jewelry retouch help

[lifted]

can i please get some general advice/tips on jewelry retouching?

as an example, what are some ways to retouch this ring so that the overall shape/texture is visible and also removing dark spots?
i've tried color/soft light/overlay/etc. blends but with no success (i am kind of new with using blending layers/masking)
if u can post your retouches and directions that would be awesome
any help is appreciated!

[DCobb]

Have you done a search on this site for jewelry retouching? This topic has been previously addressed and there might be some helpful info.

dc

[SteveB2005]

Can you tell us something about the original image. What resolution and is this the largest one you have? The larger the jewelry image, the easier to work with, IMHO anyway. Are you the photographer? If so, what camera and lighting did you use?

Most people here don't do much jewelry retouching per se, but as stated earlier, do a search and see some examples of what others have done.

[SteveB2005]

I thought I would give it a shot. I used gradients, blending modes, the pen tool, and a few other things. A higher rez original source image is the key to do a decent before/after job

steve

[stwest]

I use the cloneing, healing, and paint on my jewelry retouching. But first start with the photography if possible. If you are the photographer, look at the object, and if you see dark areas where they shouldn't be, add a reflector, or move a light. Also knock down that reflection on the stone so you can see the facets. Keep on shooting!

[cainam]

I always start retouching the jewel as a normal retouch (cloning and removing blemishes and color etc..)

Than I make some important masks/selections with pen tool.

Than I start painting on diff layers.

At the end I add layermask on the painted layer and paint again as much as I can to show the original photo.






Just did a rough one this photo, because quality of the image is much to low to spent more time.

[captivechief76]

I agree with stwest. Photography is the key. Removing shadows from metal generally causes the ring to look flat and dull. I would recommend using some bounces in your lighting setup. High gloss photo paper works great for me. You just need to get some kind of stand to hold it in up front and then bounce the light off of it. That way you can bend the light to get your desired outcome. Also you might want to get some black and white foamcore and diffusion paper to soften your light so the colors are not so harsh.

As far as retouching goes. I generally adjust my levels first and then color correct the metal and stone seperately. Then always good to run an unsharp mask to give the ring some clarity.

You can also paint over the inner shank to give the ring top some focus, but its a little bit long for me to explain how to do that here.

Good luck!