RP LIVE "Jewelry Retouch" with Steve Koshlap

[Doug Nelson]

I've gotten a lot of requests for a jewelry retouching show, so I'm very pleased that the next RetouchPRO LIVE show will feature Steve Koshlap. Steve has retouched jewelry shots for Mikimoto, David Yurman, Burberry, and Calvin Klein.

You will view Steve's full-sized desktop live via your web browser as he demonstrates a jewelry retouch from start to finish using Photoshop. Steve will explain what he's doing along the way, with me (Doug Nelson) along to forward audience questions.

Saturday, November 14, 4pm CST (click link below for other time zones)

Click the following link for details and ticket sales:
http://www.retouchpro.com/index.php?page=koshlap

[Flashtones]

Should be great. Thanks Doug and Steve.

[di_dia]

Can't wait for this!
Thanks

Diyana

[gamedonechanged]

Interesting....might just have to check this one out.

[troykristoffer]

Is there ever a chance that we could pay to download these on our own time? I would love to take these courses but they are never at a convenient time. This jewelry one is particularly important to me, but I will not be available to watch it.

I did read the FAQ and realize these are recorded in HD movies, but that would not be hard to offer for download if people pay for each download. You could even podcast them to iTunes so that you don't have to manage the logistics.

RetouchPRO offers a great service, but I will never be able to use it due to my schedule

Thanks for your time,
Troy

[Jixxy]

Looking forward to a potential rebroadcast, being out of town and all Sat.

[LightFantastic]

I'm always keen on beauty/fashion retouching, but this should be great to have under my belt as well. Thanks, Doug; I'm signed up!

[Doug Nelson]

The ticket sales link will close in 2 hours.

[Doug Nelson]

The ticket sales link will close in 1 hour.

[Doug Nelson]

The ticket sales link is now closed.

Here's a helpful page if you have audio problems (scroll 2/3 down)

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Come back to this thread after the show and tell us your thoughts about it. Also, give us your requests for future shows with Steve Koshlap.

[cpanderson]

Thanks so much Doug and Steve! This was my first RetouchPRO LIVE class and I can't wait until the next one! Beauty and Jewelry retouching two subjects that I am always interested in learning about further. I learned a lot, especially concerning shadows and paths usage.

P.S.: Even though most of the automotive shots are renders, maybe an automotive retouch show could be arranged in the future? ^_^.

[Tareq]

Thank you very much Doug and Steve, it was my first RetouchPRO Live show as well, and i enjoyed it a bit because i was sleepy [it is very late here now], and i hope i can watch another live class earlier than that.
Wish if i can get that class or show on DVD or recorded again somewhere as i didn't follow some of the show anyway, too weird if i pay for it but for some situations i couldn't get benefit of it to its maximum like the time of the show as i said.

Waiting for more live show!

[Flashtones]

Great show, guys, even if Doug does talk too much.

Plus, congratulations on a glitch-free broadcast - zero audio or visual problems!

Steve, I'm still confused on the CMYK vs RGB thing. My understanding is that you chose CMYK in this instance because you were retaining natural shadows, and by containing them solely on the K channel it would prevent color contamination on press. However, if you were creating the shadows from scratch you would have used RGB, only converting to CMKY toward the end.

Two questions:

1. Why is contamination less of a concern with fake shadows?

2. If a press can't be trusted to hold neutral in the shadows, why should it be trusted to hold neutral in the silver and diamonds? Why not isolate them to the K channel as well? Conversely, if a press can be trusted to hold neutral in the silver and diamonds, why can't it be trusted to hold neutral in a shadow?

Thank you!

[chris_m_atl]

Great broadcast, Steve and Doug. Also, I wanted to thank you for working in CMYK. It's the first screencast I've seen dedicated to the color space. Being a staccato Prepress Technician myself (graveyard shift), I did learn some valuable tricks with your video.

Flashtones, until Steve's return I'll attempt an answer. Although, he is far more experienced than myself.

If you are referring only to the shadows of the jewelry on the ground, I think Steve would have retained the original shadows if possible. However, the unique situation with the photograph at hand prevented that option - since he pulled a couple different pieces from different photographs. Instead, he chose to recreate the shadows from scratch as described in the video.

Had he been able to retain the original shadows, I think he would have still pulled back the CMY and ramped up K using a Channel Mixer adjustment layer. Since the shadows were converted from an RGB image, you don't want an unexpected color cast.

The importance of a good CMYK separation is to prevent several concerns as well as the colors "Mudding" on press. That is, all your colors have a nasty tint on the final printed piece or don't appear as clean and fresh as it really should. Color wash, flatness, offsetting, etc - can all become a problem with a simple RGB to CMYK conversion or bad separations on your submitted CMYK document. By properly separating the colors, you are reducing the probems mentioned as well eliminating the risk of supplying artwork with out-of-spec ink density - for most print conditions.

Simply converting a file from RGB to CMYK will still require additional refinements. Some of which can be achieved with Channel Mixer Adjustment layers by pulling the colors into their intended separation(s), C M Y or K as needed. By doing this extra work, you're reducing the risks of problems on press.

If you simply convert all the silver to K, you're result will appear a bit flat on the printed piece. A good, neutral CMY separation for the midtones and some shadows will result in a richer, more pleasing silver color. The tones of the silver will also look more realistic as opposed to grayscale silver with CMYK jewelry stones.

By merely submitting an RGB image to the client as a final working document, expect to see strong color shifts and unpleasant results on the final printed piece, hence the importance of providing a good CMYK separated image. The best solution is to consult with the commercial printer and find out the specific limitations of their presses, ask for their own ICC profiles, swatches and custom Photoshop & Distiller settings if possible.

I hope this doesn't cause additional confusion and helps answer your questions until Steve's return.

Cheers,
-Chris

[dweekley]

Great session. Steve was really organized in his thoughts and presentation. I don't even do jewlery retouching but still enjoyed this and the cmyk workspace discussions and tips. I really enjoyed learning about the black only shadow process and watching him demo various ways to approach the inside of that silver ring. Yea too for no audio/video issues!