Photography Tips: The Eyes Have It

If you spend time looking through Boudoir or portrait photographs you will find that many of the shots which jump out at you are the ones which use the model's eyes most effectively, so one of the most important photography tips I can pass on is how to make the most of the eyes.

How do you make the most of the eyes? Well, there are a number of techniques:

Focus

Firstly, make sure they are in focus. If you are using a shallow depth of field then make sure you focus on the eyes and then re-frame the shot before taking it.

Note that the eyes are the easiest part of a photograph to judge pin-sharp focus, and these days this is one of my chief reasons for rejecting shots.

Next, make them the focal point of the photograph by putting them them on a thirds intersections.

Direction

The most common direction is to have the model look directly into the lens. This has the most forceful impact on the viewer - and results in one of those images where the eyes follow you wherever you go in the room!

If not looking into the lens then be aware that wherever the model looks creates a line in the photograph that will draw in the viewer; frame the shot accordingly.

Catchlights

Pay special attention to how they are lit - if you want catchlights then position your lights, camera and model so that your light source reflects directly towards you. This works equally well with windows as it does for flash guns. To give the eyes an extra lift in portrait shots, put a big white surface below the face to reflect light upwards.

Photoshop

I quite often brighten the eyes in Photoshop as well (white layer, overlay blend, 20% opacity)