Jewellery packshot photography: What level of retouching is right for my pieces?

Packshots are the pivoting images for an e-commerce platform. Being the last images seen by the customer before check out, they are the make or break point in the purchase decision.
In a literal sense, a packshot is a photograph of a product on a crisp white background, with no props and no design elements. The focus is solely on the quality of the product and allows potential buyers to see every detail without unnecessary distractions. Therefore accurate high-quality packshot images will help increase sales and reduce customer complaints and returns.

What value does retouching add?

We are overtly saturated by images through the constant use of social media, so capturing someone’s attention is not only about having a great product but about displaying it in the best light possible. Retouching techniques are there to enhance the features of the product, consequently helping buyers to make an informed decision on their purchase. A vibrant and crisp image with a high standard of colour correction is more likely to keep potential buyers engaged and active on your site.

Additionally, online search engines and e-commerce platforms often allow users to zoom into the products, which makes deep retouching ever more important. The level of retouching is often in correlation to how much a website allows zooming into the image. Packshots must be retouched to a level that shows no flaws when zoomed in. A poorly retouched image can be in fact be counterproductive when selling a product since it will possibly reveal imperfections such as dust or small scratches. The level of retouching might impact the way the customer sees the product: from almost feeling the touch and texture of a piece to quickly passing by without a second glance.

Why is the process of retouching so important?

Any packshot needs some basic retouching. What might look like a small detail for the human eye is magnified on an isolated high-resolution photo. Thus, retouching is essential to obtain an accurate representation of your product.

The key is to ensure that the unique design of each piece is highlighted and generate eye-catching imagery that helps optimise your jewellery’s e-commerce performance.

We also want to make sure your business needs are met, so we adapt the quality level of our retouching services in line with your budget and find the right balance between quality and pricing to what is right for your brand.

Professional retouching at Kalory Photo & Video

We are here to help your business grow with our professional photography and editing services. Our founders bring along years of experience as established Luxury industry professionals and can help and advise your business to create visuals that sell. Our experience includes working for clients in the jewellery industry ranging from Bond Street luxury brands to young designers and start-ups.

We have developed our photography and retouching techniques for over ten years and established 3 different levels of retouching for our clients. We usually start a relationship with a jeweller or a jewellery designer by a test shoot and explore the different levels of retouching we offer and explain how retouching can contribute to adding value to your brand’s digital presence.

Basic level retouching

At the basic level, the main objective is to make the image vibrant and the piece of jewellery attention-grabbing. The images are single-focused and we include basic colour correction, contrast, sharpening and a shadow or a mirrored reflection.

This is a great level if you are a young jewellery brand looking to enter the world of e-commerce fast and at a minimum cost. It can help you launch your business and build an online presence on a smaller budget, but still looking extremely professional!

Medium level retouching

The medium level starts during the shoot as we need to collect additional data created with additional lighting and exposures. Once we have that material, we can layer up to 3 to 5 images, depending on the piece. We overlay images with different points of focus. The result gives a full depth of focus and creates extra clarity.

The process of cleaning is also much more detailed and requires additional retouching time. This also helps in obtaining more precise and accurate colour correction. Scratches and marks are also removed and we work more closely on textures and stone faceting.

High-end level retouching

Our highest level of retouching offers up to 10 to 12 points of focus. During the shoot, we use specialist lighting techniques depending on the metal and stones of each piece.

Editing together the images with different focus points is a long process, but the end result is a very sharp image showing all the facets of the gemstones. This highlights the details to the highest level bringing out the clarity and the shine of each stone and of the metalwork. This process can take up to a couple of hours for a single image.

We are here to advise you and offer a free test shoot

If you are not sure on what level of retouching you require, our team offers advice to help you clearly identify your needs. We do not believe that one solution fits all, so we offer free test shoots to see which level works best for your brand, so that you can make an informed decision.

If you are going to use your images for e-commerce, we generally advise keeping the majority at the low or medium level of quality with a possible upgrade for a couple of images for press and for your homepage website banners.