non-animal macro

[abigailandsam]

This is a 3-shot photo of an engraved engagement ring which I made in Photoshop CS2. The ring photos were taken with a Sigma 150mm macro on a black velvet background under a Chimera Pro II softbox w/500 watt tungsten bulb. / Sam

[Leorooster]

Very nice shot. It's good to see something other than living creatures. The lighting is excellent. Did you photoshop the background to make it black?

[abigailandsam]

Thanks. No, the background is black velvet. I had to photoshop it to make the image overlap and intertwine.

[Ballen Photo]

WOW! Awesome lighting showing the detail of the engraving very nicely. :D
I take it this was the same ring photoshopped into what we see here looking like three intertwined? NICE!
-Bruce

[chemicalbro]

very nice ps work here.... the compositing of the 3 images is seamless.......... amazing engraving on the ring also........

[Roach711]

I'll second chemicalbro - great PS work.

Would you mind explaining how you did it?

[abigailandsam]

Would you mind explaining how you did it?

Let's see if I can give a brief explanation. First, I shot the photos on a black velvet background, which makes editing in PS a lot easier, plus I like the dramatic effect of a black background.

I then take the polygonal lasso tool and walk it around the ring's parameter. Then I copy/paste it into a new file with a black background. I do the same with the other 2 images, then arrange them in a pleasing way. After that, I create a drop shadow layer below each image so they appear to be overlapping and casting a shadow on the one below. The last thing I did was to use the airbrush to create a bit of glow behind the blue gem. That's most of how I did this image, but I

Someone asked if they were all the same ring, and the answer is yes. Photoshop allows me to create a nice view of the engraved surfaces in one photograph instead of three.

~Sam

[CyberDyneSystems]

This is fantastic work!
I'm not too fond of the diffuse glow around two of the gems though...

But wow.. excellent job!

[queenbee288]

I agree with cyberdyne. Great photoshop work but I don't like the glow either. It gives it a fakey feel.

Char

[Beeclose]

Like Your work, I know just how difficult it is to do, I spent 12 Years as a hand engraver before switching to Jewellery and then retail Photo Shop. Lets see more of creations. EW.

[sailpamc]

What an awesome ring, great photo and PS work! You are truly a "multi-faceted" artist. Thanks for sharing.

[bitbytes9]

very sharp ~

[LordV]

Great shot- lovely lighting and detail.
Brian V.