Deep, colorful eyes?

[Mitchell]

I noticed in a lot of portraits, the eyes are the first thing I look at...... I'm going to have trouble finding words to describe it, so I'll just post a picture NOT taken by me...




Something like this...

I'm just wondering how to get portraits that will come out really sharp in the color of the eyes, and, I guess, draw attention to the eyes first with a deep sense of depth to it... I'm having trouble describing the look, but I think you guys may know what I mean...

I'll be using a Nikon D90 and a 50mm f/1.8 lens, since that's the only lens I have... Saving up for a second one.




I'm just starting to photograph with DSLR. My first camera was an LG A720... haha, terrible experiences with that thing. Unreliable battery life, and would randomly die in the middle of taking pictures, but I got so many pictures out of that thing that I loved. This one picture I took from the Plaza level of the West tower of the Marina City Club really made me take an active interest. Hah, my grandmother always thinks I take stupid pictures when I take a picture of a bottle of water... but it's not really the water that's the subject, it's the lighting behind it, if you dig what I mean.

Anyway, any replies would be greatly appreciated!


Ngaio/Mitchell.

[RexK_Cozumel]

The first thing is to have proper lighting of the subject. Then sharpening in post processing and dodge and burn. Very simple really. I would write up a tutorial but there are a bunch of them around here on the forums. Just do a quick search and you should find some. I believe KathrynWilson did a tutorial on this actually that was pretty good. not the method that I use personally but it works too.

[Mitchell]

Originally Posted by RexK_Cozumel

The first thing is to have proper lighting of the subject. Then sharpening in post processing and dodge and burn. Very simple really. I would write up a tutorial but there are a bunch of them around here on the forums. Just do a quick search and you should find some. I believe KathrynWilson did a tutorial on this actually that was pretty good. not the method that I use personally but it works too.

Lighting of the subject? Would a Nikon SB-600 do the trick for this type of thing?

And the post processing part... I'm not exactly sure where to apply it, but I'll take a look around to figure it out.

Is there a name for this type of technique, or this type of photography or anything that'll make my search a little easier? Honestly, I don't know where to start, haha.


Thank you,
Mitch.

[RexK_Cozumel]

Here is a link to Kathryn's tutorial

And here is a link to a video tutorial by Christy Schuler on portrait retouching. It has several videos under the tutorials section. One is specifically for the eyes.

There are a ton of other ways to do what you are asking just need to find one that you like.

As a side note I do not use either one of these methods but they both yield good results so you might like them.

[AnneWynne]

The technique is called "color pop" or "eye pop". This website has free actions for Elements and Photoshop CS, including one to get the color pop on the eyes....CoffeeShop Free PS/PSE Actions!

Expore the site...it is a great resource.

Anne