Analog Watch Outdoor Product Photography at the Beach

In a previous blog post, I documented an outdoor product photoshoot for an analog watch along a nature trail in Los Angeles. I decided to go to Santa Monica Beach to take some more product photos of the same watch in a different location.

I woke up early in the morning to avoid the distractions of tourists and stopped at a quiet location at the beach, where I would have access to plenty of backdrops and textures for the shoot within a short walking distance of each other.

In this blog post, I’ll be going through some of my favorite photos from the casual product shoot and my process in delivering the final results. These photos were taken with the Sony a7R III, Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART lens and Sony 70-20mm f/2.8 G-Master OSS II lens. The photos were also edited in Adobe Lightroom Classic.

Choosing the Outdoor Location

The beach is one of my favorite locations to visit for all kinds of photography (product, travel, portrait, lifestyle), but I wanted to choose a specific location where I could feature the watch on sand, rocks, wood, etc.

The biggest obstacle of the location I was shooting in was that there would be very little shade to utilize if I started later than early morning and the weather was clear. As a result, the sun would have caused a harsh glare on the watch dial. Luckily, it was fairly cloudy when I arrived at the location so I didn’t have to worry about issues on that end.

Wooden Log Textures

One of the first objects that I came across when I arrived at the location was a wooden log. I was interested in the rough and jagged texture of the log and figured it would make for a nice backdrop for the analog watch. Rather than having the log texture cover up the entire frame, I wanted to show the edges of the log, so you can see a bit of the ground texture in the bottom right corner of the first photo.

In the second photo, I flipped the watch on its side to highlight a bit of the wooden texture, but to emphasize the compression of the image a bit more while still getting the analog watch in focus. From this angle, you can see a bit of the green grass in the background which adds a nice pop of color to what would otherwise be a pretty monochromatic image (like in the first photo).

In the third photo below, I chose a different part of a log that was partly broken off and had a few different textures to it. Even though the silicone watch strap was a bit small, I tried to wrap the watch around the log and capture a nice product photo of the watch with a small brown branch blurred in the foreground. I’d say this photo was my favorite one in the product photography session - there are a fair amount of textures and subjects in the photo, but the watch is still clearly the main focus of the shot.

Beach Sand Textures

I have experimented with taking product photos of the watch at the beach before with just the sand, but for this shoot, I wanted to add another subject/color to make it a bit more interesting.

I came across some plants and decided to use them to produce the photo below. While I think the plants are a bit overpowering, I like the dark green color in the photo and I think it makes for a more interesting image compared to a clean shot of just the watch on the sand. I also decided to sprinkle a bit of the sand grains on the black watch strap.

Plant and Rock Textures

In order to work with some new textures on the beach, I came across a rock surrounded by green plants. I decided to try and loop the watch around one of the plant stems and frame the dial of the watch around the plants. Although the watch continued to slip off, I’m satisfied with the composition of the image and I was able to capture a few different textures in this photo.

Small Rock Textures

Near the end of the shoot, I came across a pile of rocks jumbled together on the sand. Even though it doesn’t make for the most interesting background of a product shot, I like the different colors of the image and figured it would work well with the monochromatic analog watch. It’s a simple and clean shot of the watch placed in the center of the frame.

Final Thoughts

As I’m continuing to do these outdoor product shots, one of the most important factors I am keeping in mind is to not try so hard to make these images look like high-end advertising shots. In order to achieve the authenticity that I want to keep consistent in my images, I try to not overthink the photos and capture what will make for a nice image based on my instinct.

I have been impressed with how well the Sigma 85mm lens has performed in these product photos and capturing the details of the analog watch that I would expect from a macro lens.

I hope you enjoyed this short blog post and thank you for reading. Until next time.

If you like watch photography, feel free to explore some of the photoshoots and galleries featuring watches below:

Outdoor Commercial Lifestyle Photography: Clifton Sneed

City Lifestyle Photoshoot in Downtown Los Angeles with Nolan O’Connor

Luxury Watch Outdoor Lifestyle Photoshoot at Venice Beach: Jacob Hunt

Creative Commercial Beach Campaign Photography: Santa Monica: Austin Lee

City Lifestyle Photoshoot in Downtown Los Angeles

Rustic Outdoor Product Photography for Watches in Los Angeles