This image was shot by a client who clearly had not much experience in diamond jewellery photography, although the ring was photographed with a technique called 'focus stacking', the lighting and the detail in reflections are almost non existent. Therefore the retouching time triples and also the outcome is not that natural.
Bad raw material provided by the client:
Low quality diamond has errors and imperfections inside:
Ring wasn't cleaned properly:
Before after image:
Final result with shadows:
Total 3106 clicks and 85 minutes of work.
Tools and filters used in Photoshop:
Healing brush tool, Brush tool, Gradient tool, Pen tool, Move tool
Dust and scratches filter
Median filer
Camera Raw filter and some little secrets inside.
Stay tuned for more of the inside of jewellery retouching and photography tips and tricks.
More to come (even videos?).