Jewelry - flat surface shine

[jayspot]

Hi all

Please take a look at the images below. I'm having difficulty getting the top surface of the F to shine like the sides do. The sides have a nice luster to them but the top seems a little flat in colour to me. Any tips, help or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance 

[PhilippeV8]

The reason for this is fairly simple if you think about it .. the sides have things to reflect (eachother), while the top reflects only a little part of the HDRI.  So whatever you want your top part to reflect, must be in the HDRI.

So if you got the PRO version, edit the HDRI and add some pin lights that brighten or darken the area.  Might be a little search to find the exact spot.

Don't forget, if you change camera angle, it'll reflect another zone of the HDRI then ....

PS: if you don't have the pro version, you can add some variations to the top surface in post ?  Either way, I like the top most render.

[jayspot]

Thanks for your help Phillip 

I understand that it is reflecting the HDRI, I was hoping for some expertise relating to what to actually specifically put in the HDRI to make it look shinier - perhaps a black light or a black rectangle, a white one? I know how to make rings look shiny its just that I'm struggling to make this flat surface look shiny. Do you have any recommendations for flat metallic surfaces?

I generally do use a default HDRI and add my own highlights and pins depending on the product.

[Ed]

One thing to try is make a curved walled object to set your piece on rather than use a flat floor.  Like this:   (__)

Use a brushed stainless steel material for this reflector.  If the curved walls are taller than your piece then you'll get some reflections on the top of the piece.

Remember that you can alter the dimensions of the curved object using the scale controls.  This will produce interesting reflections.

You can still add a flat "floor" between the object and the piece if you want a different material.  When you zoom in, the stainless reflector will be out of camera view.

It takes a lot of experimentation, but usually playing with a reflector is easier than playing with lighting..

Ed