This is something I’ve wanted to do for the longest time! I’m still learning as we speak, but, I’ve tried some things that are helping my photos’ eyes “pop”! Here are two things that I have tried.
Photo Shop:
-Open photoshop and a photo. Make sure to go to image>duplicate in order to work on a copy and not the original photo.
-Use the elliptical marquee tool to select the eyes. Don’t worry if you have more then the eyes selected, this will be edited later.
-Click on edit>copy then edit>paste. It will make a new layer in your layers box, you can name it “eyes” if you want. To rename a layer, double click on the layer title in the layers box.
-Click on the eye next to the background layer to show just the eyes layer.
-Make sure you have the “eyes” layer highlighted. Click on filter>sharpen>smart sharpen. It will automatically sharpen the eyes for you but you can increase it or decrease it by moving the amount and radius sliders on the left. Click OK when done.
-Re-click the eye next to the background image in the layers box.
-Click on the erase tool and erase everything in the elliptical area except for the eyes.
-Stop and save the photo here OR you can continue to highlight the whites in the eyes. (I’m still working on this method!!)
Whites of eyes:
-Use the eye dropper tool to select color from the whitest part of the eye.
-Click on the brush tool and with low hardness and low opacity, make the whites, whiter.
-You can also make the pupils bigger. Use the eye dropper tool again to select the black color of the pupil. Click on the brush tool and make the pupil larger.
-To compare to the original, just click/un-click the eye next to the “eyes” layer!
Stop and save here. Click on layers>flatten image. Then file>save as.
See a great video tutorial here!
Here is the before and after with Photo Shop:
Photo Bucket:
-Upload or open your photo in PhotoBucket.
-Click on edit
-Click on effects>soften. Click on advanced options in the soften task bar above the photo. A small window opens, click the down arrows to choose painted region. Make sure “effect” is highlighted then use the brush to paint over choice spots in the photo. I paint/soften the entire image.
-Now click on “original” and zoom in on the eyes and mouth. Use a small brush to paint the eyes and mouth back to the original sharpness.
-Stop and save here or continue to play with the softness level etc…
Before and after with PhotoBucket:
Randi, another method for the whites of the eyes and teeth is to use your dodge tool in Photoshop. Set the brush size so that you only need to make one pass. Set the exposure at 50%. You don’t wnat to lighten the teeth too much; it will look fake. Immediately after releasing the mouse button, you can go to the Edit menu and use Fade to lessen the amount of lightening, if it is too much. Fade is only available right after using the dodge tool.