1. Remove the background
The first step is to of the ring image and make the background white. Pen tool in Photoshop CC18 is the best way to create path around image and then change the background to white like the below image.
Here are the steps on using pen tool to create path.
- Press P to select the pen tool. Make a path using the pen tool to cut out the image.
- Use the left mouse click to create an anchor point to start your path.
- Click again to create send anchor. Points are connected with a segment.
- When you make an anchor point, you can hold the left mouse button and drag to alter the shape of the segment which allows you to trace the ring accurately.
- When you click and drag the anchor point, there are two arms that pert rude from the anchor point. One allows you to change the line segment connecting to the anchor point. The other allows you to change the next segment it will connect to.
- Hold Alt/Option to click and drag the anchor point to make changes to the segment you’ve already made.
- Make two anchor points and place a third in the middle of the segment and use Ctrl/Command to drag the anchor point. This allows you to drag the segment around. You can make unlimited anchor points but don’t make them too close together.
- Some parts are easy to make segments on like the stones. You only need to click along each corner. 9. Curved areas take more practice since you need to alter the segment. For the shank, you only need a few anchor points and large segments since it is a long curve.
- Create anchor points and segments around the ring until you reach the first anchor point to close the path.
- When the outer path of the ring is complete, go to the path window to see the path of your work.
- Have the work path selected and select the hamburger symbol (three horizontal lines) and select the save path.
- Name the path.
- Once the outer path is saved, deselect the outer path and create a new path on the inner area of the ring.
- Make a new layer and keep it on the top of all other layers.
- Select both paths.
- Select the outline circle symbol in the path window to turn the paths into a selection.
- Press the rectangle with the circle symbol to create a layer mask on the layer. The layer mask will hide anything that is outside of the selection.
- Press Shift + F5 to open the fill window and fill the layer with white. The ring is now isolated on a white background.
Creating path around a ring only takes a few moments but the time must be factored into the editing time of images. Some offshore clipping path and image editing service providers on the web will create paths for your images and return them the next day in affordable pricing. Pricing for clipping path services can be integrated into jewelry product photography pricing.
Here’s how much does when outsourcing.
2. Touch-Ups
- Using the brush set to 0% hardness at 30% opacity works best and fastest.
- Create a new layer, set the blend to lighten.
- Use Alt/Option to sample the gold color from the ring and start painting along the shank.
- When using the lighten blend mode, it won’t cover any areas that are brighter than the color you selected.
- Target settings and other areas of the ring. For heavy dark spots, use the brush at 100% opacity.
- Use brush at 30% opacity and alternate between highlight and normal tone to create a natural gradient.
- More highlights on the inner shank to keep the ring from looking flat.
- Add noise to the layer to make it more natural once you are satisfied with the lightning.
- Select Filter, select Noise, click Add Noise.
- Add noise with a low percentage of 1% or less.
3. Cleaning
The lighten layer is the quick pass. The second layer is for in-depth refinements. Use the brush tool at 10 to 30% opacity. The clone stamp tool should be used with low opacity. Focus on the stones and fix them one at a time. Darker areas of the stones will be filled with low opacity brush that selected the dark color. Stones need contrast.
A useful photo editing tip is to use the clone stamp tool to remove additional marks, fix highlights on edges of the shank. Use the brush tool to smooth out rough highlights from tarnish that the light layer didn’t fix. Add color to the desaturated areas of the inner shank. A small brush with 0% hardness should be used to refine the edges of the shank and smooth them out.
