Why is photography and product retouching an inseparable pair? Because great jewelry images are not made by coincidence. The photography establishes the basics: keeping the detail sharp, having the right light, and creative composition. Retouching takes photography and refines the image even further into something perfect and professional to attract customers online, for a catalog, or as a luxury campaign.
Even with the best lighting and backdrop, raw photos of jewelry will almost always require retouching. Most photos already look good, but high-end editing pushes that image to flawless and market-ready. Here are some typical elements of professional jewelry retouching.
Dust and scratch removal. Little issues, like dust, lint, or scratches, will generally show up prominently in macro shots. Retouching removes these unsightly distractions while keeping the jewelry intact and the textures of the materials as natural as possible.
Color and metal correction. Gold, silver, and gemstones can often arrive out of the camera looking dull, or discolored. Silver needs to shine naturally, gold must look like gold (not white, blue or yellow colored object), and the gemstones need to sparkle and appear in the correct bright color and vividness they are supposed to be in. Reflection and glare control. Jewelry is shiny. It can reflect parts of the camera, photographer, or part of the environment. Part of retouching will discard unwanted reflections but keep that highlight.
Focus stacking (if required). Some even have a macro lens where you can focus stack. But sometimes there can be a lens that just can't keep the whole jewel piece sharp in focus. Retouching can stack multiple layers of focus so you can get the details from the clasp to the gemstones in perfect focus.
Background cleaning or replacement. Pure white backgrounds are a standard for an e-commerce piece of jewelry. The retouching process can clean, brighten, or completely replace a background to allow for consistency.
Shadow and highlight controls. Shadows can be added or refined where they are a natural part of the scene, providing depth and realism, but highlights can also be carefully tuned to bring a sparkle out of a gemstone.
In the end, if retouching is performed well, then it does not change the product. It just displays it in the best possible way, emphasizing the craftsmanship and beauty.