How to Make the Eyes Pop on Adobe CS5
The eyes are windows to the soul, especially in portrait photography, and should be the first thing to grab a viewer’s attention in an image. For subjects with naturally striking eyes, this is easily accomplished by keeping the eyes in focus and lighting them well. For other subjects, make the eyes pop by applying some image retouching. Owners of the Adobe Creative Suite 5 can use Photoshop’s dodge tool to accentuate the irises and add attention-grabbing contrast to the subject eyes.
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Instructions
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Launch Photoshop CS5 and open the image by dragging the image to the main program window. You can also click “File,” click “Open” and then open your image from the file dialog that appears.
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Drag the “Background” layer to the new layer button to create a copy. You can also hold “CTRL” and press the “J” key to create a copy of the layer.
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Click the “Zoom” tool icon and click on the image to zoom in until the eyes are big enough to see clearly.
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Click the “Dodge” tool icon on the toolbar.
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Choose a brush size from the top menu bar that is small enough to work around within the irises of the eyes.
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Choose an exposure rate between 10 to 30 percent. For a more dramatic effect, choose a higher exposure rate; for a subtler effect, pick a lower rate.
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Click and drag within the iris. Avoid hitting the pupil or edge of the iris. Continue painting with the dodge tool until you’re satisfied with the effect. Repeat for the other iris.
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Double click the “Zoom” tool icon to zoom back out. Review the image and make adjustments if necessary.
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Tips & Warnings
If you want a more pronounced pupil or wish to darken the edge of the iris, use the “Burn” tool to paint darker areas in the eyes.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Ciaran Griffin/Valueline/Getty Images
