How To Make Eyes Sparkle: Photography Contributor Katie

We are so excited to welcome Katie from Key to Pictures. Katie will be joining us once a month sharing photography tips and tricks. She also has many amazing photography books and some online classes. Make sure you check them out. I have really enjoyed them and they have helped me develop my talents.

Hi there, I’m Katie! I’m a wife and a mom… who also happens to a professional photographer.

One of my favorite quotes is by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. He said,

“The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.”

Creating has always been a driving force in my life. It brings me immense pleasure to make something out of nothing. The joy of combining my thoughts and ideas with material objects to produce something of beauty is hard for me to describe. It’s blissful.

Photography does that for me. Seeing the world through a lens and having the ability to capture the beauty and connection I see is something I cherish. Yet on the flip side, seeing that beauty and having that desire to create and NOT having the skills set to pull it off is frustrating, to say the least.

So in an effort to help others along the path of what can be a long a frustrating journey of photography, I wrote a simple, easy to understand and apply photography book and then later created a website where I continue my simple and easy photography instructions through short concise videos.

I find it joyful and fulfilling helping people accomplish their photography dreams and goals. Teaching and offering support in this way actually helps me accomplish one of my own goals, which is to bring value and service where ever I go and to whomever I come in contact with.

I truly want to help you realize your goals and potential.

I’m honored that the ladies here at Crafting Chick have allowed me to be a part of this blog. They are amazing creators and a true inspiration It’s my pleasure to be able to rub shoulders with them and help you in any way that I can.

Okay, let’s move on to some learning, shall we?!
Today I want to teach you how to take those pictures where your subjects’ eyes sparkle and seem to just pop out of the picture. I’m a natural light photographer so the sun plays a big role in my photos, but the second key element in my style of photography has to be bright, beautiful, clear eyes. They kind of tell the story, wouldn’t you say?

First of all, as a rule of thumb, always have your subject face your light source, i.e the sun or a wall reflecting the sun. This could be quite possible the most important part of achieving bright sparkly eyes so make sure you know what you’re doing.
I have a quick and easy to follow explanation of how to do just that in the following video:
http://vimeo.com/59475763
On a side note: For my close up shots I almost always use my 50mm lens with a very low aperture of at least f2.8. That will give you that beautiful background blur but nice sharp eyes.
Another way to enhance your subjects eyes is in the editing process. My favorite editing software is Adobe Lightroom. It was made specifically for photographers so it is extremely user friendly and has everything you need to create gorgeous photos. So my trick to create even brighter eyes while editing is to use the brush tool.
I simply open my brush tool, increase the brightness and “brush” it over the eyes. This will give you that “pop”. Check out the before photo below:

And now check out what a difference it can make when you brighten up those eyes:

And there you have it, two easy ways to make any photo pop with gorgeous eyes. Please let me know if you have any questions or what I can do to support you and your photography goals. I look forward to getting to know you!
~Katie

2 Freebies: Grab my FREE video, Top Photography Struggles Answered! AND as a bonus download my highly acclaimed ebook, InstaLove: The Key to Creating Gorgeous Photos with your Phone.