Reducing the flaws of an object

[otek84]

Hi,

I have been strugling with this for quite a while now, and me knowledge is not sufficent enought to deal with the matter myself. Hence I have decided to ask for help and advise.

To the point, I have made a photo of an object (a muffler) -> "1.jpg" - I do not have a proper equipment so as you can se the light is terrible, causing one side shine like dog's you know what.

I am trying to get as close result to the one I found on the Internet (second photo - "2.jpg"), but I have noticed that there is probably some mask or sth put on the stainless steel ememets (the tips)

It is visible on the third photo ("3.jpg") of a tip end itself, where it seems to have a mat texture.

I would be very grateful for all the help and suggestions, how can I make my photo look as close to the one I fond on the net by using photoshop.

Thank you!

 

[Paul]

On top of the image layer place a new blank layer and fill with white, then change that whit layer to overlay or soft light then lower opacity, you could add a burn to some areas if you wish but you get the idea.

 

[otek84]

oh yes! the burn tool does magic on black elements

there one more thing left - how to get that effect on the chrome element. Is it done just by the light (sofboxes, etc) or can this be achieved by editing in photoshop?