Technical Task for Watch Retouching
Source files: DNG (stacking has already been done)
Final format: JPG + TIFF, sRGB, 300dpi
Style of the result: photograph of an elite luxury watch.
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Retouching tasks:
1. Remove dust, micro-scratches, fingerprints, oily marks, micro-debris.
2. Carefully adjust hot spots without turning the metal into “plastic.”
3. Preserve the metallic texture of the case — metal should remain metal, not matte.
4. Adjust reflections to be clean, controlled, and pleasant to the eye.
5. Correct the white balance (the lights are set, but need to be brought to natural neutral).
6. Enhance the contrast and local contrast of the watch, without HDR effect.
7. Align the dial so that its gradient/structure/color is visible.
8. Keep shadows soft and natural, but without falling into black.
9. Remove unwanted reflections, light spots, glare, reflections of unwanted objects.
10. Background — clean, uniform, without noise, spots, or dirt.
11. Hands should be clear, bright, and readable. Do not make them gray/dull. In some photos, the hands appear dark because they are polished and not always easy to photograph. They need to be lightened, made metallic, but should match the overall picture.
12. All photos look dark — need to raise exposure/brightness to a comfortable commercial appearance (but without overexposure and loss of texture).
13. Center the object. In one photo, the top shows a “cut-off” bracelet. Crop the photo so that the bracelet is not cut off.
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Important:
Do not change the proportions of the watch
Do not change the length of the hands
Do not smooth out/redraw the logo
Keep the appearance as realistic and expensive as possible
Photos here (JPG only for preview. Work with DNG):
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15epHHhHxOb1cNxHCoyHsjmRG7hlTPSVy?usp=sharing