Portrait tutorial: Focus on the Eye

The eye is often called the "window to the human soul" and for good reason. When we look into someone's eyes, we feel connected to them. When someone doesn't have eyes or their eyes don't connect with ours, it is a non-verbal disconnect that is hard to overcome. In portrait work, connecting with the subject of the photo is essential. It makes the subject feel real, alive, and vivid. Making the eye the focus of the portrait is an easy way to help the viewer feel that connection with the subject in the picture. Eyes are something that I am always thinking of first when I do portrait work, particularly individual portraits. For me, a picture isn't worth keeping if the eyes aren't in focus and looking where I want them to (which isn't always directly at the camera), even if the smile is great.

When I shoot portraits, I generally like to be above my subjects and looking down at them at a slight angle. This means that the subject is looking up at me and into my lens. There are several benefits to this angle:

1. Pleasing triangles: In design, triangles are very pleasing to the eye. When you are above the subject, they naturally lift their chin up to you (which is another bonus if you have a subject who is self conscious about a double chin) creating a nice triangle shape on their face. The eye line becomes the widest line on the face and the eyes look bigger as well, and the focus of the picture is naturally on the eye line rather than the mouth, chin (which usually looks bigger when shooting from a lower angle), or nose. I feel like the smile also looks a little curvier and more pleasing at this angle as well. 
   
2. Lighting: Shooting below your subject tends to give them more back lighting (compare the pictures above) whereas shooting above generally means that the subject is lifting their face to the light. There are definitely times when you can break this rule and get a great shot, but generally if you want a nicely lit face without a lot of shadow, shooting down is the answer. I took both of these pictures within minutes of each other, so the outdoor lighting situation is the same, but there is a significant difference in the way each looks.
3. Focus: The sharpest focus should be the eye and it is easier to achieve this when you are shooting down. If you are shooting with a dslr camera, try playing with your focus points. When you look into your lens (and your camera is on auto focus), you should see boxes that light up when you lock focus on an image just before you shoot (see the image below). Your camera should be able to allow you to select one of those boxes as the only point that you want the lens to focus on. Look through your lens and determine which box is likely to hit the focus spot that you want and then select that focus point. Even if you are using a touch screen cell phone to take pictures, often you can select where you want the camera to focus, so try playing around with this feature next time you are taking a portrait. 

September Challenge

Hi everyone! Welcome to the Original Oculus. I wanted to start by explaining why I chose the title of the blog. The word "oculus" means "eye" in Latin. In architecture, an "oculus" is a round opening at the top of a dome and it is used a light source as well as a way of drawing the eye upwards. One of my favorite examples is in the Pantheon, an ancient dome built in Rome during Augustus's reign. I think the creative process is the pursuit of elevation, light, and inspiration with an unique vision and introspection that only each individual can deliver. I'm so excited to see what each of you create and I look forward to being inspired by you!

On that theme, our challenge this month is to explore the concept of "eye." I'm not going to define it any more than that and I can't wait to see what you do with it!