Eye See You!

[shp]

I want to take photo's of eyes, but...

They always come out wrong. They're either too blurry from zooming in so closely, or they are sometimes red. I'm going to be spending the weekend, or maybe longer in the case of a winter storm, at my father's and so I'd actually be practicing quite a bit with my step-siblings and perhaps convince my father to start helping out. I'm definitely going to be trying a few things, such as focusing on the eyes, playing with emotions, and using whatever props we can find.

My current problem is the eye... Does anyone have any advice?

[ScottWood]

Red eye normally comes from flash. You can avoid it by not using an on camera flash. As for the blurry shots, it either means that your, your subject or both are moving. You need a higher shutter speed to avoid it entirely, but using a cable release on a tripod will help.

[Saknika]

Also try to make sure you have a specular catchlight, or the eye will appear lifeless.

[shp]

OK, is it possible to get a on-camera flash off, particularly my camera, the Kodak Easyshare Z712 IS? I did read that it would be better if I did take it off but I don't have any off-camera lights... Except for lamps and ceiling lights, and the natural light such as the sunlight. What is a catchlight, though? XD

I actually didn't bother with the shutter speed, nor aperture, when I tried to zoom in on my stepbrother's eye. I just did just that, zoom in. I hadn't even used the macro mode.

[Saknika]

No, you can't take a flash that's built-in to the camera off of it. You have to buy a separate flash. And a catchlight is the little white specular that shows up in the eye when light hits it.

[shp]

All right, cool. I will experiment all weekend long... My camera would allow me to take quite a lot of pictures... I just need to figure out a way to make it fun for the younger kids, lol! And to keep my lazy dad awake, too.

I will show you what I've managed to do as soon as I get back! =) I'm looking forward to taking all your advice and putting it to use.

[MarianMurdoch]

Hahhaha, I have a photo with the same title as this thread. At first, I was like, WTF?!

Best way to keep the kids interested is to let them see the photos as you go along. Once they see them, they'll be wanting to try even more new, cool poses.

Here's mine (you can see the catchlight in it):
dailyhands.blogspot.com/2010/01/eye-see-you.html

[shp]

lol, OK! Well, we had way too much fun in the snow that we forgot to do the pictures, plus the only "model" available had a nasty cut at the corner of his lips. But I did manage to snap a few photo's of the snow... Despite the intense brightness...