Eyes and expression

Learning goal

In a portrait you will be able to place focus on the eye closer to the camera, make sure there is a reflection of light in the eyes, and catch the short moment when the expression is most alive. You will work out that at a wide aperture the slice of sharpness may not cover both eyes at once, and decide which eye should be sharp when the face turns to the side. You will notice that a real smile shows at the corners of the eyes before the mouth, and see that an expression comes not with a command but with a moment, and that this moment often lasts less than a second. You will discuss how the person looking at the lens or somewhere else changes the meaning of a portrait. On dark and light skin alike, while exposing the face correctly, you will take care that the eye sockets don't go dark and that the eyes stay in their own color, carrying the light.

The question

When your friend enlarges the frame, they blink. The pose is in place, the light is warm, the master has rested his peel on his shoulder. But the focus is on the peel's handle and the edge of the ear; the eyes are only slightly softer than the rest of the face. In another frame the eyes are sharp, but pitch dark and dull inside, as if the master weren't there. The same face, the same pose; in one frame the focus slipped, in the other no light entered the eyes. Why does everything in a portrait start with the eyes?

Context

In the eye and face tracking lesson you learned that the camera can recognize a face and an eye and take the focus there, and that it can choose which eye will be sharp (Lesson 10.4). In the window light lesson you saw that a light source leaves a small bright reflection in the eye (Lesson 5.6). And in the communicating with the model lesson you experienced how a conversation changes a face (Lesson P.3).

People who meet a face mostly take their gaze to the eyes first; in a portrait, too, the viewer looks for the eyes first. If the eyes are soft, the frame feels blurred however sharp the rest is. If the eyes are dark and without light, the face looks like the face of someone who isn't there. That is why most portrait photographers start a shoot from the eyes: focus first, then light, then expression.

Simple explanation

Which eye should the focus fall on?

The near eye is the eye that stays closer to the camera when the face turns a little away from it. In a portrait, focus is most often placed on this eye, because it is the eye closest to the viewer and the largest in the frame; if that eye is soft, the whole face is perceived as soft. At a wide aperture this choice gains importance. Shot on full frame with 85 millimeters at f/1.8 from a meter and a half, the slice of sharpness is roughly three to four centimeters deep. When the face turns to the side, the difference in depth between the two eyes can exceed this slice; then only one eye stays sharp.

That is why, if eye detection is on, the eye selection is set to the near eye; if single-point focus is used, the point is placed on the lash line of the near eye. If you want both eyes to be sharp, either the face is kept turned more toward the camera or the aperture is stopped down a little. Glasses, long lashes or a strand of hair falling from the side can also lead the camera to put the focus in the wrong place; enlarging the frame and looking at the eye itself is the only reliable check.

How does light get into the eyes?

The reflection of light in the eye is the biggest reason an eye looks alive. Without a reflection, the eye looks like a dark, flat spot. What brings the reflection is turning the person's face toward a light source, a window, an open door or an open sky, or putting a white surface in front of them. The place and size of the reflection show where the light comes from and how big it is; a small reflection in the upper corner is a look many portrait photographers love, but it isn't a rule.

Getting light into the eyes matters on every skin, but in a different way. On dark skin, when the face is exposed correctly, the eye sockets easily sink into darkness; bringing the light a little more from the front or putting a light surface under the chin brings the eyes back. On light skin, on the other hand, light can enter the eyes without the face shining too much. Brightening the whites of the eyes or the iris too much during editing makes the eye look artificial; the eye must stay the person's own eye.

When does the expression come?

An eye smile is the creasing that forms at the corners of the eyes in a real smile and the cheeks narrowing the eye slightly. A smile that comes on command is often only in the mouth; the eyes don't join in and the face stays stiff. That is why, instead of saying "smile," saying something that will really make them laugh or call up a memory works.

Peak expression is the moment, often lasting less than a second, when an emotion reaches its clearest and most natural state on a face. The highest point of a laugh, the soft smile that settles on the face right after the laugh, a short stillness while thinking about a question; each of these is a peak expression. These moments are waited for; the photographer stands ready with the camera at their eye and the focus on the near eye, and shoots when the moment comes. Taking a few frames in continuous shooting helps not to miss the peak of the expression.

Gaze direction is whether the person's eyes turn to the lens, to something inside the frame, or out of the frame. Eyes looking at the lens build a direct bond with the viewer. Eyes looking out of the frame, on the other hand, give the feeling that the person is lost in their own world, in a thought or in a task. When the pupil slides too far to the side, too much of the white of the eye shows and the gaze can look tense; turning the gaze a little toward the camera softens this.

Visual evidence

In the frame focused on the peel's handle, the master's eyes are slightly soft. When enlarged, the lashes can't be made out, the line of the iris has scattered. Even though the rest of the frame is sharp, the gaze feels blurred. The master's eye sockets have stayed in shadow and on his dark skin the eyes are like a single dark spot.

Your friend sets the eye selection to the near eye and asks the master to turn his face a little toward the bakery's open door. Then they ask him who scolded him most in the years he was an apprentice. The master starts laughing; your friend shoots a few frames right after the laugh.

In the frame they choose, the near eye is sharp, the lashes can be made out one by one. In both eyes there is a small, bright reflection of the door. The creases of the laugh appear at the corners of the eyes, and the master's dark skin and the brown of his eyes stay in their own color. The gaze is turned to the lens; the viewer sees the laugh in the master's eyes.

Common mistakes

Summary

In a portrait everything starts with the eyes, because the viewer looks for the eyes first, and soft or lightless eyes make the whole face look lifeless. Focus is placed on the near eye, a reflection of light is brought into the eye, and the short peak expression of a real smile that reaches the corners of the eyes is waited for; on dark and light skin alike, it is checked that the eye sockets keep their detail and the eyes stay in their own color.

Mini assignment

In this assignment you will shoot a portrait series that turns a person's face a little to the side and focuses on their eyes.

1. Set eye selection to the near eye or the single point to the lash line of the near eye, shoot a frame at your widest aperture, enlarge it and compare the sharpness of the two eyes.
2. Turn the person's face toward a window or an open door and change the angle of the face until a reflection of light appears in the eye.
3. Ask a question that will make them laugh, take a few frames in continuous shooting right after the laugh, and choose the frame in which the laugh shows at the corners of the eyes.

Check yourself

• Is the near eye sharp, can the lashes be made out?
• Is there a reflection of light in the eyes?
• In the frame you chose, has the laugh reached the eyes?

Glossary

Mini quiz

1. At a wide aperture, why is focus placed on the near eye in a face turned to the side?

• A) Because the far eye is always closed
• B) Because the camera can only focus on the near eye
• C) Because light only falls on the near eye
• D) Because the slice of sharpness may not cover both eyes, and if the eye closest to the viewer is soft, the face is perceived as soft

2. What is the simplest way to bring a reflection of light into the eye?

• A) Turning the person's face toward a window or an open door
• B) Stopping down the aperture
• C) Raising the ISO
• D) Telling the person to narrow their eyes

3. Why does a smile that comes on command often look stiff?

• A) Because the mouth opens too wide
• B) Because the smile stays in the mouth and doesn't reach the eyes
• C) Because the light changes
• D) Because the camera doesn't recognize the face

4. If, on dark skin, the eyes sink into darkness when the face is exposed correctly, what is done?

• A) Brightening the whole frame
• B) Making the eyes pure white in editing
• C) Bringing the light a little more from the front or putting a light surface under the chin
• D) Telling the person to close their eyes

Answers

1. D — In a thin slice of sharpness only one eye may stay sharp; it should be the one closest to the viewer.
2. A — A light source leaves a small reflection in the eye and brings it to life.
3. B — A real laugh shows at the corners of the eyes; one that comes on command is only in the mouth.
4. C — Bringing light to the eyes opens up the eye sockets without breaking the face's exposure.

Summary card

• The viewer looks at the eyes first: focus first, then light, then expression.
• Focus on the near eye; at a wide aperture the slice can be three to four centimeters.
• A reflection in the eye: turn the face to the light or put a white surface in front.
• Don't say "smile"; make them laugh, wait for what comes right after the laugh.
• Check the eye sockets on every skin; don't brighten the eye artificially in editing.

Bridge to the next lesson

The eyes have come alive, but the light still comes from the oven's mouth, from only one side of the face. The other cheek has stayed in darkness; on the master's dark skin half the face blends into shadow. The older member points to the small window in the bakery's back wall and a piece of white flour-sack cardboard standing in a corner. Is a professional portrait with a window and a reflector possible? The next lesson takes up window light and open shade for portraits.