Earlier in the month I did a critique on an image that caught my eye on instagram for how awkward and painful it was to view. In that critique I mentioned the model having what I as a photographer term “dead eyes” which is simple put an expression so flat the eyes appear lifeless and unenthused to the viewer.
Dead eyes is caused from a steady gaze showing no emotion which has long been though by many just getting started models and amateur models to be the model face. However where they go wrong is the lack of expression while models are encouraged to have statue like faces they are actively encouraged to tell a story with their eyes.
But new models and amateur models struggle with this. So how can we as photographers help them without altering their images in photoshop???
A lot of it is making the model comfortable, with us, with the pose, with the shoot itself. And that might mean putting the camera down, chatting for a little bit and getting to know them as a person not a body showing off clothing or a product.
It can mean finding our inner funny bone and cracking a job that gets them laughing and even when they readopt that steady statue face their eyes will maintain some of the mirth and happiness our joke invoked.
Sometimes the model has to change the flat model statue face and adopt furrowed brows, a smirk, or other facial que’s that will convey the emotion when their eyes aren’t the most visible feature. Not having dead eyes means igniting emotion in our model, it means the model has to reach deep within them and feel something. Sometimes just thinking of a memory that will invoke the spirit of the emotion you need will bring life to their eyes.
This models eyes aren’t very visible but from the facial expression he is using you can tell it reads all the way through to his eyes, he is embodying modeling head to toe or eyes to toes!