How to make eyes pop in portraits

If the eyes don't have it, then here's how to fix things using Lightroom Classic

- Sean McCormack

What’s the most important thing to look out for when shooting a portrait? Let’s say you have chosen an 85mm f/1.2 lens and selected f/1.2 to get some creamy bokeh. With that f/1.2 lens, your depth of field is in millimetres, so where do you aim? You probably answered ‘the eyes’ and you’re right.

OK, this wasn’t a hard test – our eyes reveal so much. When we meet a stranger or look at a portrait, we tend to look at the eyes first. In a portrait image, the ears and nose can be slightly out of focus but it’s important to nail the eyes. It’s all about the connection, something all the best portraits have – that’s from the eyes and when you get it, it’s a wonderful thing.

Even if you have captured great eyes, a lot can be done afterwards to bring them out even more. Colour, texture and sharpening all play key parts in drawing us to the eyes when we view a face. Fortunately Lightroom Classic makes working on these easy, with AI Masks and masking presets to speed up our workflow.

Expert tip: Darken the iris