fairly a pleasure to have the ability to zap a topic at 1/350 of a second, drowning out background concerns.
Shot in a flash: daylight shot in opposition to a darkish background, MB&F x H. Moser watches
It’s particularly arduous to shoot two watches aspect by aspect when one has a light-weight dial and the opposite a darkish one. With dark-dialed watches it’s very simple both to lose polished fingers and markers into the background or have them seem harsh and blown out.
And in the event you research photographs of watches with moon section indications, you’ll see that in a fantastic a lot of them the moon, stars, and sky merely can’t be seen. It took some work (and a few improvisation with bounce playing cards), however right here’s a “workforce picture” of two Patek Philippe perpetual calendars that I believe labored out fairly effectively – and that I couldn’t have completed with standing steady lights.
Two generations: Patek Philippe Reference 1526 in pink gold (left) and Reference 3940P-027 “Classic Assortment” perpetual calendars
Lastly, some watches are simply stinkers to shoot!
The brand new Kurono Anniversary Mori is a first-rate instance with its brushed and extremely reflective inexperienced dial and glossy, pretty flat fingers. Even with flashes I struggled mightily however did get at the very least one stable look; my reward is that the type people at Kurono have included this shot of their e-book celebrating their first yr of existence, so I assume it turned out okay!
I hope you’ll keep tuned for an upcoming “Why I Purchased It” on this one.
Gotcha: Kurono Anniversary Mori by Hajime Asaoka
Coming full circle
Most not too long ago, I’ve come again round to some taking pictures with favourite topics, seeing how I can use flash in my conventional chiaroscuro model. I just like the moody look, and the nice information is that as I get previous the novice stage with flash macro work I think that it’s going to assist me make richer photographs in that vein in addition to proceed increasing into higher-key imagery and have extra enjoyable with positioning, backgrounds, and props.
Parting shot: motion aspect, Patek Philippe Reference 5370P
I’ll sit up for listening to your personal experiences with macro images – and with attempting new instruments and strategies – within the feedback beneath. Within the meantime, comfortable taking pictures!
In regards to the Writer
GaryG is the resident “collector” for Quill & Pad, a incredible on-line journal on horology. However aside from his love for watches, he has additionally developed a ardour and fairly a ability in macro images. you possibly can learn extra about Gary here; and observe Quill & Pad on Instagram, Facebook, and their YouTube channel. This text was additionally revealed here and shared with permission.
