I'd like to share with you all the method I use for enhancing detail in the eyes. This tutorial will also cover changing eye color. If you read between the lines, you can also pick up other useful tips that can be applied to just about everything.The eye is the window to the soul, so they say...And if you have an image with little or no detail in the subject's eyes, it very quickly detracts from overall value. If you're shooting for paying clients, they may not know about catch lights, but they'll know when they see dead eyes. Whether you're shooting for fun or for money, try this out on your next image!I'll preface this tutorial by stating a few facts:(1) Don't overdo it.(2) Get it as close to perfect in-camera first.(3) Don't change someone's eye color without asking first.(4) Share this with others, but don't share it with your client. They don't need to know how easy this is.(4) See number 1.
Want to see dead eyes? Glad you asked...I've got plenty of my own photos I can use as example!
I don't care what you do...Ain't happening. This was a quick and informal shot I took while on vacation, but if I really wanted to, I could have done some things right off the bat that would have helped:(1) Should have used a flash to fill the shadows and put that twinkle in their eyes.(2) If I had my hot shoe flash, I could have popped up the white card to add a little extra catch light.(3) If I had a reflector, could have had someone hold that to the right of them and bounced my flash off it for even more fill and more catch light.If you're hiking up a mountain to a waterfall though, chances are you won't be totting a studio in your back pocket. But at the very least, if you're shooting in midday sun, come prepared with a flash.
So we'll assume you've got a pretty decent in-camera exposure now, and you just want to add that little extra something. The image I'm using in this tutorial was taken in harsh midday sun around noon, and I used an on-camera flash to trigger a slave flash that was shooting through a white umbrella.
Eyes really look fine here just the way they are...I should have taken care of that shadow over the left eye though, but simple things like that can easily slip by you when your shooting in the hot sun and not getting paid to do it! Oops! :-PSeriously though, I goofed there - And not on purpose. If you learn anything here, it's that mistakes happen and Photoshop is your friend.
(1) Open your image.(2) View Actual Pixels (Alt+Ctrl+0)(3) Click and drag (space bar + left click and drag on mouse) to eyes
(4) Ney layer via copy Ctrl+J
(5) Select the dodge tool, set range to midtones, set exposure to 10%, and decrease your brush size to fit inside the eye.(6) Go over each full eye, a couple times over the whites.(7) Select burn tool, same settings as above and this time decrease brush size to the size of pupil.(8) Go over each pupil several times, and if you want, you can also run around the edges of the iris.
You'll see the subtle changes in the before/after below...You may also see some saturation changes...That's just inconsistency on my part in preparing this tutorial - I switched color spaces and that's what you're seeing, although I've tried to adjust for that.
Now let's give them a little pop! First we need to select the area we're going to give the pop to...(9) Enter Quick Mask Mode (press Q).(10) Select a soft black brush at 100% opacity.(11) Paint both eyes "red."
Yet another reason not to do this in front of your client! They'll think you're about to blackmail them! :-P(12) Exit quick mask, invert (ctrl+shift+i), right click and feather your selection by 5 pixels, and create a new layer via copy (ctrl+j).The "pop" I referred to above is going to be by means of an unsharp mask, so now that we have our selection loaded...(13) Filter -> sharpen -> unsharp mask...Amount: 20; radius 80; threshold 0 > OK.
This next step, well actually any step I guess, is an optional one. Use it if you think the image needs it...Try it if you've never done if before...Don't do it if it'll make your image look worse and then blame me! :-PWe're going to brighten the eyes up just a touch.(14) Duplicate your unsharp mask layer we just made by dragging it down to the new layer icon...You should see a copy of that layer appear in the layers window now.(15) Set the blend mode of that layer to Screen, and reduce opacity to 25% (or a whatever setting you think compliments the image best).
If you don't plan on changing the eye color, then we're all done here!
Again...Subtle, especially in a H&S shot, but noticeable and effective. Good for practice, if nothing else.
If you want to add a color change or enrich the existing color, let's give these steps a go...(1) Create a Layer Stamp (ctrl+alt+shift+e).(2) Enter quick Mask mode again This time select just the iris.(3) Layer -> New fill layer -> Solid color...Select your color of choice.(4) Set blend mode to color and adjust opacity as needed 25% works pretty good.Another optional step here...(5) Create a Layer Stamp (ctrl+alt+shift+e), and using the dodge/burn tools take one last stab at any final adjustments you'd like to make.
A few other example images I've applied this technique to...
Hope this helps...If it doesn't work for you, or you have problems with any of the techniques, we never met. ;-)