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Preserving jewelry highlights and fire

Posted: 01.11.2020 02:17
by Jerry-and-Lois
Hi there -

New to HF, as well as focus stacking.

I have diamond ring with a large center stone that I shot. My lighting is quite complex, with multiple fixtures.

I shot 5 different images, each producing a unique flash/fire from the stone. Variance was accomplished by enabling or moving a single light, taking a shot, moving the light slight to visually end up with a different set of flash/fire hotspots and taking a new shot. Repeat.

At the end I have some 5 different images, without moving camera or ring. Said differently,
image #1, has fire in the NE corner.
image #2 has fire in the center
image #3 has fire in the both the SE and SW corners,
etc.

None of the hotspots overlap or interfere/conflict with each other.

When I combine the raw NEFs using method 'C', not all the highlights survive. Some are partially washed out, even if they don't overlap at all with fire/highlights in any of the other images.

I'm trying to conglomerate the best of all worlds to maximize the fire/sizzle from the stone.

Because some of these highlights are faded out, I need to understand why, and how to preserve these, rather than let them disappear.

Can anyone offer insights on preserving highlights/fire/sizzle points?

thank you so much.

Re: Preserving jewelry highlights and fire

Posted: 13.11.2020 01:04
by Badoldfatman
You need to use a flash and a bounce card to get the fire. I cut gemstones and it took me a while to figure that out. lol

Re: Preserving jewelry highlights and fire

Posted: 14.11.2020 22:03
by Jerry-and-Lois
Thanks for replying Badoldfatman (funny user name).

In my original post, I already have plenty of fire. In fact, an abundance - I created a lighting system that creates this easily.

My question isn't how to create the fire, but as I wrote below - if I have 5 images each with fire that's unique; i.e. fire in each shot is completely different, how to use HF to combine all the shots AND combine all the fire from each shot.

Thanks,
j

Re: Preserving jewelry highlights and fire

Posted: 14.11.2020 23:30
by Catherine
Jerry-and-Lois wrote: 01.11.2020 02:17 Hi there -

New to HF, as well as focus stacking.

I have diamond ring with a large center stone that I shot. My lighting is quite complex, with multiple fixtures.

I shot 5 different images, each producing a unique flash/fire from the stone. Variance was accomplished by enabling or moving a single light, taking a shot, moving the light slight to visually end up with a different set of flash/fire hotspots and taking a new shot. Repeat.

At the end I have some 5 different images, without moving camera or ring. Said differently,
image #1, has fire in the NE corner.
image #2 has fire in the center
image #3 has fire in the both the SE and SW corners,
etc.

None of the hotspots overlap or interfere/conflict with each other.

When I combine the raw NEFs using method 'C', not all the highlights survive. Some are partially washed out, even if they don't overlap at all with fire/highlights in any of the other images.

I'm trying to conglomerate the best of all worlds to maximize the fire/sizzle from the stone.

Because some of these highlights are faded out, I need to understand why, and how to preserve these, rather than let them disappear.

Can anyone offer insights on preserving highlights/fire/sizzle points?

thank you so much.
That's a complex task. First of all, we'd recommend using exposure compensation (of at least -3) in order to ensure the hotspots fall within the dynamic range. Secondly, we'd recommend using method B as it does not alter colors on the hotspot borders. And also we can recommend using retouching tools HF provides in order to preserve or remove hotspots.

Re: Preserving jewelry highlights and fire

Posted: 14.11.2020 23:39
by Jerry-and-Lois
Thank you, Catherine.

With one piece I shot, I ended up simply using HF to create a stack where all the images were sized to fit, as I also did some manual focus stacking.

When time allows, I would greatly love to show you both the before and after shots, and then see your suggestions on how to improve.

Best wishes,
Jerry