Lume shot help?

Ezurcc · Feb 16, 2017

Greetings to all!
I'm relatively new to the watch game & this forum. I love looking at all the photos of the fine specimens on here. Especially the lume shots. Some of them are amazing! I'm inclined to try a lume shot of my AT. Will I need a macro lens? I have Canon 70D with a 17-55mm f/2.8 lens. What shutter speed should I use, or should I use the bulb setting? Thanks in advance for any tips!

dsio · Feb 16, 2017

Shutter speed etc isn't that important, just use a black light (ultra violet) to make the superluminova glow brightly and snap away, even an iPhone can do it well.

ahartfie · Feb 16, 2017

dsio
Shutter speed etc isn't that important, just use a black light (ultra violet) to make the superluminova glow brightly and snap away, even an iPhone can do it well.

Truth. Taken with an iPhone 6 and an ultraviolet flashlight.

Foo2rama · Feb 16, 2017

Do you have a tripod? Generally holding a camera in hand 30th is as low as you want to go. Or go longer with a tripod. But you can charge it with any flashlight and try shooting it with shutter priority at 45. Play around with additional soft lighting.

TheHoof · Feb 17, 2017

Ezurcc
Greetings to all!
I'm relatively new to the watch game & this forum. I love looking at all the photos of the fine specimens on here. Especially the lume shots. Some of them are amazing! I'm inclined to try a lume shot of my AT. Will I need a macro lens? I have Canon 70D with a 17-55mm f/2.8 lens. What shutter speed should I use, or should I use the bulb setting? Thanks in advance for any tips!

Are you familiar with the basics of photography? The relationship between ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed; how aperture affects depth of field etc?

If not, I'd read up on that as well as taking recommendations from this thread to develop an understanding of why x works and y doesn't.

Ezurcc · Feb 17, 2017

@dsio & @ahartfie Thanks for the black light tip!

@Foo2rama Yes, sir. I have a tripod. Will try that out. Thanks!

@TheHoof I'm a starving amateur and I've been tinkering with settings a bit. I know opening up the aperture gives me a shallow depth of field (bokeh), but I don't want that. So if I use a higher f-stop, more of the image will be in focus, which is what I want. But then I will need to turn up the ISO sensitivity, and that adds noise. I've tried some of the preset shutter speeds without satisfaction. I'm wondering if using the bulb setting with remote shutter release will yield better results...

BillLundberg · Apr 14, 2017

Definitely use your tripod, set your

- shutter speed to 30
- ISO 800
- aperture f8

If it's too bright increase the shutter speed, to 60, 100 etc.

if it's to dark decrease your shutter speed to 15,10, 8 etc

Or do the same with the ISO, adjust it up or down, and the same could be said of the f stops.

But only adjust either the shutter speed, or the ISO , or the aperture, not all 3

Best regards,

josephgsy · Jun 26, 2017

Ezurcc
Greetings to all!
I'm relatively new to the watch game & this forum. I love looking at all the photos of the fine specimens on here. Especially the lume shots. Some of them are amazing! I'm inclined to try a lume shot of my AT. Will I need a macro lens? I have Canon 70D with a 17-55mm f/2.8 lens. What shutter speed should I use, or should I use the bulb setting? Thanks in advance for any tips!

blast it with a good amount of light, turn off all lights in the room, then max out your shutter speed to be as long as possible to compensate (remember to use a tripod)

here are some examples I have taken:

BillLundberg · Jun 26, 2017

josephgsy
blast it with a good amount of light, turn off all lights in the room, then max out your shutter speed to be as long as possible to compensate (remember to use a tripod)

here are some examples I have taken:

Awesome lume shots! I'm going a have try it myself now.

josephgsy · Jun 26, 2017

BillLundberg
Awesome lume shots! I'm going a have try it myself now.

Thanks bill! only issue with shooting the way i shoot is that the minute hand leaves a light trail behind as it moves slowly, the only workaround to that is if leave the watches unwinded

staristheanswer · May 26, 2018

josephgsy
blast it with a good amount of light, turn off all lights in the room, then max out your shutter speed to be as long as possible to compensate (remember to use a tripod)

here are some examples I have taken:

The pics on the Omegas are just amazing.Well done!

llvhhui · May 26, 2018

Hold it up next to a light bulb for a few second. an iPhone would do the trick.

josephgsy · May 27, 2018

staristheanswer
The pics on the Omegas are just amazing.Well done!

thank you! unfortunately my pieces have all veered toward vintages which barely have lume 😝

Seaman · May 27, 2018

I have to try it myself..nice pictures.

Seaborg · May 29, 2018

As @josephgsy said, strong light exposure and successive lume shot (especially with aged tritium dials).

Sorry, some pictures are blurry...

Alpha · May 29, 2018

iPhone 6 not to shabby,

josephgsy · May 30, 2018

Seaborg
As @josephgsy said, strong light exposure and successive lume shot (especially with aged tritium dials).

Sorry, some pictures are blurry...

nice shots, with an iphone?

Seaborg · May 30, 2018

josephgsy
nice shots, with an iphone?

Thanks.

Nope, with a Nikon D5000 with a 18-55 mm lens (without a tripod explaining the blurry effect of the pictures).

👍

w154 · May 30, 2018

I had a play around yesterday. I made it quite dark by almost completely closing the blinds, then played with shutter speeds and apertures until I got the depth of field and exposure that I wanted for the watch and background. Then a blast with an extremely bright light to get the lume glowing, then light off and photo taken. It was a 30 second exposure hence the disappearing running seconds hand.

I think lume shots are much nicer when you can at least make out the details of the watch besides just the lume and complete darkness, and if the dial seems to be lit solely by the lume (like in @josephgsy ’s epic picture of his Alaska Project above) then all the better 👍

josephgsy · May 30, 2018

Seaborg
Thanks.

Nope, with a Nikon D5000 with a 18-55 mm lens (without a tripod explaining the blurry effect of the pictures).

👍

probably would get much better shots with a tripod, longer exposure and some colour correction 😉