Brands choose this style of photography because it makes the products look really really good and it's fine for big advertisements on posters and billboards, but I don't think it helps the consumer. I believe that the best watch photography being done is by Atom Moore or Christopher Beccan, as they both manage to find that perfect balance between a staged image and still making it look natural. The photos on analog/shift and Bexsonn are beautiful but they're still real, the watches have weight to them and whilst the lighting is perfect, you can make out the odd scratch or perhaps a slight crystal glare that grounds the image in reality.

The original image and gifs were created by professional photographer Jeff Creech. Click here to discover more of his work.