There are a lot of ways you can improve your photos that can either be in-camera or post-processing. But one of the easiest ways to improve your photo if your subject is people?
Catch lights.
I’m six years into this business and I still work on fine tuning my skills and abilities. I tend to practice on those who are in my immediate circle, and the most immediate is my daughter – Lily. So, she is the model in these photos!
What are catch lights you ask? When you look at photos of people you can sometimes see a little circle of light in their eye, and the shape and intensity depend on the source of light! You can get catch lights from windows, flashes, or other types of lights, and they make a huge difference! You mostly notice these in close-up photos, by the way.
This photo below of Lily isn’t bad. You can still see her face, but do you notice how dark her eyes are? There are zero catch lights to illuminate her eyes, and if she didn’t have blue eyes she’d have “shark eyes,” which just are black spots, haha. (P.S. This blog post was sparked because I was taking photos of her playing and then noticed that her face wasn’t bright enough, so I added in some light!)
All I did was take down the blanket that we hang over her window at night time and let some more light in, and you can now see a catch light in the corner of her right eye, and the other eye is brighter. The area around her eyes is also brighter and looks all around better! 
These are ALWAYS something I notice in photos, because as a mom, sometimes I feel like I have dark skin around my eyes and I don’t want that to be enhanced in a photo, thank you very much. I know other people also feel the same way! By focusing on having catch lights in photos you’re also simultaneously ensuring that you have enough light in the photo to make it feel natural and inviting!
Here are a few more examples of portraits that have catch lights in them!
If you’re shooting and notice that you’re missing these sparks of light in the eyes, and you’re starting to see “shark eyes,” just change the position of your subject to let that light in!
Linda is a Maine-based photographer specializing in weddings and creating family legacies. You can see more of her work online at lindabarryphotography.com, on Instagram, or on Facebook. If you want to reach out directly: linda@lindabarryphotography.com. To sign up for the monthly newsletter full of encouragement and real life, click here!
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