Work on the Eyes Help

[MeadsMan]

Hi,I am finding in many of my photos,that I am not making the most of detail in the eyes of my wildlife photos,however to do this I need to work on the eyes alone,so that adjustments for the eyes do not affect the whole image,normally in most circumstances I would just like to lighten up the eyes,and perhaps add a little extra sharpening.Can anyone offer a step by step tutorial for this,I use Elements 7.

[pliers]

HI Meadsman, just do a Google search for sharpening eyes, plenty tutorials and even some videos eg.

Enhancing Eyes using Photoshop

Of course they are usually aimed at people but i think you will be able to apply them to your wildlife images.

regards brian.

[MeadsMan]

Thanks Brian,I can not say I found the instructions there easy to follow I have found using the dodge and burn tool in elements,helps lighten up the eyes,but I am finding it hard to make it look natural

[Hobjob]

A real quickie reply - after adjusting levels, saturation to taste

* select the eyes and as much surround as you want (in humans includes eyelashes)
* set some feathering on the selection
* reduce the shadow
* increase the contrast
* sharpen to taste

May need to be done twice, once for each eye.

[Geoff F]

The tutorial in Brian's link is aimed at a rather semi pro market which assumes the reader has a good understanding of working with layers and brushes and a reasonable amount of artistic skill. To be honest I tend to struggle when attempting to paint on colour changes and achieve a natural look.

As an alternative simpler method you could try: Make a duplicate layer and add a hide all mask. Zoom in the view setting. Use a soft edged low opacity brush (say 30%) to gradually reveal the eyes, vary the brush size as necessary. (Set the brush to reveal through the mask.) Keep going over the area to gradually show the areas which need enhancement. You can show or hide the original background layer as required. Initially show the background while you work on the duplicate layer but temporarily hide the original layer as suits.

When the eyes are visible you can vary the brightness and saturation of this layer. Changing the opacity and blend/merge mode of the layer may be worth trying. Finally use an Unsharp Mask on the layer, but don't be too aggressive here.

Not quite as professional as Brian's link but probably a bit easier.

The danger of Hobnob's version is that it can be difficult to select the exact eye area without leaving an obvious line of alteration. Using a soft brush to apply the selection can reduce this problem.

That basically gives the same effect as my method but it is just that I prefer to work on a layer instead of the original.

All of the methods for creating a realistic effect will require a bit of practice. It is a bit difficult to adequately describe how to achieve these results without an example; so if you post a photo it would probably help.

[Geoff F]

These tutorials may help to explain some of the suggested techniques using layers and masks Layers -- Part I there are 3 different articles on layers at this excellent site.

And 5 articles on creating selections and using masks starting here http://www.ronbigelow.com/articles/s...lections-1.htm

They do go into full details so may need reading several times before all that knowledge finally sinks in.

Also quite a lot of information on all aspects of photo editing there.

[MeadsMan]

Thanks Geoff,I`ll look those up when I have more time.

[Geoff F]

Time is certainly something you will need once you start reading through every tutorial on that site. I'm intending to give myself a refresher course there sometime this winter; and being semi retired now, there is just so much else to do!

[Hobjob]

Originally Posted by Geoff F

The danger of Hobjob's version is that it can be difficult to select the exact eye area without leaving an obvious line of alteration. Using a soft brush to apply the selection can reduce this problem.

Too true - playing with feathering reduces this.

The problem with Geoff's method, better as it is, is that it is more time consuming

[acherontia]

The best way to make a good job of eyes is to only ever focus on them when taking the image.

If you've missed the target - bin it.

Practice makes perfect and in any image (insects/people/dogs/birds etc etc) it is absolutely vital that the focal/focussed point is the eyes and if they're really 'out' then there's no point in trying to claw back with post processing.
However - if they're fairly acceptable (eg stand up at around 100% but not 200%) then you can sharpen selectively or use selective contrast.

Acher