Eye Tutorial Before and After

This is a really quick tutorial I put together to show people how I do eyes. They are my absolute favorite thing to edit. I am sure everyone edits eyes their own way, but this is how I do it.

First and most important, MAKE SURE your lighting is right. In order to get the best catchlights in the eye, I either prefer shade, or clouds! On these pictures I just went out to my backporch which is in the shade at this time of day. Perfect foy snapping these shots of the eyes.

The ONLY thing I edited on these pics was the eyes. I know the color is a little off on the skin tones. It is actually funny sometimes to look at the reflection in someones eyes. If you look closely at these, you can see my deck railings and my shadow. LOL. These were taken without a reflector..

Basically I use the dodge tool on the highlights in the iris. I set the opacity at 10% and just lighten up any highlights (catchlights) in the eye.

Then I use the burn tool (also set to 10%) and darken the lashline and the outer rim of the iris to make it pop.

Then I sharpen the eyes about 60% and there you have it.

Sometimes I play around with curves, but this is how I usually do my eyes.

Next time you are out taking pics of someone, look at their eyes before snapping away. You will be able to see How the light reflects in the eye. Also, make sure to set your focal point on the eye closest to you. I know that sounds weird, but it works for me everytime.