Best bg color to make green eyes pop?

[DoobieNaq]

I have an aspiring actress that wants new and better head-shots for her portfolio. She wants her eyes to pop in the photos. Obviously focus and lights will be key, but what I really would like to know is what background color would make for the best show?

PS this is going to be my first official client, so any advice is much appreciated.

Here is a pic from her current portfolio for reference.

[sgtbueno]

The best background to make those eyes pop is post productions, whatever program you use ..lightroom, photoshop or whatever.

[LV Moose]

Originally Posted by sgtbueno

....post productions, whatever program you use ..lightroom, photoshop or whatever.

+1

Portrait Professional works well to brighten eye/enhance/change eye color. As far as background itself, I'd try to match her eye color.

[DunnoWhen]

Often to make things pop, the opposite/composite of the subject works. For example , a light skinned person againt a dark background and vice versa.

The complementary colour to green is magenta.

[gonzogolf]

The best background to make eyes pop is one that doesnt compete with the subject. I vote thunder gray. And then frame it so that her eyes are more prominent.

[B Koo]

Maybe eye makeup?

[Tc202]

Iris enhance in Lightroom

[DoobieNaq]

Awesome, thanks for the advice

[hawk911]

making her eyes pop also requires the right amount of light on her face, the right pose, and the right focal length so they are sufficiently captured in the image.

[Hardrock40]

Maybe wrong but for the shots I've seen, having the same color shirt or some same color clothing on as the eyes works.

[hawk911]

^^ that too, but proper exposure and PP technique go a long way to helping it also.

[drmaxx]

Not just background, also clothing matters!
No sleeveless (the bare skin attracts the eye away from her face) and no bright colors that compete with her eyes.

[RPCrowe]

Proper make up is the photographer's friend and reduces the need for a lot of PP.

Makeup for photography is usually a bit heavier and more accentuated than street makeup.

[DoobieNaq]

I already posted a couple pictures in critique corner from the shoot. But as a thanks to you that helped in this thread, I'll post a couple here too.

DrMaxx, I never thought about no sleeveless, but after looking at the shots, it makes a lot of sense because she did take a few shoots without sleeves and it definitely distracts from the eyes. However, she said she wanted some sleeveless to show her freckles, so the eyes weren't really the focus of the shot, at least not the complete focus.

This was one of the better ones:

Tami_036 by DoobieNaq, on Flickr


Tami_093 by DoobieNaq, on Flickr

[mike_311]

the eyes are ALWAYS the focus of the shot.

dont be afraid of skin smoothing and look into how to doge and burn in Photoshop. lightroom and Portrait professional are quick and easy for eyes but doing it correctly in Photoshop is unmatched.