Have you ever seen a close-up of someone's iris? It is a fascinating subject to photograph.
Steps
Step 1. Think about your project
Are you only interested in the iris and the pupil? Or do you want to take back the whole eye? In the latter case, you may need to wear makeup. Or not.
Step 2. Choose a strong, continuous light source, or try standing next to the window on a sunny day. You could use the flash, but it would be a little too 'intense' for your subject.
Step 3. Prepare an environment where your subject can sit comfortably
A table could be useful to support the model's head and avoid even the slightest movement.
Step 4. Make sure the sensor (or camera) is perpendicular to the eye
Step 5. Make the subject look directly at you
Step 6. Place the camera on manual focus and point to the iris
Step 7. Make sure the aperture is not open more than about F8
This will allow you to take in enough light and have sufficient depth of field.
Step 8. Adjust the shutter speed to a fast value
This will prevent the image from becoming blurry due to camera or subject movement.
Step 9. When shooting, pay particular attention to the reflections that will show on the eyeball
Advice
- Try to make the preparation short or give your subject frequent breaks. The more he tries to keep his eyes open, the more they will moisten.
- Just before shooting, ask your subject to blink, to reduce the chance of this happening during the shot.
- Try to make the pupil as small as you can, unless you are interested in photographing it very large. Most people try to get as much of the iris as possible. If the pupil is too large, the photo will usually not be very interesting.
