Understanding What is Color Correction in Jewelry Photo Retouching
Color correction in jewelry photo retouching is something you usually hear about at the end of photoshoots. It’s one of the most essential steps in the post-production process since it’s dedicated to enhancing the quality of the images you took.
If you own a jewelry store or an e-commerce website, you must know that when it comes to jewelry photography, color accuracy is a crucial element that can make or break a sale. Inaccurate jewelry representation can lead to disappointed customers, negative reviews, and losses for your brand.
This is why investing in jewelry photo retouching services is critical for your business. These professionals are experts specializing in the editing phase of your images and they can ensure that they bring out the personality of the jewelry you are presenting.
Through sharp, detailed, and attractive jewelry photo retouching, color correction can help build your brand’s development and credibility when it comes to doing business in the precious gems industry.
With that said, in this article, we’re going to talk in-depth about why color-correcting your images is important and list tips that can help you understand the process that editors go through as they retouch your photos.
Why is it Important to Color Correct Your Photos?
With any brand, the first point of contact between you and your consumer is the visuals you put out. This means the quality of your photo, the font you used for your ads, and the type of promotions you post on your digital media are all seen and judged by your customer.
The first thing anyone sees or thinks of is how well your image is portrayed and the composition of the elements you’re presenting. Their initial reaction to your picture is the first step in capturing your customer’s attention and encouraging them to engage with your brand.
So, understanding the benefits of color-correcting your photos is part of the due diligence you need to do to let your e-commerce website and other digital media platforms stand out among a sea of competitors.
- Accuracy
Color-correcting your images ensures that your photos are true to life. This means that how your jewelry looks in real life should reflect the pictures you took. This is important in jewelry brands since you want your customers to know exactly what they’re purchasing.
If the colors in the image are not accurate, your company may receive negative feedback which can be costly to your brand and your sales.
- Consistency
In any business’ digital media presence, consistency is key. When your customers are browsing your website, they want to see consistent high-quality images of the products they’re interested in.
Color correction aims to guarantee that all your photos are uniform in terms of color and brightness. This helps create a more cohesive and professional-looking website or social media that can inspire customers to show interest in your brand.
- Aesthetics
Complementary to accuracy and consistency, color correction overall creates aesthetically pleasing visuals. Jewelry is often purchased for its beauty, so the photos you should use to market them must be just as stunning.
Color correcting your photos can be used to enhance the vibrance of your jewelry and make it look more eye-catching. And if you succeed in capturing your customer’s attention, this can potentially lead to sales.
- Branding
With every business, branding is an important aspect that you should pay attention to. Color correction helps uphold your brand’s overall theme and ensures that your images can reflect your unique color scheme. It makes sure that the aesthetic you’re going for is coordinated in all your digital media presence.
Achieving consistent and color-accurate photos is the objective of color-correcting. Not only does it affect the collaterals you advertise, but also has a hand in the overall performance of your brand. It’s important to keep its advantages in mind when making marketing strategies for your jewelry business.
And while knowing the reasons color-correcting your jewelry photos is important, understanding how to do it will give you more insights into how the process is executed by professionals––which can ultimately help you as you plan out your marketing plan.
Learning How to Color Correct Your Photos
Now that you know why color correcting is important, you should also learn about the basic principles of jewelry color correction so that you can have a better understanding of what graphic designers or editors do.
There are a lot of different jewelry photo color correction techniques that various experts use. They typically have their own unique styles and processes on how they retouch jewelry photos, however, the basic principles behind it are the same.
There is also a range of photo editing programs you can use when retouching jewelry. And while choosing the best photo editing software for jewelry is subjective, the most popular one that’s widely used by most designers and artists is Adobe Photoshop. This is why learning how to retouch jewelry using Photoshop is also valuable if you want to do thorough research on the editing process.
Regardless of the program used, here is the list of basic elements or tools that professionals usually check for and modify to retouch your images:
- Check the Color Accuracy
The first step in color correction is to check the color accuracy of the image. You can use your image and compare it with the actual jewelry piece in the photo or a color reference chart.
Look for color casts or imbalances in the image. Color casts are usually noticeable when the image has a tint of a certain color like blue or yellow. On the other hand, color imbalances are when you see a color in the photo that is more prominent than the others.
Once you’ve pinpointed the areas that need to be adjusted, you can move on with the editing process.
- Adjust the White Balance
The White Balance of an image refers to its overall color temperature––whether it’s warm or cool. The photo is warm when it has a more yellow tone and cool if it has a bluer tone. You can use this adjustment to remove any color casts that your photo may have.
- Correct the Exposure
Exposure refers to the brightness of your image. Adjusting it can help correct any over or underexposed areas in your picture. You can also use the dodge and burn tool for selective brightness editing in your photos.
- Calibrate the Contrast
When talking about contrast, it’s the difference between the light and dark areas in your photo. Adjusting this can help make your jewelry stand out more in the image.
- Modify the Saturation
The saturation of your picture refers to the intensity of the colors in the image. Believe it or not, there is such a thing as too colorful or too dull. And by properly adjusting the saturation, you can make your jewelry look more vibrant and eye-catching.
- Adjust the Hue
Simply put, the hue is the actual color or shade of the image. Adjusting it can help you correct any color imbalances in the photo.
All these editing principles are useful when retouching jewelry photos as the ultimate goal is to show off your product’s vibrance and to properly showcase its essence. Learning the basics will let you appreciate the amount of work and care that goes into jewelry retouching, and its contribution to your business success.
Jewelry Retouchers is your Post-Production Partner
Now that you know the benefits of color-correcting your photos, consider partnering with us!
Here at Jewelry Retouchers, our main expertise is jewelry photo retouching. Our team of professionals own an extensive background in working with jewelry so you can rest assured that your post-production needs are well taken care of.
Learn more about us by checking our portfolio on our website! You can also contact us today to know more about our services and how we can help you.
