About

I am building a premium microbrand watch and need a custom lighting environment to achieve consistent, high-end, sculptural KeyShot visuals for stainless steel, sapphire crystal, brushed/polished metals, dial textures, and lume shots. I am looking for a rendering specialist who can create a reusable HDRI or light-rig lighting system + workflow that I will use for all marketing renders (Kickstarter, website, social media). You may use any recent KeyShot version. I work in KeyShot 2023, so I will need HDRI, presets, and workflow assets compatible with my version (I understand full scenes cannot be saved backward). Deliverables 1. Custom Lighting Setup 1 primary custom HDRI or equivalent light rig optimized specifically for watches Sculptural highlights, controlled reflections, clean transitions Calibrated for stainless steel, brushed/polished edges, sapphire crystal Optional: an additional variant for macro shots 2. Lume Rendering Setup A secondary HDRI/light rig optimized for strong, clean lume performance Notes on exposure, intensity, bloom (if needed), and shadow control 3. Workflow Assets (usable in KeyShot 2023) HDRI / EXR lighting files Any light-rig elements (IES, emissive geometry if needed) Optional: Material presets exported as .kmp Recommended camera settings (angles, FOV, DOF) Recommended render settings for quality and consistency A short guide on how to reproduce consistent results across multiple dial variations 4. Validation A quick test render of one dial variation to confirm lighting quality (I will provide the watch model privately.) What I’m Looking For Experience with watch, jewelry, or premium product rendering Ability to build custom lighting, not just use stock HDRIs Strong understanding of metals, sapphire reflections, and micro-texture Clean workflow and strong communication Required Skills KeyShot Product Rendering HDRI Lighting 3D Texturing & Lighting Photorealistic Rendering Lighting Style Reference (Direction Only) General Lighting: Sculptural, premium studio watch lighting with controlled reflections and crisp metal transitions — similar to high-end commercial watch photography (e.g., Jaeger-LeCoultre, Grand Seiko, Omega). Lume Rendering: For lume, I am aiming for a strong, sculptural glow similar to Panerai studio lume shots — powerful luminosity, smooth falloff, clean edges, and deep contrast.