catch lights

laurent auxietre

richard avedon

i prefer more natural looking catch lights to ones that have been created purposely for an over the top effect.  i think the most effective catch lights are ones that we usually see.  these are the ones that we can relate to, and in portraiture i feel like this relating is so important.  the above images have catch lights that are dramatic and effective, but still natural.  the catch lights in the first image are probably just the bright sky reflected in the man's eyes, and in the second they are two small points of light, mimicking the sun.  i like these because they are not the focal point.  they bring life to the facial expressions, whereas i find more engineered catch lights distract.