I've had a thing for eyes recently. I can say with some certainty that it stems from my desire to create the perfect portrait. I haven't done it yet, but when I do, I can guarantee that the eyes will be the centerpiece and jump right off the page.


From the years directly following puberty, until just recently, I didn't even know women HAD eyes. Ok...I knew they were SOMEWHERE on the female body, but come on, I'm a guy, and my own eyes were trained elsewhere. Big shocker, huh?


I've taken countless numbers of shots during a session over and over, just to make sure I've got "The one" where the eyes pop like crazy. There's a fine line you have to walk to get the lashes and the surface of the eyeball sharp as glass, while shooting at a shallow aperture. Generally that's why I do all my headshot sessions with my 60mm macro. It's probably a little short to be a true portrait lens, but I love the colors and clarity that the lens returns with, time after time. Lighting also plays big in that mix too. I actually prefer natural light over strobes, because the pupil is constricted, letting more of the color and texture of the iris to show.


Different eyes possess different qualities. Some eyes pop because of their color, like Shayela's.


Other eyes pop because of the texture, like Maggie's.


Sometimes, the sheer size of the eyes make them impossible to ignore. Austin is a good example of this.


It was just Eli and I tonight. Mommy and Ian went to help out at the PADS shelter. She had placed Eli on the bed with me when she left, and he was fairly happy, so I got out the camera to grab some shots. I was doing the classic ceiling bounce, and the first few pops caught him off guard at that close range. But after a while, he just kept looking my way, and finally let me in close enough to grab this shot. It's not as close as this shot of Ian's eye, or my own, but it will do for now.