Eye Light

A catchlight in the eye is the difference between a person and a mask. It is a small bright reflection, and an audience reads it as attention, wakefulness and life.

It also gives the eye a surface. Without a catchlight, dark eyes photograph as flat holes, which is the standard problem in low key portraits and in any setup where the key is high.

The source is small, close to the lens axis and low powered. A ring, a small panel beside the matte box, or a white card just under the frame line all put a highlight on the wet surface of the eye.

The shape of the catchlight is the shape of the source. A round source gives a round highlight, a rectangular panel gives a rectangle, and a window gives a window with bars in it. Position it near the lens so it reads in both eyes.

Keep the level low enough that it adds nothing to the exposure. The rest of the lighting stays exactly as it was, and the only change in the frame is two small points of light.

Use it in close-ups and any portrait where the eyes have to carry the moment, and use it whenever the key is high enough to put the sockets in shadow.

Leave it out when the character should read as dead, absent or inhuman. Removing the catchlight is the standard way to make eyes look empty.

A fill light lifts the whole shadow side of the face and changes the contrast of the shot. An eye light changes nothing except the eyes.

The test is the exposure. If the shadow half of the face got brighter, that is fill. If the only difference is two small highlights, that is an eye light.

Models lift the whole face when a light is mentioned, which removes the shadow you set up. Say the rest of the lighting stays unchanged and only the eyes gain a highlight.

The other failure is one catchlight instead of two, which reads as an error rather than a choice. Ask for a bright catchlight in both eyes.