or lifeless. Lighting is often arranged in studio portraits specifically to create attractive catch lights. Usage in film and television This method most often appears as bright spots and reflections of surroundings that can contain entire images in the subject's eyes. This property is sometimes used as a plot point in movies and television. Typically, this trope is represented by computer magnification of an image to gain information about the surroundings of the person being photographed, essentially using the eye as a mirror. Audiences usually perceive eyes without specular highlights to be lifeless or evil, and for this reason many cinematographers specifically eliminate catch lights on antagonistic characters. It is also commonly found in anime, usually used in an over-dramatized manner to show different emotions accompanied by exaggerated expressions. References Photographic techniques Filmmaking Stage lighting instruments