How To Create An Advertising Quality Watch Photo With One Light

When I first started trying to create advertising photography I became obsessed with gear. I thought the only way those images were possible was by owning and using loads of expensive equipment. Thankfully, I was wrong.
This tutorial covers one of the most valuable lessons I have learnt throughout my career. Advertising photography is often created through compositing. To really hammer this message home, I decided to create an advertising quality image using only one light. Not only that but I chose to do so using a watch, one of the hardest subjects a still life photographer has to work with.
EQUIPMENT USED IN TODAYS VIDEO
Nikon D810 - geni.us/cwHFb
Sigma 150mm Macro - geni.us/B56E
Manfrotto 410 Junior - geni.us/9FB5b7
Profoto D2 - geni.us/8uMYmJ
Profoto Air Remote - geni.us/ssbMlqc
Shutter Release Trigger - geni.us/kxzt8I
Profoto 1x1.3 - geni.us/dbBF4
Profoto Reflector - geni.us/mqwrzOr
Profoto Gird kit - fave.co/2q6E61S
Opal Acrylic - bit.ly/2EfVV2V
Lee 129 - fave.co/2q4BaTE
Savage Translum - fave.co/2IsZpS3
20-inch C-stand - fave.co/2It9q1M
Matthews Knuckle - fave.co/2uKFWu5
Matthews 48x48 Trace Frame - fave.co/2q71RXy (UK version - fave.co/2v6sNeY)
Manfrotto Super Clamp - geni.us/DmQmnKf
Manfrotto Magic Arm - geni.us/rAyO84
Helicon Focus - usd.swreg.org/...
VISIT SQUAREMOUNTAIN.CO.UK TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT US
squaremountain...
CHECK OUT THE BLOG FOR EVEN MORE PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
squaremountain...
FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram: / square_mountain
Facebook: / sqmountain
Pinterest: / squaremountain
Square Mountain: squaremountain...
LINKS TO MOST OF THE STUFF I USE…THERE’S A LOT!
CAMERAS AND LENSES
Nikon D810 - geni.us/cwHFb
Nikon D750 - geni.us/yya8gC
Sigma 150mm Macro - geni.us/B56E
Nikon 50mm - geni.us/F8mw9
Nikon 85mm - geni.us/oye1
Tamron 15-30mm Macro - geni.us/fzAJn
TRIPOD AND HEAD
Manfrotto 410 Junior - geni.us/9FB5b7
Tripod - Need a better one for the home studio
LIGHTING
Profoto D2 - geni.us/8uMYmJ
Profoto Air Remote - geni.us/ssbMlqc
Godox Speedlight - geni.us/HUKtxA
Shutter Release Trigger - geni.us/kxzt8I
MODIFIERS
Profoto 3x3 - fave.co/2q4RKTk
Profoto 1x1.3 - geni.us/dbBF4
Profoto Reflector - geni.us/mqwrzOr
Impact strip small 9 x 36 - fave.co/2q4Q3W0
Profoto Gird kit - fave.co/2q6E61S
Acrylic Mirror - geni.us/tHHV6X
Opal Acrylic - bit.ly/2EfVV2V
Lee 129 - fave.co/2q4BaTE
Savage Translum - fave.co/2IsZpS3
Cinefoil - geni.us/uz7rAbd
Polarizing Gel - fave.co/2q4IjTJ
GRIP
20-inch C-stand - fave.co/2It9q1M
40-inch C-stand - fave.co/2uOdQhG
Matthews Knuckle - fave.co/2uKFWu5
Matthews 48x48 Trace Frame - fave.co/2q71RXy
Baby Wall Plate - fave.co/2uIlqdH
Overhead Boom - fave.co/2q54M3j
Extension Arm - fave.co/2q4WBny
Manfrotto Super Clamp - geni.us/DmQmnKf
Manfrotto Magic Arm - geni.us/rAyO84
MISC
Acrylic surface - bit.ly/2Emr7xC
Acrylic blocks - bit.ly/2Emr7xC
Acrylic Ice Cubes - setshop.com/spe...
Matt Paint Primer - bit.ly/2GuhHFY
Vegetable Glycerin - geni.us/oEGj
Label remover - geni.us/xjYcFyB
X-rite Colour Checker - geni.us/iDhK1
Wacom Tablet - geni.us/wJ5z
SOFTWARE
Adobe Creative Cloud - fave.co/2qe3JxV
Capture One - captureone.sjv...
Helicon Focus - store.payprogl...
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
RGG EDU - rggedu.com/col...
SLR Lounge - www.slrlounge....
Fstoppers - fstoppers.com/...
Phlearn - phlearn.com/af...

[@mark83175]

Dude this lighting and all your images are exactly what I envision... Awesome

[@phoebesolomon7554]

Your tutorials are absolutely incredible, i wish I could pay you for them.

[@maxbridge8921]

Phoebe Solomon ha ha! Thanks Phoebe. My hope is to one day produce longer, more in-depth, paid content but that's a long way off I'm afraid. Very happy to hear you enjoy them though

[@StefanMarjoram]

Really well explained - thanks!

[@thearchitecturalphotographer]

Very thorough. You don’t want to be jolting that tripod!

[@velvetunderground17]

really useful content, thanks a ton!

[@Juventinos]

genuine competence at work.

[@GalIsaev]

great video thanks!

[@uweSM]

Hey Max, thanks for sharing your knowledge - really interesting, that you don’t need too much equipment for such kind of really good shots. Would like to see more BTS of your work - maybe shots of other jewellery like rings ...?

[@fatrabbitvideo3112]

Thank you so much for this video. It's brilliant! I'm now going to check out everything else you've posted. Thanks again, wonderful.

[@keomakk]

Thanks for the knowledge

[@davidalanmedia]

Well done, gorgeous image!

[@philipdstudio]

Great work, Max!

[@designercountrymarketing669]

That was a remarkable and complete article… all of the tips tallied and explained will be valuable for the people who are wise enough to tap from it. Any business nowadays without electronic long range informal communication sign and proximity may not make it to the farthest, and adventure additionally is a bit of the best approach to accomplishment in business. Continue doing amazing.

[@brewwatchco]

Really wonderful work - great tutorial!

[@hirendutta9037]

Keep it up my brother

[@alexreay4164]

Outstanding! Fascinating viewing, I’m now subscribed and looking forward to seeing more of your work

[@handyandydmv]

This was such an amazing video! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and content with us! This has been very inspirational for me, and I guess I have to learn compositing now! Thanks!

[@DROZDZU91]

Super

[@beegees21]

Great job. And yet not expected or reqiured buy most watch manufacturers. Unless you shoot for Patek... and even then - an overkill

[@maxbridge8921]

It's more to demonstrate the compositing technique but guaranteed if you're doing an ad campaign for a watch brand they will care that every element looks good. Same with any ad campaign really.

[@norlanzeledon2421]

Mint!

[@odayalhafidh9687]

Thanks a lot for sharing you experience, question regarding the metal around the glass, photo exposures are coming by changing the light power or the lens aperture?

[@maxbridge8921]

Thanks. Changing the light, always changing the light 😁

[@justinzaff]

I think for me at least , buying my first strobe that has a modeling light will make this process a lot easier. I tried your technique using speedlights and it was really difficult and labor intensive to get all the different images needed for the composite .

[@maxbridge8921]

Justin Zaff having a modelling light is definitely a big help. When you photograph anything this small though it's always tricky, tiny movements make a huge difference! Well done for giving it a go!

[@mattmateiescu7115]

Excellent video!

[@olegusmanov]

Thank you very much!

[@danosadtsuk2005]

Great content, thanks!

[@bnkakl]

would love have to see how you set up the watch :-)

[@maxbridge8921]

Do you mean on the stand? You can see that a few times in the video. Or do you mean something else?

[@justinzaff]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge . When will part 2 of this video come out ? Btw your website link to squaremountain is not working .

[@maxbridge8921]

More than happy to. Glad you enjoyed it. I'll be recording it on Monday and it should be out on Wednesday. That's odd with the website link, it's working for me. Do you mind checking again and letting me know? Would be very helpful!

[@justinzaff]

Square Mountain Just checked your web link on my android phone and it works now . 15 mins ago i tried twice on my desktop windows computer and it didnt open . Either from the KZbin link or google searching for it . Do you offer skype calls ? Id be interested in paying you to have a chat about commercial product photography .

[@maxbridge8921]

Justin Zaff How odd. Maybe my site servers were temporarily down...thanks for checking again!

[@lewisfilms]

So fantastic! How much would you charge a client for a shot like this?

[@ISOCZAR]

I do watch photography and working with Patek and Rolex its so stressful because no matter how much I clean watches and prep you can never get all the lint and dust off, post production is a bitch ha, but its a fun job

[@kentskjnnemann5629]

Really liked this little jewel video, it told me a lot on how to achieve this kind of work. You have a new sub, and will tell people about your channel :) Thanks again :)

[@maxbridge8921]

Very happy to hear the video was helpful! Thanks for sharing

[@dangchanpen22]

Fantastic tutorial, thanks you! When you went into live view and controlled the camera and focus with PC, what software were you using? I believe you jumped outside Capture One. Thanks again.

[@maxbridge8921]

Yeah, that's called helicon focus. It's focus stacking software. There should be a link to it in the software section of the description

[@5RustyBin]

with so much light I assume you shoot at minimum ISO with a small aperture?

[@Marc-gz7du]

Great video! I was looking at the watch photography on Rolex's website and wanted to ask you if you think they are using the same technique as you show here to photograph their watches?

[@maxbridge8921]

They definitely will use similar techniques for photography, everyone does. Looking at their site I'd also say they use a fair bit of CGI, definitely for some of their video stuff and perhaps for some of the stills as well. From a quick glance I'd say there's a mix of CGI and photography.

[@Marc-gz7du]

@@maxbridge8921 Thank you for the reply! Yep, that is what I suspected and yes they do in fact use CGI for their videos.

[@drpentecost]

Thanks for this great tutorial. Could you do this using natural light from a window and small reflectors to highlight each part of the watch and black flags to prevent light spill ? Thanks.

[@maxbridge8921]

With enough time and patience you can pretty much do anything but that would be EXTREMELY hard. Watches are such small subjects that it's important to have a little more control over your light source. Why do you want to do it with window light? Is that all you have available?

[@drpentecost]

@@maxbridge8921 I don't have a studio so any product photography would have to be done in my home. I have a couple of speed lights and umbrellas and 2 Elinchrom D-LITE ONE'S with softboxes. I know that some food photographers use window light and small reflectors to add light to parts of the food. Thanks.

[@maxbridge8921]

@@drpentecost if that's the case, I wouldn't advise using window light. I only used one light in the video so you have more than enough lights. I'd get a small scrim or roll of trace, and a small softbox. Then you're good to go. Check the description for links to stuff. Good luck!

[@drpentecost]

@@maxbridge8921 Ok, thanks.

[@lencardinale7384]

Hi, Your work is beautiful and I'm trying to duplicate the process, but I'm running up against the problem of adjusting the light without moving the watch. I understand the angle of incidence, but I'm still having great difficulty. Could you show a 5 minute video on how to manipulate the light? thanks, Len

[@maxbridge8921]

I always find this example helpful for those in your situation. When trying to light a reflective surface think of it like a game of pool. Light travels in straight lines, just like the ball on a pool table. It bounces off at the same angle it hits a surface. So, imagine a line coming out of your lens and hitting the product, now imagine where that line goes. This is where you put your modifier. Even with the above, it can still be tricky. In those situations use modelling lights and move the light while looking through the lens. You can use live view on the computer if you can't look through the lens. Doing this you should easily be able to see where to place your lights. If you don't have modelling lights then use a torch. I hope that's helpful.

[@lencardinale7384]

@@maxbridge8921 As I am a rotten pool player I may have to resort to the torch method. I'll continue on my trek. thanks, Len

[@BemCorrido]

At 7:35 you say that you use the Live View function... How do you get this bright exposure with such a closed aperture? Mine is totally black!

[@maxbridge8921]

If you use live view in Capture One, along with modeling lights on your strobes, you can easily see where to position your lights. Once lights are in position, turn off live view and take a photo

[@GoldenTechReview]

What lens are you using in this video?

[@maxbridge8921]

Sigma 150mm macro. I don't have it anymore but it's a great macro lens. Was actually thinking of getting it again

[@BehnamTrv]

Can these things be done with a reading lamp by directing light?

[@maxbridge8921]

Yes and no. Technically yes you could get a comparable result, however, you'd still need all the scrims and more importantly you'd need to be extremely skilled to come close to this result. In other words, it would be exceptionally difficult.

[@lewisfilms]

I can’t seem to find a position or angle of light that doesn’t give me a lot of glare in the watch face/glass.

[@maxbridge8921]

Watches are really tough, especially if you only use one light! The face tends to be the hardest part and I would always recommend using more than one light for that part. Most likely, you're using a modifier which is too big. The result of which is that no matter where you put it the face blows out. A solution I often use is to have one light well out of the angle of reflection which gives I use for the overall exposure of the face. I then have a second really tiny light, I'm talking a light so small it creates a spot which is an inch or two in diameter, which I use to get a nice reflection on the face of the watch. To recap, one light away from the angle of reflection gets the exposure. A second light on the angle of reflection gets the highlight.

[@Schchrh]

Max, great videos. I do have one question about your composites and focus stacking. Do you have any experience with photoshop focus stacking and why do you choose helicon over it? As I am starting out I can’t justify the cost of new software however, I would if photoshop focus stacking is just not acceptable for some reason. Thanks for your videos and a response!

[@Schchrh]

Also, sorry to add another question but... would it ever be acceptable to not focus stacking but use a tilt shift lens? To get the plane of the face of the watch in one shot? I see the benefit of a tilt shift but not if ever mm has to be crisp. Thanks for your opinions

[@maxbridge8921]

Hi Christopher. Glad you liked the video. It's definitely possible to use Photoshop to focus stack. Helicon focus is far quicker and more accurate but there's no need to purchase it right away. In terms of a tilt shift. In my opinion, as you're working at a very macro level, you won't be able to get enough in focus using only a tilt shift. How much actually needs to be sharp is up to you and the brand. For me it always depends on the shot and the client requirements.

[@fatrabbitvideo3112]

I only have continuous lights and am wondering if it's possible to achieve anything close to what you have produced here. I guess the only way to find out is to give it a go. I'm also wondering why you have a studio painted white? Doesn't this cause problems with unwanted reflections?

[@maxbridge8921]

You could do something similar with continuous lights. You'll need fairly powerful lights to be able to shoot at f8-f11 or you'll need to up your iso. You will also still need to focus stack. So long as you can modify your continuous lights, I see no real issue. Will be a little tricky but definitely do-able. The white studio is quite nice actually. If needs be I can bounce lights into walls and use the room to my advantage. The most annoying thing about my space is the size, it's pretty small

[@prasannagandre]

how to shoot and composite advertising splash shots like photogy does

[@cmoore7723]

I find the compositing process fascinating but I don't really understand how to organize the layers/masks into the right order so that I can control what is and isn't seen. Is there a good way to do this?

[@maxbridge8921]

Thanks for the question. Masks work by revealing the layer beneath them. I usually begin with a base layer on the bottom which normally includes a large amount of the final image. In other words, there would be only a few additional composite layers to add on top. Working from that base layer I add all the additional layers one after the other. Depending on how precise your masks are the order those layers are added may not matter. Personally, I like to have whatever elements are closest to the camera at the top and work down from there. That said, it's not really the end of the world either way, if you have a decent base layer to work off. Hope that helps.

[@mercededadras]

Which version of photoshop did you work with?

[@maxbridge8921]

I'm usually on the latest version

[@ivelinaleksandrov1578]

Why do you use a scrim and a soft box? Can`t you just use soft box and lower the intensity of the b2?

[@maxbridge8921]

Using a scrim and softbox allows you to create gradients on the scrim, those are then reflected onto the product. That is not possible with only a softbox

[@TheOnlyGuess]

Is there any way how to achieve that or at least something close without using flash,

[@maxbridge8921]

The benefit of flash is that you'll be able to shoot at a low ISO and high (ish) aperture. You can also modify the light with softboxes, reflectors etc. giving you lots of control. It would be very difficult but someone with enough knowledge and experience would be able to achieve a decent image with a household lamp for example. You can buy a cheap speedlight for roughly £50 though so I don't see why you would. If you're wondering if this would be possible with natural light then technically yes but it would be extremely difficult to achieve and I wouldn't bother trying.

[@TheOnlyGuess]

@@maxbridge8921 Thank you very much for your response. Well, with flash we can have a lots of options. In addition to what you've said we have the ability to select the intensity of light we need and it will make our work so easy. Since I don't have a speed light and I can't afford one for the moment, I think I'm gonna go for light painting and see what results I can have. Though I'm planning to have a speed light in the future for the flexibility of work it offers. Thank you very much again. It's been a pleasure.

[@angelohaak3312]

In what format does the stacking program export the stacked image?

[@maxbridge8921]

I usually just do TIFFS but you can export DNG I think.

[@PhotoBrad]

This is a fantastic tutorial and the final image is impressive. But, I have a question. This is a very involved process that requires many hours to create just one final image. Have you found that clients understand how complex the process is and they're willing to pay you properly for all that work? (My clients don't want to pay more than $50 per image!)

[@maxbridge8921]

Brilliant question! Oftentimes in my articles, I talk about time invested vs client budget. One should never, or at least always try not to, do more work than the client has paid for. If a client only has $50 for an image then they will not get this quality and I explain that to them. I have methods for shooting watches quickly which I do for white background e-commerce imagery but the results are not the same. On the other hand, larger jobs where a client will either be using an image in a more prominent position on their website or for a larger advertising campaign, will always demand a higher level of creativity, attention to detail and time. Clients looking for that type of photography usually have an idea that it will cost more, sometimes they have a very good idea of what it will cost if they're experienced and understand the process. Big clients may be willing to spend thousands on a single image if it's for an ad campaign. So, as a very long answer to your question. Yes, there are clients out there willing to spend the money. That said, many people have no idea about photography and expect you to be able to produce an image for very little. In those instances, I explain the length of time it takes to produce work of that quality and suggest what could be done for their budget.

[@PhotoBrad]

Max, thank you for the reply! I only discovered your channel (and subscribed) yesterday, so it looks like I'm going to have to find & read the articles you've written that discuss this topic. I'm a professional commercial photographer since 1990 and I feel I could write a book about my experiences trying to educate "budget-minded" clients (to put it nicely) about the skill set, real time and effort that's required to produce top quality product photos. It seems no logical argument will persuade them. Unfortunately, there's a widespread misconception that a professional photographer is nothing more than a guy with an expensive camera who could be replaced by anyone with a finger to press the shutter button. They believe the camera is doing all the work so the job shouldn't cost much. I hope your videos get millions of views so more people and potential clients will be better informed.

[@maxbridge8921]

Thanks! That's nice of you to say. I hope they get millions of views too. Ha ha! It's always a challenge. I turn down jobs every week from clients who expect massive shoots to be done on a shoe string. Some requests are truly ridiculous. That said, usually if I show them a few images, say a white background e-com shot vs a complex advertising image, they realise the two are very different and understand that each require varying amounts of time and effort. Whether they go on to decide that they want to pay for that effort or not is a different matter entirely! I've not written an article specifically on the topic, not that I can recall anyway (I've written lots of articles over the years), but I do tend to mention it here and there. Perhaps I should write One!

[@fiftyfourwatch2794]

whats the software ?

[@maxbridge8921]

I'd have re-watch the video but it'll either be Capture One for tethering the camera, Photoshop for compositing or Helicon focus for focus stacking

[@leonerd3678]

Nice Video but why didnt you remove this little dusthair in the left top corner :D

[@eliasali9383]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@SanketPatil-qp9nx]

More videos upload KZbin

[@olayinkabalogun8244]

Hello, Can you photograph a watch for him?

[@annonymous1026]

For a second I thought he said “wassup niggás

[@yaeckerphotography]

So show me how they did it back in the day when you had to shoot a chrome. One shot

[@maxbridge8921]

It was much harder, that's for sure! That said, it's the same principle. I still have to do this when working with clients on set, to a degree at least. Usually I'll have an assistant creating the comp as we go but I won't do as many comps since I am using more than one light. Must have been very difficult doing this while just taking Polaroids to test exposures!

[@eccentricsmithy2746]

if you used a circular polarizer, you wouldnt have the light issue on the watch face.

[@maxbridge8921]

I usually like to have a highlight on the glass but it was tough with this as I was only using the one light. That made it hard to have the highlight on the glass and illuminate the watch face, perhaps a polarizer would have helped. Thanks for commenting

[@aaronhoward6666]

:)

[@dilliboirubirosa9638]

Funny... your technique, which you claim is used by “everybody”, isn’t used by Karl Taylor nor by Botvidsson........ Just saying.

[@maxbridge8921]

Thanks for the comment. This particular demonstration is taking the technique to the extreme. I would never usually shoot like this but the point of the video is to show how useful compositing is. I'm afraid you're mistaken though, both of those photographers use compositing, not to this degree but like I said that was just for the purpose of demonstration. I saw Botvidsson did a watch the other day and I only skimmed the video but I thought he did some composites after getting a base exposure of the watch.