Next, we placed the watch on a jeweler's watch display holder and positioned it in the center of the shooting table. To help to bring out the dimension and detail of the watch, we rotated the watch at a slight oblique angle.

We also placed a small plastic cap under the watch display holder to lift the watch face for a more revealing angle (figure 2).

When you are framing up your shot, remember to keep the shape of your object in mind, as well as the composition you want to create.

In this case we wanted to fill the frame with the watch. Given the fact that the watch was more vertical than horizontal in this position, we oriented the camera in the vertical, or "portrait" mode to have it more fully fill the frame (figure 3).

Next, we attached our compact digital camera to a tripod and positioned it about 45 degrees higher than the watch, approximately 3.5 inches away, to create a pleasing perspective (figure 4).

We recommend adjusting the settings of your digital camera to the following:

• Exposure mode set to manual
• Focus set to manual focus
• ISO set to its lowest setting (around 100)
• Resolution set to its highest (if you ever plan on making prints)
• White Balance set to Tungsten (light bulb icon) or to a custom white balance setting

Here, we set the aperture to f/8 and the shutter speed to 1/200 of a second. Note that your exposure will vary depending on the distance of your light source to your subject.

Next, we set up a Photoflex Starlite Small Digital Kit and brought it in close (about 8 inches away, just out of the camera frame) to the left side of the set (figure 5).

When everything was in position, we took our first shot.

Figure 6 shows an exposure made with the one light set-up. Not a bad start!

Even so, the shot still needs some work. Notice how the right side of the watch is too dark, compared to the left side. Notice also how the soft box helps to reveal the blue areas of the watch simply by reflecting into it, whereas the left of the watch is rendered more closely (and falsely) as black.

By adding a second light, as you'll see, we were be able to render this watch more accurately and in a more even light.

Next we set up and positioned a second Starlite Small Digital Kit to the right of the set. This second light helped to eliminate the shadows and bring out more of the color and details of the watch.

The light-to-subject distance of the second light should be longer than that of the first light to help illuminate the left side of the watch while still retaining some shadows.

NOTE: In this set-up (figure 7), the camera has been removed to show the set-up of lights in relation to the watch.

From this point of view, you can see that our second light is positioned sigificantly higher and a little farther back from the watch than the first light (figure 8).

Here is the result of two lights (figure 9).

This comparison shows the difference between using one soft light source and two soft light sources. Notice how the second light balances out the shot and renders more detail overall (figure 10).

And remember, once your lights are set up, you can photograph all the watches in your collection quickly and easily. You may have to make minor adjustments to the positioning of the lights to highlight the characteristics of each one, but this really takes no time at all.

Below are some results we got of different watches using the same lighting set-up (figure 11).

Remember to use your creativity with this type of shooting. Watches are made in many different styles, and a good photographer will take advantage of the different looks by using various props to accentuate the qualities of each individual watch.

For instance, the Rolex Submariner used in this lesson could be placed on nautical line. A ladies evening watch could be placed on black evening gloves. Use your imagination. You'll be sure to come up with some great ideas!