Jewelry - How was this done!?

[KeithWilson]

Hi chaps and chapesses,

I was recently asked to retouch some jewelry shots of beads to the standard of the attached image. The image on the left is the required end result and the image on the right is the photo of the bead. The photo is the actual color of the bead, whilst the retouched version looks to have been given an 'old gold' look with a greenish tinge.

Has the image been remodelled in Maya or 3DS or some other jewelry design product, or is the retouching just REALLY good?

The client insisted the retouched version took 10-20 minutes to produce (I laughed out loud inside, I have heard this so many times) so, obviously, didnt want to pay much as it shouldn't be 'too much work'.

Anyway, the job did not go ahead but I would really like to know how this image was produced.

Any hints??

Regards

Keith

[girlsfather]

You need a different shot to be able to get the left picture.
The perspective is different in the right picture and it is not sharp enough.
It seems to be one shot of the series though...

That someone remodeled that - I do not think so.
If they can not afford better photos - how could they afford 3d with a photorealistic lightning and render?

Good luck!

[Godmother]

the one on the left is a REALLY bad conversion of the raw file (different raw file than the retouch btw...)

Do they have the raw files?

x

[Heretic]

I agree with Godmother, it has to be a poorly processed file, it always amazes me how people don't use RAW properly or at all. It is the same as scanning was back before Digital Photography, RAW is the starting point for a good outcome.

[Flashtones]

I agree with what's been said above, the two shots are not the same. So while it might have only taken 20 mins to get to the shot on the left from it's original, it's going to take a heck of a lot more to get the poor shot on the right to match it.

If the opportunity still exists ask the client for the left's original for a fair comparison.

[Florin]

Hi. I agree with all of you about the picture´s quality. Bad, so bad.
About the retouch, this is not a difficult job if you manage enough the paths.
1. Just do a single path for every area to be colored and highlighted. Change the path to a (new) selection. Save each selection separately.
2. Adjust levels or curves for each selection´s content.
3. Add the color inside the selection with your favorite routine (color layers, paint brush in the "color" mode, adjust / hue-saturation etc).
4. Flat the layers and have a quick final retouch, highlight etc some area if needed, usind the saved selections.
5. Blur a little, but just a little the edges, where the selections leaved a clean sharp profile. Too sharp create a false look, as have been cut with a shaving blade.
6. Enjoy your work

As you´ve seen, the retouched model has sharp edges. It was done using the selections.
I´m doing this with jewels and clothes retouch and it´s really a clean and nice method.

This job could take some 12-15 minutes depending of the retoucher´s skill level and the jewel´s design.

Cheers

[KeithWilson]

Many thanks people, at least I've got something to go on now

Regards

Keith

[byoung]

Hi here it took me 30 mins to get to this stage. Did most of the preliminary work in Camera Raw and then Photoshop to tweak.