how to make eyes *pop* ?

[Brittainy]

i really love, love, love portraits with the sparkle eye effect. is this a lighting trick, or an angle trick, or is it done in PP. i don't have fancy lighting equipment, but i really think that sparkle makes an otherwise average photo magnificent.
also on the topic of eyes, how does one brighten the color of the eyes, or is this part of the first question?
thanks!

p.s.
forgive me if this was already posted somewhere. i HAVE spent an unnatural amount of time in the forums and tutorials but i haven't seen it.

Britt

[Nicole]

Post-processing usually accomplishes what you're after. A few links should get you started

Sharp eyes?
Making black/very dark brown eyes "pop"
'Amy-Rose' eyes?!
Bright, Shiny, Perfect Eyes

[Brittainy]

thanks a lot! i'll be looking into all those links, and the links of the links, after i get my kidlets situated

[konrad]

ahh good question! I don't know what lighting equipment you have but you should be able to achieve some results with a flashlight. First - take it off from the hot-shoe. Position it about 30-40degrees from your camera. If you have some more lights sources, you can try butterfly lighting set-up - position the subject directly in front of the camera. Set up key-light in front-above the subject and fill-light in front-below (so that the two sources are in about 90 degrees (taking subject's face as a meeting point of the axes). Butterfly lighting is not only a very flattering set up but also might give you the results you're looking for. But don't forget to play around with lighting! Have fun!

[i speak in math]

You don't need PP to make eyes pop. A lot of it is just lighting them right. Here is a self portrait I did the other day (with a manual focus lens btw). The only PP I did was contrast a tiny bit and sharpen. Oh and cropped it.
42in umbrella about 2 ft in front, 1 ft above me. Another flash facing me from behind to give rim lighting

From Strobist

Of course, a little PP helps

From Strobist

[Martinb]

Here's a good video that shows step by step how to make the eye pop using Photoshop:

Awesome Eyes in Photoshop

[Martinb]

And one for Brown eyes

Photoshop: Awesome Brown Eyes

[kencaleno]

Originally Posted by i speak in math

You don't need PP to make eyes pop. A lot of it is just lighting them right. Here is a self portrait I did the other day (with a manual focus lens btw). The only PP I did was contrast a tiny bit and sharpen. Oh and cropped it.
42in umbrella about 2 ft in front, 1 ft above me. Another flash facing me from behind to give rim lighting


Of course, a little PP helps

Eyes aren't in focus,nose is!

[i speak in math]

Originally Posted by kencaleno

Eyes aren't in focus,nose is!

Unfortunately, you might not be able to tell at this size. Trust me, the eyes are razor sharp. at 100%, you can count the missing eyelashes.

[PhotogChic]

Originally Posted by i speak in math

Unfortunately, you might not be able to tell at this size. Trust me, the eyes are razor sharp. at 100%, you can count the missing eyelashes.

Why do you have missing eyelashes?