This is one of my latest posts on my Instagram. When I saw the model’s eyes I wanted to bring out her brown eyes but make a bold impact. You can do that with color but you can do it with texture as well.
For me as a makeup artist and photographer it’s not just about the application but how do the eyes look when they catch the light. To get this double catchlight I put a silver beauty dish on a 300 watt strobe flash to bring out the shine on the lid. (If you want the makeup tutorial it is on my Instagram @vincentford )
Once I had that catchlight and shine working I used one of my favorite reflectors the curved one you see in the attached photo. This reflector sits on top of a tripod and has different sides like white, black, silver and gold. The silver side brings out that catchlight you see on the bottom of the eye. It also hides any shadows and dark circles under the eyes. The one I got is https://www.amazon.co.uk/…/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp… (I’m not sponsoring this one, it is the one I use)
This is a 1 light setup which works well for beauty. It’s called the Clamshell Lighting method because 1 light goes higher and the reflector or other light sits below. The face sits in-between like a pearl in a clamshell.
If you want to re-create this lighting setup but don’t have all of this equipment you can use a ring-light that is high up and create a silver foil reflector by putting it over some thin cardboard. You can have the model bend the thin cardboard into a curved shape and get a similar look.
If you want to see more setups like this you can read my e-book “Photographing Makeup” by click Courses on the menu above. Let me know what you think of this setup and if you have any tips to achieve this beauty lighting?