How to enhance eyes in a picture using Adobe Photoshop

The eyes are the most important focal point in a portrait. The eyes have the ability to bring attention to a portrait, whether it is a baby photograph, a senior or a couple portrait. Using Adobe Photoshop you can enhance the appearance of the eyes in a photograph to make them pop out even more!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Adobe Photoshop
• Portrait of picture of someone's face in digital form.

1. 
   Screenshot by Barbara Holland / Photograph Copyright: SXC

   Open your picture in Adobe Photoshop. Now go to your tools and click on the "Zoom" tool and then zoom into the eyes of the person in the photograph.

2. 
   Screenshot by Barbara Holland / Photograph Copyright: SXC

   Now that you have zoomed into the eyes, go back to your tools and choose the "Dodge" tool. This will be located two buttons down from the "Paint Bucket" tool.

3. 
   Screenshot by Barbara Holland / Photograph Copyright: SXC

   With your "Dodge" Tool selected right click over the picture to set the size of this tool that you would like to use. Choose a diameter a little smaller than the iris of the eye.

4. Once you have selected the size of the "Dodge" tool you can start painting with it over the iris until you see the highlights pop out. Only paint the iris of the eye.

5. 
   Screenshot by Barbara Holland / Photograph Copyright: SXC

   This next step requires you to create a new layer. Go to your "Layers" and on the bottom right you will see the button to make a new layer.

6. 
   Screenshot by Barbara Holland / Photograph Copyright: SXC

   Now you will need to change to another tool. Go to your toolbar and select the "Brush" tool.

7. 
   Screenshot by Barbara Holland / Photograph Copyright: SXC

   Once you select the "Brush" tool, make sure that the foreground color is set to white by checking the Color Picker.

8. 
   Screenshot by Barbara Holland / Photograph Copyright: SXC

   Once more, right click on the picture to select the diameter of the "Brush" tool. Try to choose something small enough to fit in the white part of the eyeball.

9. 
   Screenshot by Barbara Holland / Photograph Copyright: SXC

   Now that you have selected the size, you can start painting over the white areas of the eyeball. Make sure that you are still on the new layer. Don't worry about how it looks right now, we will make it look natural in the next steps.

10. 
    Screenshot by Barbara Holland / Photograph Copyright: SXC

    When you finish painting the white in the eyeball, go to your "Layers" and change that layer to "Soft Light".

11. 
    Screenshot by Barbara Holland / Photograph Copyright: SXC

    If the white in the eyes is still too bright, you can also change the layer's opacity to make it more subtle.

12. 
    Screenshot by Barbara Holland / Photograph Copyright: SXC

    And that's it! Now you can see in this before and after how you can enhance the look of the eyes in a portrait by making them brighter and making the highlights pop!

Tips & Warnings

• Use a small diameter in your tools so that you can fill in the small areas better.
• Remember to zoom in so you can see all the details of the eye clearly.
• Do not over use the "Dodge" tool. A few swipes will bring out enough highlights in the eye. Using it too much may cause it to look unnatural.

Resources

• Adobe