Dilate the Pupils for Better Portraits

standard: en

0:00:03.560,0:00:05.480
Hello and welcome to this episode of

0:00:05.490,0:00:08.220
Denny's tips! Today I want to teach you a

0:00:08.220,0:00:10.080
retouching technique that not a lot of

0:00:10.080,0:00:12.690
people pay attention to. I'll be teaching

0:00:12.690,0:00:15.179
you how to enhance the eyes by enlarging

0:00:15.179,0:00:18.270
the pupils in Photoshop. The pupil size

0:00:18.270,0:00:20.070
can apparently make your subject more

0:00:20.070,0:00:22.619
appealing, in some places like Korea and

0:00:22.619,0:00:24.779
Japan. It's quite common to find people

0:00:24.779,0:00:26.460
buying fake contacts that make your

0:00:26.460,0:00:27.779
pupils look bigger.

0:00:27.779,0:00:29.910
There's also a study done a long time

0:00:29.910,0:00:31.590
ago where they show two sets of photos.

0:00:31.590,0:00:33.989
They both are the same stuff, except that one

0:00:33.989,0:00:36.660
have the pupils dilated. People prefer the

0:00:36.660,0:00:39.120
photo with the dilated pupils and when

0:00:39.120,0:00:42.000
they're asked why, they can't explain it.

0:00:42.000,0:00:43.620
There are a lot of ways to retouch

0:00:43.620,0:00:46.350
portraits; enlarging the pupils is just

0:00:46.350,0:00:48.809
one of them, but sometimes the smallest

0:00:48.809,0:00:50.460
part of your photo will have the biggest

0:00:50.460,0:00:53.039
impact. So, if you're interested

0:00:53.039,0:00:54.660
keep watching this photoshop tutorial

0:00:54.660,0:00:57.100
and I'll show you how it's done.

0:01:05.280,0:01:06.640
For this tutorial, you should be working

0:01:06.670,0:01:08.680
on a hi-res photo where you can see

0:01:08.680,0:01:11.740
details in the eyes. So, we're first going

0:01:11.740,0:01:13.420
to start by making a selection of the

0:01:13.420,0:01:15.550
pupil and then we're going to enlarge it.

0:01:15.550,0:01:18.310
In the toolbar, select the elliptical

0:01:18.310,0:01:21.070
marquee tool, zoom in really close into

0:01:21.070,0:01:23.890
one eye like this, you want to be able to see

0:01:23.890,0:01:27.729
all of the details while editing. To make

0:01:27.729,0:01:29.680
a selection of the pupil, drag from

0:01:29.680,0:01:31.900
the center of the pupil and if you hold

0:01:31.900,0:01:33.640
the "alt or option" key it'll drag

0:01:33.640,0:01:37.060
from the center like this, then hold on

0:01:37.060,0:01:38.979
to the "shift key" which will give you a

0:01:38.979,0:01:42.670
perfectly round circle. We have our

0:01:42.670,0:01:45.100
selection, and to preview how it looks

0:01:45.100,0:01:47.259
let's fill it with white. You can do it

0:01:47.259,0:01:48.640
quickly by pressing D on your keyboard,

0:01:48.640,0:01:50.290
to reset the foreground and background

0:01:50.290,0:01:53.259
colors and then pressing "ctrl or command"

0:01:53.259,0:01:57.100
backspace to fill it with white. The

0:01:57.100,0:01:58.479
edges look quite hard.

0:01:58.479,0:02:00.070
So, let's undo the filled by pressing

0:02:00.070,0:02:02.710
ctrl or command said then press shift F6

0:02:02.710,0:02:04.869
to bring up the feather selection tool.

0:02:04.869,0:02:07.510
This let's soften the edges of your

0:02:07.510,0:02:09.760
selection, enter something small

0:02:09.760,0:02:11.950
sometimes even half a pixel is good

0:02:11.950,0:02:14.620
enough. Fill this selection again to

0:02:14.620,0:02:17.560
preview it, and if it looks good we can

0:02:17.560,0:02:19.930
duplicate the layer. Before we begin

0:02:19.930,0:02:22.150
transforming it's a good idea to confer

0:02:22.150,0:02:24.580
to layer into a smart object. So, right

0:02:24.580,0:02:26.350
click on the layer then choose convert

0:02:26.350,0:02:30.160
to smart object - press ctrl T or command

0:02:30.160,0:02:32.860
T on macs to use the transform tool then

0:02:32.860,0:02:35.049
while holding alt and shift or option and

0:02:35.049,0:02:38.380
shift enlarge the pupils like this. When

0:02:38.380,0:02:40.209
you're done press enter to apply the

0:02:40.209,0:02:44.730
transformation. Zoom more and see how it looks,

0:02:44.730,0:02:46.800
obviously mine looks way too big and

0:02:46.800,0:02:49.620
unnatural so I'm going to transform it

0:02:49.620,0:02:51.299
back down like this.

0:02:51.299,0:02:53.010
Now, usually when you're transferring up

0:02:53.010,0:02:54.659
and down like this it's going to reduce

0:02:54.659,0:02:56.940
the sharpness but because this is a

0:02:56.940,0:02:59.129
smart object you can actually resize it

0:02:59.129,0:03:01.080
as many times as you like and you won't

0:03:01.080,0:03:03.540
lose any image quality and that's just

0:03:03.540,0:03:05.040
one reason why you should use Smart

0:03:05.040,0:03:06.750
Objects whenever you can.

0:03:06.750,0:03:09.420
Speaking of smart objects, here's another

0:03:09.420,0:03:11.970
reason why you want to use it; if we look

0:03:11.970,0:03:14.190
closely at the pupil it's blurry and the

0:03:14.190,0:03:16.829
noise detail became quite splotchy. We

0:03:16.829,0:03:18.840
can fix this by adding some noise which

0:03:18.840,0:03:21.810
will artificially sharpen it. To do this,

0:03:21.810,0:03:26.519
go to "Filter" - "Noise" -> "Add Noise" zoom in so

0:03:26.519,0:03:28.379
that you can see details and then

0:03:28.379,0:03:32.040
adjust the noise like this. You want a

0:03:32.040,0:03:34.019
noise pattern that subtle and looks like

0:03:34.019,0:03:37.230
something natural out of your camera. Now

0:03:37.230,0:03:38.940
if your image is black and white, you'll

0:03:38.940,0:03:40.920
want to check mark the monochromatic option.

0:03:40.920,0:03:42.810
This basically just makes me noise

0:03:42.810,0:03:45.599
black-and-white otherwise, just click OK

0:03:45.599,0:03:48.690
to apply the changes. Look into the new

0:03:48.690,0:03:50.669
layers panel you can see that because we

0:03:50.669,0:03:52.440
apply this filter onto a smart object,

0:03:52.440,0:03:55.290
your filter became a smart filter which

0:03:55.290,0:03:57.569
is fully editable. You can double click

0:03:57.569,0:03:59.099
back on the filter to change these

0:03:59.099,0:03:59.639
settings

0:03:59.639,0:04:02.370
anytime you want. Another feature of

0:04:02.370,0:04:04.049
Smart Filters is that you can double

0:04:04.049,0:04:05.430
click here to bring up the blending

0:04:05.430,0:04:07.260
options and you can lower the opacity

0:04:07.260,0:04:09.750
from here. So, I'm gonna sent mine to about

0:04:09.750,0:04:13.109
fifty percent. Now the noise that we added

0:04:13.109,0:04:15.150
has a very minimal effect to the overall

0:04:15.150,0:04:17.400
image. And when you zoom out you probably

0:04:17.400,0:04:18.959
won't even notice the difference at all.

0:04:18.959,0:04:21.510
This is just the techniques that's catered

0:04:21.510,0:04:23.700
towards high-end retouchers who care a lot

0:04:23.700,0:04:25.800
about image quality and maintaining

0:04:25.800,0:04:27.720
the consistent sharpness and noise level

0:04:27.720,0:04:30.200
throughout the entire photo.

0:04:30.200,0:04:32.480
Anyways, right now the pupil looks fake,

0:04:32.480,0:04:33.950
it really looks like someone just

0:04:33.950,0:04:36.260
painted a dot over it. To make it look

0:04:36.260,0:04:38.300
more realistic, we need to restore the

0:04:38.300,0:04:40.550
reflections. If you look closely at the

0:04:40.550,0:04:42.500
eyes here, you'll notice that your

0:04:42.500,0:04:43.970
reflections and catch light hasn't

0:04:43.970,0:04:47.780
completely covered by our fake pupil. If

0:04:47.780,0:04:49.070
we change the blending mode to something

0:04:49.070,0:04:51.830
like overlay, it'll look better but you

0:04:51.830,0:04:54.800
also get this double pupil effect you can also see

0:04:54.800,0:04:56.690
that the reflection has a color that doesn't

0:04:56.690,0:04:59.090
look very real as well. So we're not

0:04:59.090,0:05:00.560
going to use the overlay blending mode,

0:05:00.560,0:05:03.650
we're going to mask it out with a blend

0:05:03.650,0:05:06.620
if settings right click on the layer

0:05:06.620,0:05:09.920
then choose "blending options", on the

0:05:09.920,0:05:11.840
bottom here you'll find a "blend if"

0:05:11.840,0:05:13.700
settings.

0:05:13.700,0:05:15.290
We're going to use the underlying layer

0:05:15.290,0:05:17.120
here and if we drag the white slider

0:05:17.120,0:05:19.040
towards the left you can see the

0:05:19.040,0:05:22.610
reflections coming back. Right now, the

0:05:22.610,0:05:24.800
edges of the reflection are quite hard,

0:05:24.800,0:05:26.990
so, to soften it hold the alt or option

0:05:26.990,0:05:29.330
key then drag the white slider towards

0:05:29.330,0:05:30.170
the right.

0:05:30.170,0:05:33.140
The slider will detach in half and you

0:05:33.140,0:05:37.740
can fade out the edges like this

0:05:37.740,0:05:40.169
click OK to apply the changes and we're

0:05:40.169,0:05:43.229
done. It looks much more realistic once

0:05:43.229,0:05:46.169
we restore your reflections. We're done

0:05:46.169,0:05:47.849
with one eye now it's time to work on

0:05:47.849,0:05:49.740
the other eye. I'm going to go through this

0:05:49.740,0:05:51.960
quickly because you already know the steps but

0:05:51.960,0:05:53.520
along the way you'll learn some pretty

0:05:53.520,0:05:56.069
useful tips and tricks. First, I'm gonna

0:05:56.069,0:05:57.930
select background layer and make a

0:05:57.930,0:06:00.630
selection out of the pupil. Apply the

0:06:00.630,0:06:03.690
same feather settings by pressing shift + f6 the

0:06:03.690,0:06:05.340
previous setting that we used, should

0:06:05.340,0:06:07.169
still be here so we can just click OK.

0:06:07.169,0:06:10.680
Press ctrl or command J to duplicate the

0:06:10.680,0:06:13.409
layer, convert it into a smart object by

0:06:13.409,0:06:14.849
right clicking on the layer and

0:06:14.849,0:06:17.940
selecting convert to smart object press

0:06:17.940,0:06:20.220
ctrl or command T for the transform tool

0:06:20.220,0:06:22.919
resize it to about the same size as the

0:06:22.919,0:06:27.750
other pupil. If the pupil is extending

0:06:27.750,0:06:29.639
past the eyelid you can fix it by

0:06:29.639,0:06:31.560
clicking on the add layer mask button in

0:06:31.560,0:06:33.960
the layers panel, select the eraser tool

0:06:33.960,0:06:35.699
and if your foreground and background

0:06:35.699,0:06:38.039
colors are the default black-and-white it

0:06:38.039,0:06:40.380
should paint your layer with black. Now

0:06:40.380,0:06:42.180
if you like to paint your layer mask with the

0:06:42.180,0:06:43.800
brush tool you'll need to swap the

0:06:43.800,0:06:45.719
colors by pressing X or that black is

0:06:45.719,0:06:49.199
your foreground color. Anyways, I want to

0:06:49.199,0:06:51.449
erase very carefully around here. My

0:06:51.449,0:06:52.860
brush hardness is set to a hundred

0:06:52.860,0:06:55.620
percent so that the edges look hard and

0:06:55.620,0:06:58.139
to soften it go to properties panel and

0:06:58.139,0:07:00.659
then adjust the feather setting. Compared

0:07:00.659,0:07:02.070
to setting your feather in your brush

0:07:02.070,0:07:02.880
settings

0:07:02.880,0:07:04.680
it's not that big of a deal, it's just

0:07:04.680,0:07:06.509
good practice because it's always easier

0:07:06.509,0:07:08.069
to blur or something than it is to

0:07:08.069,0:07:09.389
sharpen it back.

0:07:09.389,0:07:12.300
Next we're going to restore the noise,

0:07:12.300,0:07:14.159
but first make sure that you've selected

0:07:14.159,0:07:16.020
back to layer by clicking on the layer

0:07:16.020,0:07:18.270
thumbnail, otherwise if you have the layer

0:07:18.270,0:07:19.770
mask selected, we're going to be adding

0:07:19.770,0:07:21.300
noise or layer masks and it looks like

0:07:21.300,0:07:23.370
you're doing nothing.

0:07:23.370,0:07:26.610
Go to filter noise add noise, your

0:07:26.610,0:07:28.289
previous settings should still be here so

0:07:28.289,0:07:30.690
just press ok. In the layers panel,

0:07:30.690,0:07:33.630
double-click on this icon here to bring

0:07:33.630,0:07:36.330
up the blending options, use the same

0:07:36.330,0:07:37.919
opacity setting that you use in the

0:07:37.919,0:07:40.889
other pupil. For mine, it was fifty

0:07:40.889,0:07:43.530
percent and finally we're going to

0:07:43.530,0:07:45.690
restore the reflections. You can just

0:07:45.690,0:07:47.460
copy and paste the layer style by

0:07:47.460,0:07:49.320
right-clicking on the other layer and

0:07:49.320,0:07:52.800
selecting copy layer style. Right click

0:07:52.800,0:07:54.630
back on the previous layer then choose

0:07:54.630,0:07:57.900
"paste layer style". The reflection is

0:07:57.900,0:07:59.370
restored and we're done.

0:07:59.370,0:08:01.860
So, there you go that's how you dialte

0:08:01.860,0:08:04.770
pupils in Photoshop. One thing to notice

0:08:04.770,0:08:06.990
here is that everything we did, is not

0:08:06.990,0:08:09.479
just non-destructive; it's fully edible

0:08:09.479,0:08:12.509
as well. You can always go back to the

0:08:12.509,0:08:14.159
layers and change these settings to

0:08:14.159,0:08:15.330
anything you want.

0:08:15.330,0:08:18.509
Here's what the image looks like before

0:08:18.509,0:08:19.650
and after,

0:08:19.650,0:08:22.529
so what do you think? Is it more appealing

0:08:22.529,0:08:24.750
or is it not that big of a deal?

0:08:24.750,0:08:27.750
Maybe it's a placebo effect, anyways, I

0:08:27.750,0:08:29.550
want to know what you guys think. So, let

0:08:29.550,0:08:44.010
me know in the comments below.

0:08:44.010,0:08:46.560
Guys, thanks for watching this video if

0:08:46.560,0:08:48.420
you found it helpful, hit the like button

0:08:48.420,0:08:50.430
also if you want to learn some more

0:08:50.430,0:08:52.110
portrait retouching techniques,

0:08:52.110,0:08:53.640
check out this video I made a long

0:08:53.640,0:08:55.830
time ago on how do we touch skin in

0:08:55.830,0:08:58.530
photoshop, there are more techniques such as using

0:08:58.530,0:09:00.630
yellow channel frequency separation,

0:09:00.630,0:09:03.870
dodging and burning and more. Anyways,

0:09:03.870,0:09:05.790
thanks again for watching guys I hope

0:09:05.790,0:09:07.680
you guys have an awesome day and if you

0:09:07.680,0:09:09.240
haven't already please hit the subscribe

0:09:09.240,0:09:14.720
button below!