Use Photoshop to Make Fake Contact Lenses More Realistic

Fake contact lenses (also known as circle lenses) are becoming wildly popular. They seem to have first started to gain momentum in the cosplay world but have begun growing well beyond that. I've started to encounter models regularly wearing them, especially ones focusing on Asian fashion trends. Circle contacts look great at a glance, they make the pupil larger and often change its color to be more exciting. When walking around in real life or when in video the eye is constantly moving so the weakness of being obviously fake is much less apparent. However, when photographed the eye is frozen in perfect sharpness which instantly reveals how fake circle lenses can look, especially the cheaper ones.

As some readers know, I regularly shoot cosplay as part of my day-to-day focus. Recently, on my YouTube channel I created a video tutorial to address this very problem. Fixing the fake look of circle lenses is actually pretty easy and can be done by either dodging and burning with a careful hand or by texturing them with detail from a real eye. In the video above I cover both methods so that you can choose the method which you feel works best for you.

Tips to Make the Most of Circle Lenses

• Don't be afraid to reduce the opacity of your texture layers. Often at full opacity the eyes look unrealistic which isn't ideal.
• The edges of circle lenses often have a very sharp and unrealistic edge to them, soften that edge to make the look more realistic.
• Double down on your ability to realistically dodge and burn the eye by checking out Dani Diamond's article "Understanding The Human Eye."
• Some circle lenses actually have a top and bottom to them. When shooting be mindful of when these lenses inevitably rotate so you can have the model adjust their position.