Dad's watch, Dad's lens

[sv_goon]

A couple weeks ago I was going a little stir-crazy, so decided to build a mini-studio to use with my dad's "borrowed" macro lens. It consisted of a rolling butcher-block cart, some fabric, a flash shooting through a white umbrella (camera left) and a piece of white foam core board propped up with a stapler and a tape dispenser (camera right).

I grabbed this watch, which I've also "borrowed" from my dad, and took a few shots at different angles. This one seemed to come out the best. It is clear that it could stand a wipedown with a soft cloth before its next photo shoot, but I'm mostly interested in critique on the lighting and the DoF.

Thanks in advance for any comments, positive or negative. This is an area of photography that interests me but I have absolutely no experience.

Will



EXIF:
Camera Canon EOS 5D
Exposure 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture f/8.0
Focal Length 100 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

Note: EXIF says flash didn't fire but it did -- I have a Strobist beginner kit with the remote hot shoe cable thingy. I guess the camera isn't aware of it from an exposure perspective but it does send the signal to the flash.

[idb]

Hi Will,
As far as lighting and dof it's right on, in my opinion. Good work! My only comment is that the watch being on its side makes me want to turn my head to the side. Ouch! But on the other hand, everyone puts their watch down that way when they take it off, myself included.
So keep at it. Hope to see more of your macro stuff.

Ian
PS. I've used lighting setups like you've described too.

[sv_goon]

Thank you for the comment. Might try some more over the long weekend coming up. I'm not crazy about the fuzzy fabric. I'll see if I can find something to hold it in a more conventional position.

Thanks!

[AnneWynne]

Looks very good. Nice depth of field and lighting is soft, making the gold of the watch glow rather than glare. Good job.

I also really like that it is on a dark surface. I agree that the fuzzy fabric is a bit distracting (the lint and dust spects are the problem). Some possible substitutes could be: poster board, construction paper, smooth fabric ironed and rolled with a lint roller). I wondered about how it would look shot in high key, but I think the low key look is richer.

Nice work.

[sv_goon]

Originally Posted by AnneWynne

Looks very good. Nice depth of field and lighting is soft, making the gold of the watch glow rather than glare. Good job.

I also really like that it is on a dark surface. I agree that the fuzzy fabric is a bit distracting (the lint and dust spects are the problem). Some possible substitutes could be: poster board, construction paper, smooth fabric ironed and rolled with a lint roller). I wondered about how it would look shot in high key, but I think the low key look is richer.

Nice work.

Thank you. I've seen some similar pictures on leather, so I might give that a try. With the macro lens every little speck shows up. I actually cloned out a couple large cat hairs that found their way into the shot but gave up on the rest.

When you say "low key" vs "high key", you're referring to the overall lighting and tone of the picture? So a light or white background with brighter highlights off the watch would be "high key"?

I've seen those terms used for portraits and that's my feel for what the distinction is.

Thanks for the help! Rainy and cold today so conditions are right to try again.

[GuruBhai]

Nice job .. I'll try this

[Storck]

I like the shot a lot, very nice.

[tlpphoto]

Very good job. The cloth is perhaps a little distracting, but mostly because of the lint. A quick task in PS to remove the lint. I actually like the "soft" surface rather than something hard. The leather surface might work, just be sure you have enough separation between the leather and the band of the watch.
Nice job.
Tim