Sparkly eyes on Photo Friday

hello all. I'd like to talk about sparkly eyes today... and how to make the subjects in your photos appear to have them. No photoshop involved, just positioning again. Photography is all about light, and once you decide that you really want to know your camera and more about photography, you will find yourself noticing light and appreciating it in a whole new way.
Where was I? Oh yes - I want to tell you about 'catchlights', which refers to capturing light in the eyes of your subject so that they appear to sparkle. The simply way to do this is to position your subject near an ample source of light, but not putting them directly in it. Indoors, this would be a near a window, but out of the direct sun, and outdoors, this would be called 'open shade'. You need to see an example -
here is another boy-o of mine, hanging out in the living room, not near a window:



a nice photo, but his eyes are a dark chocolate brown, and here they appear black.
Now, I positioned him in the light of a large partially shaded south window:



(sorry for the expression - he's not enjoying being 'positioned by the window').
Here he is after being offered a bribe:



If you click on these photos, you can see them in a larger window, and then you can even see my reflected silhouette in the iris of his eye. The light reflected from the window make his eyes look sparkly and give them lots of depth.



Because it's snow/slush/mess outside, I am not going out there to get some examples today...but they will come. Happy Friday, and enjoy what is left of spring break!