Photoshop Tips: Eye Popping

In this part of our photoshop tips section I will be showing a technique I use all the time. It is quite subtle, but lifts portraits out of the ordinary by making the eyes sparkle and grab your attention.

The good news is that it isn't complicated and you don't need a graphics tablet or other sophisticated gear.

Here is the original image, zoomed in on the eyes. There is a nice catchlight, but they are a bit grey:

 

 

 

Step 1: Create a new layer in Photoshop, and in that layer paint over the eye in white. Don't worry about being precise at this stage.

 

Step 2: Next, adjust the opacity of this layer to about 50% so that you can see the eyes underneath the white.

 

 

Step3: Tidy up the edges of the white area using the Eraser Tool (E), stopping at the eyelids and eyelashes. I suggest using a soft edged eraser (this was done using a softness of 9%). This will blend your adjustment nicely into the photograph.

 

Step 4: Finally, set the layers blend mode to Overlay and reduce the layer opacity to between 20% and 30% to get the effect you want. For this particular photograph I have used 28%. You want the effect to be subtle - the eyes should be bright and healthy, not unearthly and scary!

 

Here is the final picture, and a copy of the Layers palette for your reference.