Brightening the iris

[Diana]

I though I saw this in one of the classes I've taken from you before, but I did not take notes on it, nor do I see it now on your blog. I did a search on eyes, but lightening the iris did not come up. I have a child client who's eyes are such a dark brown that they almost look black unless you are close to her. I would like to lighten them just a smidge, not so the eyes are screaming "the eyes are edited, the eyes are edited"...lol... but so you can see the lovely chocolate color. I tried a separate layer, with a soft brush, but was not sure which mode to choose with a low opacity. I tried color dodge & lighten color and am not sure if either of those is right, exactly. Which is the best mode to use for your brush? Thanks Damien!

[Damien Symonds]

May I see the photo?

[Diana]

I can't post her photo to anywhere online. Since she is a foster child, her guardian is Hennepin County. I can't post her photos anywhere. As soon as I deliver them via Dropbox, I am required to delete any that are on my computer or memory card. They are solely for county use in getting her adopted. I did manage to get a 700x700 & colored over the rest of her face.

 

[Damien Symonds]

Oh crap!!!!!!

https://www.damiensymonds.net/art_tscs000.html

[Diana]

I fixed the profile issue in the origional photo of this and the other question I asked about making the hanging tie wave. They are both the same client. I only had minor clipping on the shirt, between her arm & her side. They are mostly going to use the images online. Where this issue came from, was switching to Photoshop CC from Elements 13, which is what I started taking your classes using. I also changed to a new laptop with the same external monitor that I had used for those classes. Could you maybe make a blog about what your settings need to be and where to find them. Also adding all the other tool tips, like the cross hairs in the brush, etc. It was heck setting up photoshop cc.

Do you need a new image of her eye to show me how to lighten/brighten her iris?

[Damien Symonds]

Yes please.

[Diana]

Here it is fixed...

[Damien Symonds]

Thanks.

I checked, and there's no problem here.  The normal Levels approach will work just fine.

[Diana]

Ok... I never even thought of a levels layer. Cool! Thanks Damien! Would it be the same for all super dark eyes? I have another foster childn that I photographed, that has dark eyes. He is Hispanic with super chocolatey eyes.

I can't wait to get back to the computer to try it.

[Damien Symonds]

I can't promise it will work for all eyes, no.

[Diana]

I do have a last question. Where is the selection brush in CC? I see the quick selection brush, but I don't want to include the pupil in the levels adjustment.

[Damien Symonds]

Read Section 2 Module 2 of the Levels Class.