Eyes are important. They are the focal point, the centre of interest, of a portrait.
Viewers always look at the eyes first. Eyes carry emotion, expression, and personality. Sharp, well-lit eyes naturally draw the viewer’s attention and give life to the portrait.
Eye retouching corrects distractions and fixes any technical mistakes. Even subtle retouching can dramatically improve the overall impact of a portrait. Enhancing the eyes by adjusting contrast, clarity, and colour can add three-dimensionality and vibrancy to the face, making it “pop” in a natural, captivating way.
Retouching can include: removing redness so the eyes don’t look tired, cleaning up red veins so the eyes look healthier, brightening the whites to remove dullness, enhancing iris colour and detail to add vividness and interest, matching or balancing catchlights to improve consistency and add sparkle, and adding sharpness or clarity to make the eyes stand out.
Eye retouching can also include removing eyeglass reflections.
Retouching eyes is not about changing how someone looks. It’s about revealing the expression and presence that the camera might not have fully captured. It’s the difference between a good portrait and a great one.
