Professional-Approved Earring Photo Editing Tips

Jewelry photography editing is a crucial part of earring photography even when you invest in a professional photographer. Customers access the earrings through your photos, especially if you sell online, so the photos you post on your site must be impeccable.

Get tips on how to retouch earring photos from professional photo editors at Jewelry Retouchers. We’ll discuss the most reliable photo editing tips and some ideas to make your images more captivating.

9 Earring Photo Retouching Tips

For a successful earring photo, make sure that you have a good earring photo to begin with. A good place to start is our earring photography tips and ideas. With a well-composed image, earring photo editing focuses on enhancing the final output.

1. Start with Exposure

Exposure determines the amount of light captured in each shot. With the right exposure, you can capture the details of the earrings clearly.

Photographers manipulate exposure during the photography session, but you can also change this by adjusting the image’s contrast and brightness.

If the image is overexposed, meaning its highlights and mid-tones are too bright, you may reduce the brightness. Details will show up better this way.

Meanwhile, if the image is underexposed or it’s too dark to see details, you may increase the brightness. Increasing the contrast will also help details show up on the image.

2. Correct the White Balance

The white balance controls the color temperature of the photo. This is an important element because the color metals in earrings can be easily distorted by color reflections and the type of light used during the shoot.

Correcting white balance makes sure that the photos depict the accurate color of the earrings. The right white balance can also make the subject stand out from the background.

If there is a strong color cast, the image may feel flat. You can correct an overly warm or blue picture by adjusting the white balance. Doing so lets the other colors of the jewelry pop.

3. Change the Background if Necessary

A white background is generally preferred in jewelry photography. It’s simple and complements all types of earrings without distorting the colors. But if you’re using a white background, it needs to be pristine, and preferably, without any lines.

If your background is not completely white or you used a string or glue dots, you can simply change the background to endless white. To do this, you need to clip the earring, transfer it to a different layer, and then add an endless white layer under it.

Doing so will make earring photo enhancement easier and faster.

You don’t have to correct every small smudge in the background and other small details. When you do this, however, you will need to add other elements, specifically shadows, to make the photo more realistic.

4. Always Mask Your Layers

The tips we have discussed so far apply to the whole photo. Before you start retouching the details, a crucial step is masking. To mask, click the Layer Mask button.

Masking is the process of isolating certain parts of an image so that it doesn’t get affected by changes you make on other parts. This is particularly useful for earrings because metals and stones tend to require different adjustments.

5. Spot Heal to Remove Dust

When retouching jewelry, you need a keen eye. Look for any dust or fingerprints that may have stuck to the metal or stones. These minor imperfections make a photo look unpolished. This is one of the first things you need to tackle when retouching earring photos.

So, take the time to zoom in on all areas of the earring to check for dirt.

Removing dirt and fingerprints is easy—simply use the Healing Brush Tool. This tool applies the color and texture from the surrounding area to the spot you selected. This way, the edit surface remains realistic.

Another tool you can use for removing dust in the photos is the Patch Tool. With this tool, you have to select the source that will be used to cover the problem area so you have more control over what the edited surface will look like.

6. Remove Glare and Unwanted Reflections

Jewelry photography is tricky in general because metals and stones reflect light.

Before the photo editor even receives the image, you can expect that the photographer has done a lot to avoid glare and unwanted reflections of the camera and people. However, sometimes these things cannot be avoided.

The good thing is they can be edited using the Healing Brush Tool. This tool will cover the problematic reflection with a surface that has the right illumination.

How do you differentiate between unwanted reflections and glare and the earrings’ shine?

Unwanted reflections include reflections of the camera, light, and even people behind the camera. This makes photos dark and dull. On the other hand, glare is caused by a light reflection that makes the photo hazy.

Overall, these types of reflections make the images appear unprofessional.

7. Create Soft Shadows

It’s a standard practice among seasoned earring photographers to use diffused lighting to minimize harsh shadows. If the photo has soft shadows, you may opt to simply clean up the edges or intensify some areas. 

However, if you chose to change the background completely, we suggest adding soft shadows under the earrings. This earring photo editing tip is handy for when you want to make the image more realistic—so the earrings don’t look like they’re suspended in a vacuum.

You have two options for drawing shadows:

• Manually draw it with the Brush Tool. For this, you’ll need to adjust the thickness and opacity of the brush.
• Upload a pre-drawn shadow that matches the silhouette of the earrings.

For either method, make sure that the shadows match the earrings, so it appears genuine.

8. Add Shine and Sparkle

The goal of photo retouching is to enhance the photo and, most importantly, the appearance of the subject. One simple way to do this is by adding shine and sparkle. Be strategic about the placement—draw them on areas that the light hits.

This practice complements exposure and white balance adjustments to improve a dull photo’s vibrancy. In many instances, adding sparkle to the earrings brings the photo closer to the earrings’ appearance in real

9. Crop the Image

Lastly, double-check the size of the image. Crop it according to the client’s specified size and ratio, while being mindful that the earrings remain centered. You may also want to check for small details in the background that may need to be cropped out, such as the edge of the backdrop.

Cropping the image is a small thing, but it can make a big difference in the final output.

Best Earring Photo Retouching Software

Just as photographers now have a wide array of cameras to use for their craft, jewelry photo editors can also choose from a variety of photo editing software. Here are some of the most reliable photo editing software:

• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Lightroom
• DxO PhotoLab
• Skylum Luminar Neo
• Cyberlink PhotoDirector

These editing software feature the same core elements you’ll need to execute your earring photo retouching ideas. There may be a few key differences that mainly affect how you work.

Make Photos as Stunning as Your Earrings with Jewelry Retouchers

The images of the jewelry you send out to the world should be just as stunning and skillfully crafted as the earrings you create. You can follow our tried-and-tested tips for earring photography retouching to improve your photos.

That being said, having a professional edit your earring photos is sure to bring out the best in each earring. Jewelry Retouchers has been a premier provider of jewelry photo retouch services, and we have turned many visions into reality.  

If you want to know more about our services and jewelry editing techniques, don’t hesitate to send us a message.