It’s all in the eyes

November 30th, 2008 by Dan Bodenstein

Giraffe Eyes

Any nature or animal photographer will tell you that when taking photos, focus on the eyes. Ever wonder why that is? Well the first thing we are drawn to when looking at an animal, or a person for that matter, is the eyes. Most of the time we don’t realize we do it. In many cases, we look at the eyes for a fraction of a second then zoom out to look at the face.

In order to get someone to appreciate your photographs, the eyes of the subject need to be in focus. If you miss the eyes, you miss the entire shot. You can have the entire body of the subject out of focus, but if the eyes are sharp, it will give life to your photograph.

I never believed the old proverb, “The eyes are the window to the soul”. It never seemed to make sense to me, after all, you can’t see through the eyes to see anything. What does make sense to me is that the eyes can tell you what your subject sees. By examining your subject eyes, you can tell if they are looking at prey, an offspring, or better yet, you.

So next time you are ready to take that shot, take a moment to look to their eyes. You may be surprised at what you see.