WATCH PHOTOGRAPHY - CLIENT SHOOT

[@botvidsson]

If you like to see the final image in higher resolution: www.botvidsson.se/product

[@Q80splendor]

You are the best artist so far in youtube , I enjoy learning from you. All the best.

[@botvidsson]

Thank you so much 😀 You just made my day. Makes me so glad to hear this.

[@Kumnak]

Totally agreed

[@designalpha5564]

As always great work Martin and I hope you're doing well. We had a client wanted us to photoshoot jewellery photos for her e-shop (each ring or earring would cost about 2000 to 10000 euros per piece). She wanted to pay only 30-40 euros for each final edited photo, she said that even 40 euros seems expensive to her !!! They don't understand the work and effort in order to achieve professional results, none wants to pay.

[@botvidsson]

I would just tell the client: Good luck. I feel your frustration and nowadays I don't even take the discussion about pricing, it's just a waste of time. Many clients are inexperienced image buyers and some say we need to inform and educate around pricing. I just don't have the strength to do so nowadays. First thing I do when I get approached by a new client is to ask what budget they have. I also add that my prices are around USD400-800 per photo depending on what kind of photo they like to have. The sad news is that 90% will just disappear. Silence. But, I prefer to do one good payed job per month instead of 5 low payed jobs.

[@TaavP]

That heavy HEAVY photoshop work there. And here i was today removing cements bags from a corner with grass and gradient light on the texture wall. thinking I was all powerful xD Will love showing the before and after to clients xD

[@botvidsson]

😁 Great mate!

[@iquraishi]

Good to see you back in action Martin! :)

[@botvidsson]

Hey, thanks man!

[@karolciesla3746]

You cant just leave us without a postpro video :D. After seeing the final edited version i just have to see how you have done it Martin! A-MA-ZING JOB!

[@botvidsson]

I will do a post prod video! Absolutely! Coming soon my friend!

[@sunilchitolie6771]

Your work is simply amazing, nothing more to it, just the best.

[@botvidsson]

Wow, thank you! Very kind.

[@AricanTonic]

It is good to see you Martin 🙏🏾 Your retouching work is so clean…this is crazy !!!

[@botvidsson]

Thank you so much 😀 Loads of work, many many hours unfortunately but hey, what can you do? 😁

[@marekpr5801]

Love You! It's that what I have been looking for!

[@botvidsson]

That's great!

[@RomanSkateboarding]

The back and forth between the raw version and the final result really blew my mind. Amazing job, Martin!

[@botvidsson]

Big thanks mate! Yes, a lot of retouching. A lot!

[@sabelosibisi9762]

Amazing work ethic!

[@botvidsson]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@gauravsawn]

amazing and enlightening work!

[@botvidsson]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@speterlewis]

This was wonderful, Martin. It's always great to see you work through the process (and it helps us in our work). And I'm glad you talked so much about post-processing and the huge amount of time it can take...even if it is fun. I constantly have to remind my clients that shooting is the easy and fast part, maybe only 20% of the total time it will take to make their final image. And, unlike landscape photography where a focus stack can just be a few images, in product photography, we take a lot of slices (although typically not 200, LOL). Keep cranking out the great content!

[@botvidsson]

Peter, big thanks. The sad part of it all is that I have to stop shooting watches, that I love, no one can afford to pay a reasonable price. But there's a lot of other fun stuff to shoot so, happy days 😁

[@markbeeversaddictedalround6574]

Really cool Martin, i started watching your videos years ago,when i started to learn photography my photography has come along way and thats thanks to people like you sharing this information.

[@botvidsson]

Wonderful Mark. So nice to hear you say this. Thanks for sticking around!

[@PCcardboard1354]

This is what i have been waiting for fo rso long!!! a REAL client shoot!!!!!!!!

[@botvidsson]

Great! I have some more client shoots under the coffee supporter member area. 😁

[@scottcunningham4115]

Learnt a lot as always. Great to see you back Martin..! Hope your recovery is behind you now. 😊

[@botvidsson]

Thanks. Soon my friend, soon.

[@hermanlopez2945]

Thank you for sharing your tips. Great video

[@botvidsson]

You are so welcome!

[@CrazyAboutLife]

Beautifull image Martin :)

[@botvidsson]

Thank you man! Cheers!

[@karanarora9437]

Solid work as always. Very informative and helpful. Thanks for sharing 😁

[@botvidsson]

Much appreciated!

[@fotoHORYZONT]

Martin - as always great job and informative explanation of what you do as a professional. Thanks a lot. Greets from Poland :)

[@botvidsson]

Many thanks Piotr!!

[@stefanschroder4329]

Good to see you back I hope you are fine🤩👍

[@botvidsson]

Yes, thank you. Getting better every day.

[@danadiab9031]

amazing wok! it would be great if you can show us how you do the retouching in photoshop.

[@botvidsson]

I will try to do a video on that.

[@krisztiankomjati4095]

Hello @@botvidsson have you happened to make this video of the retouching of this particular shoot? If not something similar?

[@АнтонАнисимов-ц7з]

Legend from Sweden )))

[@botvidsson]

😁😁😁

[@renatozorn7162]

Wooooooow! Congrats!!!

[@botvidsson]

Thanks!

[@alexanderbaluev]

Hello! In order to place the watches cover glass parallel to camera sensor you can to point the central focusing point to the center of the watches and rotate them to see the reflection of the front lense of the camera lense symmetrical to central focussing point. I hope my explanation is not too complicated ) Have a nice day!

[@botvidsson]

That was very smart, I will try that next time. Thanks!

[@lozinski86]

Hej Martin, ny kaffesupporter här! Foto är ett alltmer växande intresse hos mig och vill verkligen ge mig in i produktfoto. Du ger mig enormt mkt kunskap och inspiration inom området. Så tack för en otrolig kanal och fint att du är på benen igen. allt gott! /Anton

[@botvidsson]

Hallå Anton och supertack för att du stöttar kanalen. Ja snart är jag nog helt återställd och kan prodda lite mer kul videos. Kommer två till klock-videos inom kort. Ha det fint!

[@krisztiankomjati4095]

Hey, great video, love it! How can the issue of the cone being at a considerable distance from the product be resolved? Using zoom? Even if considering that zooming in reduces the photo quality? Without using zoom, the product appears quite small in the image, and as I know distance from the subject and zooming in (changing focal length) is not the same thing. I learned that it might be related to the so called focal length, however still don't understand if the cone limits you moving closer to the subject what should you do?

[@botvidsson]

I understand, I experienced the same thing shooting rings with the cone, so I just changed the lens, a zoom. No problem.

[@krisztiankomjati4095]

@@botvidsson Hey! Oh, could you please explain more in depth what do you mean you changed the lens? Because I experienced that using a higher focal length lens might not solve the problem where you are to far away from the product just like in this case where you have limited access or moving capabilities :/

[@botvidsson]

Oh sorry I misunderstood. You mean that you can't come close with an IKEA cone shooting small jewellery? That's a problem yes, maybe cut the hole a bit bigger 😁

[@fotosbyDanny]

Great work as always Martin! I would love to see how you rigged the watch for the back shot. How did you hold the strap and bracelet open? I'm guessing wires? The shots look incredible. Also, what is your preferred technique in post for smoothing textures? Finally, would you say digital backs are the most optimal format for Watch photography in particular because of their resolution? I've been thinking about saving up for H5D or an older Phase IQ system. Would love to see a comparison video between your hassy and canon on a product shot. Keep the videos coming !

[@botvidsson]

Here's a raw shot of the black watch: shared-assets.adobe.com/link/3231bf59-a75c-46aa-43d4-b2c53201060b It might be hard to see but I just took a white wooden brick and leaned the watch. Also I put a bit of blue tac so the watch will not glide. On the steel watch I did the same thing (link open yes) and used some gaffa tape to hold the link up: shared-assets.adobe.com/link/a425c8df-f407-454f-4b2c-34750dbf63be Smoothing textures, I try to avoid that as much as possible cuz it often looks bad. However, on the black rubber strap I used Median in Photoshop. I also use a frequency separation action from time to time to keep the texture and smooth out the colors below. I never tested any PhaseOne so I can't talk about it. When it comes to my old H5D 50MS Hasselblad camera you will still today get a greater result than any regular DSLR or mirrorless camera. You have the 16-bit colour depth and that's amazing, it delivers smoother tonal transitions. Very important if you shoot like me with a lot of gradient lighting. The bad thing about my old Hasselblad is that I can only shoot at the lowest ISO, if I crank it up to ISO400-800 the files will be trash. Not often you need to change the ISO in a studio senario but sometimes it is a bit frustrating. I will try to do a comparison video between the Hasselblad and Canon. Compare the quality of the tonal transitions. Thanks!!

[@ules714]

@@botvidsson Great insight, thank you Martin! By the way, have you considered developing product photography courses? I think your style of explaining theory and knowledge of the subject matter is unlike anyone on KZbin. By far one of the best channels on KZbin for learning and gaining new skills.

[@botvidsson]

@@ules714 Wow, huge thanks. Well, I do have courses/workshops from time to time. When I get some time over I will add this to my website. Did you have digital courses in mind or?

[@ules714]

@@botvidsson Sure, as much as I would like to see more in-depth product work, I think some food photography videos would be great. Your food photography is unique with your use of lighting and shadow play. Would love to see more of that and your creative process from pre-production to post work. Perhaps some videos on photoshop in regards to retouching. I think post-processing is where a lot of photographers fail or have difficulty and your retouching is world class. Also, shoot more watches and jewelry :)

[@botvidsson]

I actually started out as a pro retoucher before I became a photographer so... I guess I should do more Photoshop videos... working on it. So little time so much fun videos to make. 😁

[@LeventavcBLOG]

Great good to see you back cheers.

[@botvidsson]

Hey, thanks!

[@pvetesnik]

I know your feeling and I dione exactly the same :) I feel your pain hahahaha

[@botvidsson]

😁 Yeah, life of a photographer. Only a fellow photographer can understand.

[@pvetesnik]

@@botvidsson I actually have those lamp shades in kitchen and when need to shoot watches I just remove it and use it. It is very awesome solution :) but your result is much nicer :) I was supposed to shoot 3 different watches in combination with 13 different bands :D and as you said 90 procent of postproduction 10 percent of shooting. I spent 2 days shooting and like a month editing. It was a nightmare (kind off) 😂

[@botvidsson]

Ah cool! Yes, that's how it is. Edit edit edit... 😁

[@toddtucker323]

Just found your channel and love it. Question. Why do you have to focus stack? Will shooting at a high aperture not get everything in focus? F8 or F11?

[@botvidsson]

When you’re very close you have to stack, only a tiny part will be sharp even if you go to f32 or something like that crazy. Also, when you go extremely high f-number you loose the over all sharpness. Thanks mate!

[@toddtucker323]

@@botvidsson thanks!

[@AgIg07]

Отличная работа!

[@botvidsson]

Спасибі

[@photobeis]

PGI I LOVE 😍

[@botvidsson]

Me too! 😁

[@samcooper5539]

gorgeous work! So how many days did it take you to complete the whole project? were you able to work faster with each photo as you went?

[@botvidsson]

In total I took 8 photos. Don’t know how long it took, maybe 2-3 weeks. Hard to say cuz I did other shoots in-between. Nowadays I rarely take on watch shoots cuz it’s impossible to charge a reasonable price. This time I did the shoot for the KZbin channel and the coffee supporters. I see it as an investment into the KZbin channel. Thanks man! 😁

[@James_m7]

@@botvidsson what is the going rate for a shoot like this nowadays?

[@alirezagholampoor4245]

good to see u , long time no see u

[@botvidsson]

Great!

[@ruslanalpysbayev1209]

Nice video. Could you tell what software you use for capturing the shot? And why did you switch from Capture One to this program?

[@botvidsson]

The software is Phocus and it's for Hasselblad cameras. When I photograph with my Canon I still use CaptureOne. Thanks!

[@alexgrimadesign]

Nice work 🔥🔥

[@botvidsson]

Thanks 🔥Alex!

[@ingohoffmann9450]

bester Kanal

[@botvidsson]

Thanks mate!

[@tamasbrenyo1348]

I don't have a macro lens, just a 24-70 & 70-200. Is it possible to create a similar picture to this one or it's very limited?

[@botvidsson]

The Canon 24-70 you can go close I think. Works great. If you have a camera with a crop sensor, even better.

[@tamasbrenyo1348]

@@botvidsson Good to hear that, thanks for the quick response. I have a 5d mk II so full frame.

[@botvidsson]

@@tamasbrenyo1348 I mean, if you don't need to take close up macro photos, any lens will do. Personally I prefer the look of 70mm, 85mm, 100mm ish kind of photos.

[@tamasbrenyo1348]

​@@botvidssonWell I would like to replicate this very pespective you had here, which is not a super macro close up.

[@botvidsson]

Yes, you can do that

[@tedming3515]

As someone said: "There are two calamities in this life: 1) having a job; 2) not having a job 😆😆😆😆😆 Still wanna complain, Martin?

[@botvidsson]

True! 😁😁😁 Well, if I could not share this photo shoot with you guys here om KZbin I would not take on this job. Nowadays I actually pick the 2nd option more and more often... poor and proud! Or something like that 😁

[@tedming3515]

@@botvidsson This watch is an excellent work, Martin! I hope you don't go on starving there in Sweden because of the lack of work and will keep on giving us joy with your work. 🙂

[@botvidsson]

I will survive 😁 Thanks again!

[@tedming3515]

@@botvidsson Please do, Martin. Stay alive and do your work. 😆😆 kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5OmZ5eCfMSXh7s

[@botvidsson]

Great stuff! 😁😁😂

[@Justas49]

PGI letters keeps industry more relevant next to CGI 😂

[@botvidsson]

😁

[@enricoviappiani4305]

My main problem as photographer is to tell the client my prices. Everyone refuses after that. Only 3 or 4 photographers works in the whole country. That's so demotivating. I'm about to quit. So frustrating.

[@Readingworld2023]

Just do like me, i ask the client ( are you looking for a price or quality? ) , and always remember to let your work speak on behalf of you!

[@botvidsson]

Sounds tuff and I know how it is, I turn down one watch client per week... very frustrating. But don't give up, find a way!

[@zbenji229]

how do you move the crown in in photoshop?

[@botvidsson]

Just cut it out with the pen tool, copy to separate layer and move the crown in.

[@pravinxp]

Ikea product link available ?

[@botvidsson]

www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/melodi-pendant-lamp-white-10386539/ Not sure if it's available all around the world.

[@johnnymossville]

I do cgi renderings of watches when the watch doesn't exist yet, otherwise, photography is best.

[@botvidsson]

Ah of course, I did not think about that. The watches I shot this time are pre-production, not ideal. I must say that I kind of changed my mind, CGI is the way to go, photography will be way too expensive. The retouching will take too much time.

[@meh2063]

​@@botvidssonboth take time, with CGI you must figure out how to get the exact shapes as the real watch, no tolerance for mistakes.

[@dooboo1976]

What's up?

[@botvidsson]

Watch photography! 😁

[@Knowledgeseeker70]

Photographers slowly moving to cgi now a days especially for automotive and products... No need to focus stack and clean the image to insane levels...

[@botvidsson]

Yes, no one can afford photography nowadays and IMHO, the CGI at the top level watch brands often look like... CGI.