MORE THAN A TEAM - OLGA JANSSEN

Olga plays a key role in how you guys experience Bulang and Sons on our website and social media channels. A graphic designer by trade, she produces our Instagram posts and does a lot of the photography. Olga has a great sense of humour and her laughter can brighten up the dullest of days.

“In the beginning, I had to get used to working with a bunch of guys that are obsessed with watches.”It was all very alien to her: “They’d be looking trough a loupe at a dial and having discussions about whether a watch was serif or non-serif. Then I would discover that a watch that was suddenly worth a lot more because of a small line under the text – I didn’t get it at all!” However, after working with the team over the past two and a half years and having photographed dozens of watches, she is now beginning ‘to get’ what its all about. “The one on my personal wish-list is a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 34, with black dial and smooth bezel.” What a great hint for Bernhard – maybe a Christmas gift idea?

“Every watch is different and has his own story, like all of the different products Bulang and Sons offers. And that is what I like so much about B&S, it’s really interesting. Bernhard always shares his passion with me, and tells me a lot about it. The story he tells and the feeling that comes with it, always helps me create the right look and feel for the website and social media.”

So what does a standard day at Bulang and Sons HQ look like for Olga? “A large part of the time I’m busy photographing items for social media. Every week now we are listing new watches online and I believe that alongside the pictures of the watches we also need a beautiful wristshot. This gives much more ambiance and style to the watch. On Instagram I see a lot of beautiful and special watches, it’s really fun sharing your newest asset or the style you’re wearing on any given day.”

OLGA’S GUIDE FOR BUDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS:

“Get the basics right and rest will come a lot more easily.”

Clean your lens. If you don’t, your picture often will look out of focus and blurry.

Turn off your flash. With a flash, you get ‘hard’ light, which removes the character from the picture.

Don’t zoom in. When you would like to take a closer picture, get physically closer to the subject.

Turn your grid on. You can turn the grid on at the settings of your camera. This is handy to make sure your picture is straight.

Light up. I always choose for daylight or a place close to the window. If your light is too harsh, you can lighten up the heavy shadows by using a white sheet of paper or a reflection screen.

Watch reflections. You often get reflection in the steel parts of the watch. Use a white sheet or reflection screen so the watch really looks alone in its own space.

Angles make the difference. The angle from where you’re taking the picture is also important for the ambiance of the shot. Experiment with different angles and you will often get some surprising pictures.

Props to your picture. When photographing a watch in a surrounding, it’s always fun to look for fitting props and backgrounds. With props and backgrounds, you can influence the ambiance of the picture.

Edit at the finishing line. I always really enjoy editing the pictures I made. Lightroom and VSCO are handy apps to use for this. However, very often I use the editors built into the iPhone.

“I hope the tips are useful to you and that as a result, I get to see lots of beautiful pictures of your watches on Instagram.”

GIVEAWAY

We are doing an Instagram giveaway to encourage you all to take some cool new shots and share them. Take a picture of your watch and share it on Instagram. Make sure you tag us, use #teambulang and tell us what you like about it and maybe you will win a gift card worth Euros 250!

Join the giveaway here.