{"id":95123,"date":"2021-02-19T06:03:53","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T13:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=95123"},"modified":"2021-02-19T08:21:59","modified_gmt":"2021-02-19T15:21:59","slug":"catch-lights-in-the-eyes-are-they-overrated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/19\/catch-lights-in-the-eyes-are-they-overrated\/","title":{"rendered":"Catch Lights In The Eyes: Are They Overrated?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is light in the eye really as essential in photography as it’s cracked up to be? You be the judge.<\/p>\n

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1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

For me yesterday was a slow day for birds at Farmington Bay WMA. This photo of a landing Canada Goose was one of the few shots I had much hope for when I was loading my images onto my computer. I think it’s a dynamic flight posture, I have good light and detail on most of the bird, the goose is plenty sharp enough and I like the layered background.<\/p>\n

But the only way I’ll ever use the image is as an example of what’s missing. There’s no light in the eye – no catch light<\/a><\/span><\/span>. Eyes tend to look lifeless without catch lights. Eyes are often referred to as windows to the soul and when they lack light in the eye they lack that “spark of life”, even when the eye itself can be seen better than this one.<\/p>\n

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1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

Here’s an older photo of Canada Geese in flight that I really like, in part because I have a catch light in the eye in both birds. But how much difference would it make if there was no light in the eye of either or both birds?<\/p>\n

I decided to find out.<\/p>\n

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1\/1600, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

So I removed the catch light of the goose on the left. I didn’t change the color or brightness of the eye, all I did was change the color of the catch light to match the rest of the eye. We can still see the dark eye, even against the almost matching black feathers surrounding it, but there’s something missing and for me it’s huge.<\/p>\n

Are catch lights overrated? Personally I don’t think so and many if not most seasoned bird photographers agree. I know of bird photographers who, as a matter of standard practice, delete any and all photos where the bird is lacking light in the eye. I don’t take it quite that far but I come pretty close.<\/p>\n

This last photo contains 617,400 pixels (900 x 686) and the catch light of the goose on the left, the one I removed, consisted of only three of those pixels.<\/p>\n

I’ve said it before, in bird photography little things matter. A lot.<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n

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Notes: <\/em><\/p>\n

There are several situations where I’ll keep and actually use photos of birds lacking catch lights. <\/em><\/p>\n