When retouching portraits, I often indulge in flattery. Some skin retouching, a little blemish removal, slimming the face and slightly enlarging a subject’s eyes. The goal is to apply these small changes to make the subject look their best. Here’s how I make a subject look their best when they have one eye noticeably smaller than the other.

Fixing a smaller eye when taking the photo

It’s best to fix a problem when first taking the photo. If a subject has one eye smaller than the other, turn the subject so the smaller eye is closest to the camera. Normally, anything closest to the camera will appear larger. This will make the smaller eye appear to match the larger eye. Problem solved.

But what happens when you forget this trick or are unable to position the subject this way? This is when you can apply this simple trick in Luminar to enlarge just one eye.

Using Luminar to enlarge one eye

Step 1: Select the AI Portrait Enhancer tool from the Portrait tools set and enhance the image. Apply any changes you want but DO NOT enlarge the eyes.

Step 2: Select Create New Stamp Layer from the Layers tool. Apply the Portrait tool and enlarge the eyes. It’s best to go to an extreme then adjust the correct size next. (Plus it’s good for a laugh … sorry Erika!)

Step 3: Select the Stamp Layer and click Edit Mask. Choose the brush tool and erase the effect applied to her right eye.

Step 4: Go back to the Portrait tool and make the proper adjustment to Enlarge Eye.

Why a Stamped Layer?

A Stamp Layer merges all the tools used on the layer and then creates a new layer. By applying a layer mask, we are erasing any adjustments made to the area we are erasing. This is how we can keep one eye larger without affecting the other eye.

So the next time you photograph a subject who has one eye smaller than the other, try the camera tip — pose the subject so the smaller eye is closest to the camera. If you forget or you weren’t able to pose the subject that way, use the Luminar tip to enlarge just one eye.

Be sure to check out Luminar 4. You can download the free trial from Skylum, or if you’re ready to buy, click here and get our Photofocus bundle of extras!