We talk a ton about different lighting setups and how they affect tonal transitions, strength of shadows, etc., but rarely do we investigate how the way we work with our lights affects our subjects' pupil size, and yet, that plays a large role in a person's perception of a portrait.
Coming to you from the Koldunov Brothers, this interesting video examines how using different intensities of the modeling light on your studio strobe will produce vastly different results in terms of subject pupil size. With strobes, though the light output is bright, it's too short to cause the pupils to constrict, so the size of your subject's pupils will be dependent on the amount of continuous light (both from your modeling light and anything else in the room). Psychologists have studied the effects of pupil size on anything from revealing deception to sexual attraction, with dilated pupils often signaling attraction and creating a similar response in the person perceiving said pupils. As such, portraits with constricted pupils are often considered to be less favorable, but on the flip side, portraits with overly dilated pupils look unnatural. Which do you prefer? Watch the video and let us know!
[via No Film School]
I manipulate pupil size in my portraits all the time. Glad to see this isn't overlooked. Interesting that the medium sized pupil is the one considered most liked. I would have guessed everyone would like the smaller simply because it puts the most color in the eye. I always keep my Einstein modeling light on full power and have been known to throw in a Arri 300 hot light on occasion. Thanks for the post.
Yes!
Hmm, in my experience big pupils make sense only for specific emotions (love, attraction), but look strange in other situations - makes your subject look like on drugs O_o So medium sized is a good compromise ;)