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Eyes are Important

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Eyes are Important

Eyes are the most important part of any portrait; or at least in 99.5% of the time. What do they always say when it comes to sales? Make eye contact. Most of us do that anyway, we meet someone and make eye contact as we introduce ourselves. It is no different when we first look at a portrait, you make eye contact with the subject of the image. The eyes are the first clue when it comes to learning the mood of your portrait. Are they happy, sad, mad, confused, etc? Looking into the eyes starts the process for the viewer to figure that out.

A portrait can be taken of subjects from the animal kingdom as well. Pets portraits are popular with people and when you capture your own or other's pets keep the eyes in mind.

When shooting a portrait there are only a few things to keep in mind to make your photograph pop and stand out. First, the eyes MUST be in focus, sharp. Point your camera's focus spot right on that eye. Second, light the eyes. In doors or out, light must be part of your portrait and the eyes need the most attention. Either off camera lighting or a reflector should be used to throw some light into the eye socket. We've all seen it, zombie or raccoon yes. Zombie eyes are portraits when the eye's iris and pupil blend together and you can't tell the point the pupil begins. This is almost always caused with the lack of light. Some animals in the wild kingdom have very large pupils making it difficult to see the iris area. Zombie eyes might be hard to avoid with these animals. Raccoon eyes are when the eyes are cast in so much shadow it is difficult to even see them. This is caused by the lack of light in the eye socket. The subect's brow casts a shadow. Normally this happens in strong light, for example, a very sunny day.

Like with most photography, practice makes perfect. Find a willing model and practice your portrait skills.