A small bright reflection or sparkle in someone's eye in a photograph or painting, which makes the eye look alive and expressive.
From 'catch' + 'light,' literally a light that is 'caught' or reflected in the eye. Photography and art term that became standard terminology in the late 19th-20th centuries.
Professional photographers obsess over catchlights because a portrait without them looks dead—those tiny white reflections in the pupils are what make someone look awake and human. It's why good lighting in selfies matters; you need that shine in your eyes.
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