Ryan Phillips Blog

This is a continuation of the Photoshop retouching tutorial I began last week. This one will be much harder to see on my blog so try it out on your own photos to see how well it works. *Note: I rarely retouch a portrait subject unless asked. I almost always retouch if it’s commercial work. I use a very light hand so the subject remains as natural as possible.

Last week we removed the dark circles under the eyes. To finish off the eyes I did a few different adjustments. As always, start with a new layer so you can see the effects. If the effects are too much you can lower the opacity to make it look more natural:

Define Iris: As you get older the dark line around your iris tends to get more dull. To enhance this set your brush to a size that matches the thin iris line. (about 3) Set the brush’s blend mode to multiply. I like to start around 15% opacity and layer it on from there. Zoom in past 100% so you can really concentrate on the line. You need to be really steady with your hand so you don’t drift out towards the whites of the eyes. Slowly drag your brush around the entire iris to darken the outside line. You may need 2 passes.

Brighten/Whiten Eyes: I use this to pop the catch light and whiten the eyes a bit. Set your brush to a size that matches the colored part of the eye. Set your blend mode to screen. Again, start with 15% and build from there. Lightly brush over the catch light (light source that is reflected in the eye.) Some people like to hit a spot right across from the catch light since the eye naturally refracts light. Others like to hit the entire rim all the way around since it really makes the eyes pop. I prefer the second option. Next (with caution) hit the whites of the eyes but don’t hit everything the same. Vary the opacity or the passes so you create some shading.

Enhance Eye Color: Set your brush to a size that matches the colored part of the eye. Set your brush’s blend mode to color and pick a color in the color picker. (you can double click the foreground color box to bring that up) Set the opacity to 10%. Slowly paint to taste.

Darken Lashes: Many retouchers have fake lash brushes that they can paint on. I find it a bit much for me and I don’t really shoot Beauty or Fashion any more so I stay away from that. I prefer to just darken and the lashes and eye rim a bit. Set your brush to 3 or smaller. Set your brush’s blend mode to multiply and your opacity to 30%. Now, slowly paint out each lash individually (at 100% zoom) Then hit the rim all the way around the eyelids. Lower or raise the brush opacity as you need to keep it natural.

Need to swap an eye or lighten a dark eye? I learned this tip from Scott Kelby. Drag a loose selection around the eye with the lasso tool. Right click the selection and choose – New layer via copy. Press Command T (Cntrl T on a PC) to bring up the free transform box. Right click and choose – Flip horizontal – lower the opacity about 20% and drag the layer to the other side – slide it into place and then raise the opacity. Lastly add a layer mask and paint out the areas that you don’t need. The best reason to do this is if one eye is smaller than the other. You can also use this if you have an eye that is much darker than the other one but make sure you clean up the face to match.

Some additional steps if you need them would be too remove any veins from the eyes and remove the second catch light. There are multiple ways to get these results, I use these because I find them to be the most natural. They take a little more time but the results are worth it.