Jewelry retouching

[Retouchpix]

Any quick fixes to make diamonds pop out from white gold (silver metal coloured) gold?

I have tried the usual dodge/burn/ levels/ desturate. I have got some good results, but am wondering if there is something I have missed out. Any opinions/ suggestions much appreciated.

[twopoint0]

Desaturate- but that should be done to both the diams and white gold. Experiment with USM sharpening to the diamonds only- try small a radius and high amount.
Smaller, cheaper diamonds are a greater challenge than larger ones, and good photography is incredibly important for jewelry. You may find that small stones and pave' require so much contrast, that it becomes only black and white with little to no midtones.
For separation from metal, try small shadows between the stone and metal.

[DiamondsDr47]

Great photography at first....

[garnet01]

I'd mask out the diamond, then apply a high pass filter setting the layer style to overlay then drop the opacity to a level that works.

[captivechief76]

I would never desaturate diamonds. Diamonds reflect color and removing color usually makes them dull and lifeless.

Here is what I do.

1. I adjust all elements seperately. I.e. If you had a ring with diamond and emeralds I would have 3 layers. (1: Metal 2. Diamonds 3. Emeralds)

2. For diamonds specifically I first adjust the levels, then unsharp mask, the color balance (diamonds should be cooler tones, adjust toward blue and cyan).

3. Then mask (hide all) and brush back over the diamonds. The contrast should have improved dramatically.

Good Luck!

[Alfred]

Like others have suggested, good photography is the key for good looking diamonds. Don't shoot in an all white light box, make sure that you have plenty of contrast where you need it. Having said that, high contrast is going to give you trouble with the gold, so you need to carefully apply your light to get the desired look. I sometime use very small snoots as close as 10mm in front of the diamonds to punch some extra scintillation.

[L33t]

Originally Posted by Alfred

Like others have suggested, good photography is the key for good looking diamonds. Don't shoot in an all white light box, make sure that you have plenty of contrast where you need it. Having said that, high contrast is going to give you trouble with the gold, so you need to carefully apply your light to get the desired look. I sometime use very small snoots as close as 10mm in front of the diamonds to punch some extra scintillation.

Hmm I can't find that pic to pop-out... hard to explain what I mean but I find this picture much better.

[DiamondsDr47]

picture.jpeg.jpegHere is one, was good to begin with a bit on the dark side but i like it(my decision).
About the Gems you have to watch for the color....
Best regards,