After doing my research I then ventured off on my way to creating the right photo.
So here is my brief tutorial on how I created my first eye catching photo :) (no pun intended)


Prep for the photo:
First I headed off to the bathroom to gather some make up. For reference sake this is the exact eyeshadow I used.
I just used the gold on both my lid and upper brow. This is just so I got the shimmer effect. I can be done with any eye shadow that has that sparkle appeal to it so that when you take the photo you maintain that specific texture to it. I made sure it was applied on semi thick. I also had a smaller brush which allowed me to place a very thin line just under my bottom lashes. I then applied mascara.

Photo Time:

I took my camera and went into the bathroom since that was the place where I was going to get the most consistent lighting. Shadows can always be achieved through Photoshop. (I will discuss later in the blog. ) Know that the first photo you take isn't going to be the number one photo then again it could be. It took me about 30 shots to get the one I finally liked. Try different angles. The thing I felt that helped me out was doing it in the mirror. (Much about being the photographer often requires that you get at least some what a look at what your shooting.)
So what I did was held the camera at an angle so it didn't shadow any of the light coming from the mirror. A few of the pictures turned up horrid but I made it :) BTW I didn't use a flash and set my camera to natural settings and indoor lighting (so to not get the picture looking orange remember if you ever want that effect it's better to do that in photoshop that way you can control it to a degree)

Lets get on with it already!
Alright alright so here is the original.
Notice how there aren't many shadows on this photo and how you can see the texture of the eyeshadow. Some photographers like shadows I do too but with close ups like these and something that I intend to manipulate I like to have it as 'clean' as possible and add in what I want.

I then went into photoshop and started picking apart the photo.
Step 1. I first started with fixing up the photo. I duplicated the photo twice. It's always good to have a reference point and to leave the original photo untouched.

Step 2. So with the second layer I took the photo and did the following:
Image -> Adjustments -> Black and white . I then played with the settings till I saw a smoother looking photo. This is your chance to fool around with the settings to see what you get.
Be reminded that usually if you make bigger changes it will tend to get noisy (look dusty) So keep the changes to a semi minimum.

Step 3. After the photo has been changed in the side tool bar you'll find the following. Set the grey photo to overlay and change the opacity till you come up with a photo that has a bit of color to it and so it isn't entire black and white.


Again adjust the photo till you have enough color that you want but still enough le way to add your own colors later on.

*Again I want to remind you this will be a brief tutorial. I don't want to give away all my secrets but give you enough to get started and to allow yourself to explore Photoshop and make your own photo yours :).

Step 4. Make a new layer and put it on top of everything else. Choose a brush with the color you wish to bring out in your photo. For me it was a orangy gold. I chose a brush with 0% hardness. I followed the line of the lid and did a small portion above the lid.

Step 5. Then I chose a eliptical marquee tool and then feathered the circle 15% (note do this before you use the tool) Then circle around the iris . After you have done this press ctrl+j for mac users cmd+j. This should duplicate only the eye for you.

Step 6. This is the part you get to have fun on. Go to
Image -> Adjustments-> Hue and Saturation. Only change the hue you should notice the photo take on various colors. Once you've reached the color of your choice click ok.
Step 7. For this step repeat the overlay as in step 3 again change the overlay to increase or decrease the effect as you see fit.

This is what my photo ended up looking like after I had done the following steps. Again you photo won't look the same as you have made it your own project right?


Step 8. I then ventured into adding shadows t the photo so that it would have more of a dramatic effect.





If you notice there is an arrow at the bottom of each tool. If the hand isn't chosen then hold the button down till you see this option.

Select the hand (burn tool)



After you select the burn tool turn the opacity down a tad to 80%. Start using the burn tool to bring out the edges you want. It should give the effect of a shadow. Add them where you see fit.

This is what my end product turned out as. How did you do? If you are having any troubles please don't hesitate to post any comments with your concerns and I will post a reply with the best answer I can give you. Remember I dont' want to give away all my secrets.


And this is the Final product.