Advice on Eyes?

[aribabybug]

My photos are almost exclusively of people, and I know that usually it's the eyes that can make or break a photo. I've been keeping any eye (no pun intended) on the work of others to see what I like and don't like. One photographer that I love always has beautiful eyes in her blog post, and I don't know whether this is due to her subjects, her shooting ability, or post processing. If anyone could tell me how to make eyes pop like this, I would practically kiss them in excitement. I'm including a link to a blog post with some good examples. Thanks in advance!

http://leahlundblog.com/?p=737

[kencaleno]

All that link does is stuff up everything you had going up until that link gets clicked,and you need to restart computer to get things going again.

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by kencaleno

All that link does is stuff up everything you had going up until that link gets clicked,and you need to restart computer to get things going again.

I had no problem with the link....

[mholt]

Originally Posted by kencaleno

All that link does is stuff up everything you had going up until that link gets clicked,and you need to restart computer to get things going again.

What problems with the link?

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by aribabybug

My photos are almost exclusively of people, and I know that usually it's the eyes that can make or break a photo. I've been keeping any eye (no pun intended) on the work of others to see what I like and don't like. One photographer that I love always has beautiful eyes in her blog post, and I don't know whether this is due to her subjects, her shooting ability, or post processing. If anyone could tell me how to make eyes pop like this, I would practically kiss them in excitement. I'm including a link to a blog post with some good examples. Thanks in advance!

http://leahlundblog.com/?p=737

The baby on her blog certainly does have amazing eyes, and obviously that's a start.

When shooting portraits - always, always focus on the eyes. In the first pic on her blog, you can see that the baby's right eye was the one she focused on, as it's tack sharp, and the left eye is a bit soft.

I always use natural light for portraits (especially kids) and using a white reflector is a fantastic way of getting perfect catchlights.

There is some great PP work done to make eyes pop as well. I usually dodge the iris and catchlights, then burn the rim of the iris and the lashes. If needed I'll dodge the whites of the eyes a touch as well.

Hope that helps. Feel free to ask any further questions if you need me to elaborate.

[stitchbug]

wow, those were some seriously great eyes!
(i had no problem with the link, either!)

I also do the dodge and burn. you can google "eye pop tutorial" and a bunch of stuff will come up. I'm still learning when it comes to photoshop, but you can find a bunch of tutorials on the internet!

[aribabybug]

Thanks so much! I'm still learning, especially when it comes to PP, but those eyes have really inspired me, and I can't wait to start practicing.

[Austin_HXC]

Yeah I agree with everyone.
She has some really nice pictures, but the first picture has a messed up white balance. It has a blue color cast with a pink tint. But she does PP the pictures alot, along with the pretty eyes of the subject.