From the course: The Practicing Photographer

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The importance of a catch light

The importance of a catch light

From the course: The Practicing Photographer

The importance of a catch light

- Today on The Practicing Photographer we're going to talk about a critical component of a good portrait photograph, and we're going to do it without looking at a single portrait photograph. Because I want you to see that the catch light in the eye is so critical, that it comes up in lots of other representations of the human portrait. Now, by catch lights I simply mean the little twinkle in the eye, the reflection of the light source in the room that appears in a person's eyes. It's what makes the difference between a lively portrait and a portrait of someone who looks not live, dead, I guess, is the word for that. The reflection of that water in the eyes, that moisture in the eyes, something we're used to seeing in everyday life, and if it's not there in the portrait, it looks weird, so weird, that many artists in other mediums go to great lengths to put catch lights in the eyes of portraits that they are creating. For example, I have here a lovely watercolor portrait by a…

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