When we ran our ecard service, we were always on the lookout for mannequins we could photograph to use for the Almost Human category in the image library.
To bring a mannequin’s face to life I would add catchlights. A dot of white with a brush in Photoshop would do it.
So what are catchlights?
They are the small, bright reflections you see in a subject’s eyes when light hits them. They mirror the light source – a window, the sun, a studio lamp. And given how tiny they are in the total area of the subject, they make a lot of difference in how we perceive a face.
Without catchlights, eyes look flat, dull, lifeless.
Catchlights add depth, energy, and that indefinable presence.
We might not consciously notice them, but we would feel their absence.
The placement and size of a catchlight influences the mood. A large, soft reflection feels gentle and inviting, while a small, sharp one feels intense or dramatic.
Digressing for a moment, I listened to a dog photographer talk about photographing dogs with flash. She said that with breeds have bulging eyes it is important to make sure the catchlight is cut off by the upper lid otherwise the dog will appear manic.
Here are a couple of images to which I added catchlights with Photoshop.
In the second one, notice how the expression is different between the two, depending on where the catchlights are.
