i have lots of admin to do, so i thought it would be the perfect time to write another tutorial... anything to avoid 'work'.
this time i will show you how to make eyes 'pop' in photoshop. it makes eyes look bright and beautiful and lively. it puts a twinkle in your eyes, if you will... i use photoshop elements 6, but this will work in any photoshop. this follows directly on the tutorial on how to create a softened or dreamy-looking photo. i started using this extra step after i wrote that tutorial, but it is really great if you use it in conjunction with those steps. you can use it on it's own too.
the warning label was a digital freebie by valerie randall at scrapgirls.
first this disclaimer: all tricks seen on this page are done by trained professionals. please do not try this at home... not! i am NOT a trained professional, i am not even a untrained professional. or a trained unprofessional. i am no expert, i just love playing with photoshop, and i am always looking for new ways to make my photos look better. ok? and you are welcome to try this at home. or at work. or in a coffee shop. or wherever. that is the whole point...
lets start where we ended with the first tutorial:
the festival vintage frame is from shabby princess.
they look identical at first glance, but look again at the eyes. see how the eyes 'pop' in the right hand photo? i will show you how to do this.
open your photo in photoshop, and do basic edits. you can follow the steps as described in the tutorial on how to create a softened photo, but this is optional. i did. now, right-click on the little thumb-nail of your photo on the right side of your screen, and 'create duplicate layer'. when it asks you for a name, call it 'eyes' or something that will make it easier for you to know what you did where.
with the 'eyes' layer selected, use your lasso tool, as shown by the pink arrow, and draw a shape around the whole eye. don't worry too much about how precise it is. when you have the 'marching ants' around the eye area, it is automatically selected.
{on the top menu bar, click on 'select', as shown by the green arrow. on the drop-down menu select 'modify', as shown by the red arrow, and then 'expand' as shown by the yellow arrow. in the menu box, fill in 'expand by 2 pixels'. this makes your selected area a little bigger.} this whole step is optional, if you are happy with how you selected the area.
now click on 'enhance' in the top menu bar, and then on 'auto sharpen'. only the selected area will sharpen, in this case the eye. you could click on 'auto sharpen' more than once, if you want, you can decide when the result is what you want. the point is that it is subtle and natural, you don't want your loved one to look high or feverish... if you sharpened too many times, you can click on 'edit' and the 'undo adjust sharpness', and it will undo that step. just play around until you are happy. remember to do the other eye as well (duh). just repeat the steps.
if, at any stage you want to start over, click on 'edit' and 'revert', and it will take you back to your original photo, or 'delete layer' to delete whatever you did on this layer.
this is anika. my sister paula's daughter. here she is in a pensive mood...
the frame is a floral frame by michelle coleman that you can download here.
and here is carla, my 'baby' sis:
and after the eyes trick:
the frame is the festival scalloped frame from shabby princess.
you see, subtle. yet interesting. please let me know if you like this?
you can see my other photoshop, scrapbooking and papercrafting tutorials here.
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, gauteng, south africa
this post got linked to: paxton prints, photoshop-pack (on 8 november 08 this post has had 1211 hits from here alone!), image insider, 2x del.ico.us, bild och foto, scrapscene, capturedinthemomentphotography
