Luxury Watch Outdoor Lifestyle Photoshoot at Venice Beach, Los Angeles

As you might be able to tell from my portfolio, watches are one of my favorite products to photograph. More specifically, I love to incorporate models wearing watches in an outdoor lifestyle photoshoot because working with talent allows for creativity in composition and how models pose can showcase watches in a way that product photography by itself can’t.

I recently worked with male model Jacob Hunt for a lifestyle photoshoot in Venice Beach, Los Angeles featuring a golden luxury watch. With the right amount of planning and Jacob’s hard work on set, we were able to produce a variety of dynamic lifestyle photos in the location.

In this blog post, I will showcase a selection of the best watch photos from this lifestyle photoshoot and discuss the process involved in the session. All of these photos were taken on the Sony a7R III and with a mix of the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART and Sony 70-20mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens.

PLANNNING THE WATCH PHOTOSHOOT

Los Angeles provides a variety of beautiful beach locations that make a great backdrop for an outdoor lifestyle photoshoot. I usually alternate between Santa Monica Beach and Venice Beach as a photoshoot location, but I decided that the small rock bluffs in Venice Beach would allow for a better variety of poses. Additionally, I had already done a photoshoot at sunset in Santa Monica with Austin Lee, featuring a watch as a primary accessory.

When I reached out to Jacob, I sent a mood board of what I was looking for in the photoshoot to see if it was something he would be interested in. I made sure that some of the photos in the mood board featured a model wearing a watch, as I figured this could help inspire some poses during the actual shoot.

As far as wardrobe, I was looking for basic summer clothing that could have basic patterns, but nothing too vibrant. I didn’t want the clothes to be the main focus of the photoshoot, so sticking to more muted colors without any logos was the best way to go.

Camera Gear

For this photoshoot, I stuck mostly with the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN ART. I wanted to consider not only how the watch would look in the photoshoot but also the model’s face and the environment. 85mm is one of my favorite focal lengths to use in lifestyle photography because I can capture a mix of close up portraits, wider full-body shots and still capture some of the environment (although a 35mm lens would be better suited for that).

Although I changed lenses a bit throughout the photoshoot, I mostly stuck with the 85mm on my camera and with the ever-changing light during this photoshoot, I didn’t have to worry about missing moments of capturing lifestyle photos with different light scenarios.

The biggest drawback with using the 85mm for this photoshoot was during walking shots since the beach was a bit busy in the beginning of the photoshoot with other people nearby.

The Watch

Jacob brought a beautiful golden watch to the photoshoot which worked perfectly in the beach location. The muted colors of the wardrobe really brings out the dynamic color of the watch and makes it pop that much more in the photos.

Jacob started off wearing darker clothes at the beginning of the photoshoot while the sun was still out and switched to brighter colors from sunset and into blue hour. By keeping the watch on through the different iterations of clothing, you can see how the lighting and clothing affects how the watch looks in different situations.

Natural Lighting at Venice Beach

The Los Angeles beaches along the coastline can get cloudy regardless of the time of year. We were fortunate that we got a mix of slightly overcast weather in the evening because it allowed for a nice soft light that I think works very well for lifestyle photos with a model.

As you can see in the photos below, there is a contrast between the shadow of the left side of the model’s face versus the sun slightly illuminating the right side of the model’s face. While there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong answer when it comes to best lighting conditions, the natural light during the time of the photoshoot matched the aesthetic that I had in my mood board.

One of the biggest issues you can run into when photographing a stainless steel golden watch in natural light is the harsh reflection you get from the sun bouncing onto the watch. Luckily the clouds diffused the light enough that the watch was pretty well exposed in the raw images.

If you want to make sure that the watch is properly exposed, sometimes you might have to ask the model to turn the watch in a certain direction so that the dial is not directly facing the sun, where you might end up getting blown out highlights.

Over time, I have come to really appreciate how side lighting appears in a lifestyle photoshoot with a model. Even lighting on the face is nice, but to add more variety to your photos, a subtle side light can really make a huge difference in the final image.

Creative Direction for a Watch Photoshoot

I’m sure I have spoken about this in previous lifestyle photoshoots (whether the model is wearing a watch or not), but incorporating a mix of still and moving poses is essential in getting dynamic final images.

For this photoshoot, I wanted to make sure that the images had the luxury watch in the frame, but I still wanted Jacob to look natural in this environment as if the camera was capturing a moment in time. 

Jacob did a great job providing expressions and coming up with poses in the different locations along the beach we shot at.

Editing The Photos

Because the lighting changed a fair amount in the short lifestyle session, I wanted to experiment with different editing styles while maintaining the slightly moody and earthy ambiance that I had in mind for the photoshoot.

When it comes to lifestyle photography, I don’t like to over-edit an image to the point that it looks unnatural. I want the photos to have a balance of being realistic and cinematic. 

For some of these photos, I decreased the saturation at times more than I normally would. I also wanted to experiment with warm tones and cold tones during sunset, and I’m actually pretty happy with how they both look in the final images.

FINAL WORDS

I had planned this photoshoot to be a relaxing lifestyle shoot at Venice Beach because I was familiar with the location and I had ideas for what I wanted the final images to look like. While I knew I wanted a watch to be featured as an accessory in this shoot, it was a pleasant surprise that Jacob brought a golden watch that looked perfect in this setting.

The beach is a great location to capture outdoor lifestyle photos because there are different textures to play with between the sand, the rocks, and the ocean.

One important tip for lifestyle photoshoots is to come prepared so that you have a direction in mind (whether it’s certain lenses you know you want to try or a specific spot in a location you think will make a good background), but allow for spontaneity during the shoot and figure out what the model might like to try.

Thank you for reading and until next time.

Feel free to explore my website further with more outdoor lifestyle photoshoots:

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

Santa Monica Sunrise Outdoor Lifestyle Beach Photoshoot with Erla Garcia

Outdoor Editorial Lifestyle Venice Beach Photoshoot with Alex Cojocaru

Outdoor Lifestyle Beach Photoshoot in Santa Monica with Austin Lee

City Lifestyle Photoshoot in Downtown Los Angeles with Rhea Morales

Outdoor Commercial Lifestyle Campaign Photography in Griffith Park with Clifton Sneed