improving sharpness of eyes in Lightroom

donkeymusic

donkeymusic

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Name
Carlo
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Hello,


just wondered if anyone uses Lightroom and the adjustment brush to improve the sharpness of eyes in their portrait work, if you do could you tell me how the brush works?

Thanks for any advice
 
I use it occasionally to give a slight increase to eye sharpness, but try to keep it natural at the same time. Normally I try and get an even balance of clarity boost and sharpness increase, and then go over it again with a slight boost to the exposure to bring out any lost detail.

What exactly is it you're having issue with?
 
I do the same as Callum, playing with Clarity and Sharpness until I think it looks right. But not only on the eyeball; I run the brush over the entire area, if necessary using separate brushes for the eyeball and eyelashes/eyebrows.

Before I do this I check the whites of the eyes and, if necessary, use a brush with about a +20 Brightness and -30 Saturation. If there's a deliberate colour cast on the whole photo (e.g. with someone under a red parasol in the sun) then I'll just brighten the eyes up without touching the saturation. As well as using this brush on the whites of the eyes, I also dab it onto any catchlights in the eye. I also check the direction of the light and use a separate brush for each eye if the light level on both is not the same.

Using both of these methods, it can be easy to overdo it and make the eyes 'pop' much more than the rest of the face, so it's a good idea to keep zooming out to check how it looks, and then back in to make adjustments.
 
It might sound silly but if you are just starting using the brushes in LR then using the teeth-whitening option to do the eyes makes a good base to start with then adjust to suit.

I do the same as the others when an image just needs a quick edit and use a new brush for each change (use the different options for showing the pins so you can re-edit if necessary)
 
Kerioak said:
It might sound silly but if you are just starting using the brushes in LR then using the teeth-whitening option to do the eyes makes a good base to start with then adjust to suit.

I do the same as the others when an image just needs a quick edit and use a new brush for each change (use the different options for showing the pins so you can re-edit if necessary)
Click to expand...

where do i find the teeth whitening option?

how do i select different brushes, i presumed i selected the adjustment brush chose my settings and painted over the area.
 
When you are in the adjustment brush section the top line of the editing box has

Mask: New | Edit

The next line has:

Effect: Custom - (this is a drop down box where you can choose different effects)

Different brushes - If you want to lighten one area and darken another then lighten the first then click "New" on the top line to darken an area and a new "pin" will appear (option for this is under the picture when Adjustment Brush is selected)
 
Kerioak said:
When you are in the adjustment brush section the top line of the editing box has

Mask: New | Edit

The next line has:

Effect: Custom - (this is a drop down box where you can choose different effects)

Different brushes - If you want to lighten one area and darken another then lighten the first then click "New" on the top line to darken an area and a new "pin" will appear (option for this is under the picture when Adjustment Brush is selected)
Click to expand...

thanks i will have a look at that?
 
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