EYE PHOTOGRAPHY

There is a saying which states that the eyes are the window to a person's soul. It is important to know how to handle people's eyes in portrait photography, as the way the eyes are represented in a photo can make or break the photo.  For example, Steve McCurry's Afghan Girl photo, which appeared on the cover of the June 1984 National Geographic Magazine, was named "the most recognised photograph" in the history of the magazine. This was mostly due to her piercing sea-green eyes, staring straight at the camera, resulting in a very striking and appealing portrait. (see below). Personally I love this photograph, I think it looks amazing that even though the photo has rich colours, it is still her eyes that shine through and draw you straight in.

Other eye photography that I think are impressive..

All of these have been manipulated with photoshop and I think the results are amazing! especially the last photograph. The last one is so creative and really is pleasing for the viewer, It really is unique, nothing I've ever seen before.. I feel like it might possibly be a representation of earth? water, land, sky.. 

I love this photograph of the elderly man, it's so intricate and you can see every fine detail. Also, even though the photograph is in black and white, his eyes are still the centre focus of the photograph and they shine through even though the photo is all one tone. 

I think there is so much you can do with eyes in photography. For example, the above photograph shows a person crying, which should be something that isn't quite nice to see, but it produces a beautiful outcome when edited the right way. The fact that this photo is in black and white apart from the eyeball itself makes it so effective- the eye is absolutely striking. 

I think in portrait shots, it is the eyes that sometimes make or break the photograph. If the eyes are really piercing through, inviting the viewer in and it is the clear focus of the shot, it can be the eyes that tell the story or the meaning of the photograph as a whole.

Eyes being the windows to the soul..

The eye is the window of the soul, the mouth the door. The intellect, the will, are seen in the eye; the emotions, sensibilities, and affections, in the mouth. The animals look for man's intentions right into his eyes. Even a rat, when you hunt him and bring him to bay, looks you in the eye. Hiram Powers, American sculptor (1805 - 1873) 

It has been said by many different people over the years that eyes are the windows to the soul, due to the fact that they tell so much about us. We can try to hide our real emotions as much as we like but our eyes will always give us away! Also, our eyes show us to be individuals as they are all completely different... Everyone has a different structure of lines, dots and colours in their iris.

Upon research, according to scientists, eyes REALLY could be the windows to the soul. Patterns in the iris can give an indication of whether we are warm and trusting or neurotic and impulsive, research has found. Scientists in a University in Sweden compared the eyes of over 400 people and their personalities to see whether the traits in their personalities matched the structures that appear in our irises.

They focused on patterns in crypts - threads which radiate from the pupil - and contraction furrows - lines curving around the outer edge - which are formed when the pupils dilate.

Their findings showed those with denselypacked crypts are more warmhearted, tender, trusting, and likely to sympathise with others. In comparison, those with more contraction furrows were more neurotic, impulsive and likely to give way to cravings.

The researchers argued that eye structure and personality could be linked because the genes responsible for the development of the iris also play a role in shaping part of the frontal lobe of the brain, which influences personality.