Macro work on Human Eyes

[Steven Grevis]

Hi Guys,

Long time lurker first time thread poster.

So we have a shoot in a few days time and client wants macro shots done of the human eyes. We've done some macro work on eyes before on the fly, but I think this shot needs to be special. I think it needs to have minimal reflections if possible or have some catch light, I know its a catch 22. I'm thinking around F/8 so we'll need quite abit of light.

Any tips and tricks to watch out for? Lighting setup wise.

Be shot on Epic Dragon, with Canon 100mm MACRO + Canon Extension Tube.

Thanks!

- Steven

 

[Mark Wuerthner]

I had to do the same shoot many years ago. Its basically impossible to eliminate the reflection of the light. I put up a 3 x 3 foot piece of diffusion in front of the actor's face, lit it from behind, cut a hole in the middle and stuck the lens through the hole. The effect was that the whole eye was one big reflection so you couldn't see a singular hotspot on the eye. It kind of worked. I also built a chin rest and forehead rest (just like optometrist use) to keep the head stationary so that the eye doesn't float around. If you can live with a small reflection put a small but bright source far away (joker bug light with spot lens?) which will leave a small reflection but give you the footcandles you need.

 

[Steven Grevis]

Thanks for the reply's Zeb & Mark, appreciate it!

We are actually going to use the catch light on the eye to make the light in the shape of a letter to the name of the project. Fingers crossed it turns out good

 

[Dan Kanes]

For your eye shot - are you looking to look straight into the eye or at an oblique angle?

I find that the oblique will give you different lighting opportunities than straight on, and also can be significantly interesting an impactful.

Best advice I can give you - never underestimate a large (HUGE) source - fairly close to your subject. 4 foot source (diffusion) 1-2 feet away.

Just read again - big double down what Mark said

 

[Matt W.]

The above advice on the head rest is good. The shake can be pretty intense.

 

[Matt Uhry]

Thanks for the reply's Zeb & Mark, appreciate it!

We are actually going to use the catch light on the eye to make the light in the shape of a letter to the name of the project. Fingers crossed it turns out good

I did a catch light gag where a $ appears in a characters eye a few years ago and it worked great. Very readable. I think the cutout was about 4x4 feet. I don't remember if we made
it backwards or not, but I guess you can flip the gobo.

Matt Uhry
www.mattuhry.com

 

[Ulf Krentz]

Depending how close you want to be, make sure the camera is far enough away to not get in the way of your lighting and won´t be seen in the eye, don´t let much light hit the camera, may be use a flag. The light needs to get the shape of your letter (flipped). Cut a mask and cover it with a lee filter gel (like 410 or 216). Light it with a fresnel, this will result in a nice, vivid reflection.
Also just in general, a catchlight will prevent the eye to look dead. Have fun!

Cheers

Ulf

 

[Steven Grevis]

For your eye shot - are you looking to look straight into the eye or at an oblique angle?

I find that the oblique will give you different lighting opportunities than straight on, and also can be significantly interesting an impactful.

Best advice I can give you - never underestimate a large (HUGE) source - fairly close to your subject. 4 foot source (diffusion) 1-2 feet away.

Just read again - big double down what Mark said

I have a gut feeling that it will be straight on...but I shall suggest to the director/dp to shoot on an oblique angle to see what it looks like.

I did a catch light gag where a $ appears in a characters eye a few years ago and it worked great. Very readable. I think the cutout was about 4x4 feet. I don't remember if we made
it backwards or not, but I guess you can flip the gobo.

Matt Uhry
www.mattuhry.com

Yes has to be backwards to make the reflection the right way around

Depending how close you want to be, make sure the camera is far enough away to not get in the way of your lighting and won´t be seen in the eye, don´t let much light hit the camera, may be use a flag. The light needs to get the shape of your letter (flipped). Cut a mask and cover it with a lee filter gel (like 410 or 216). Light it with a fresnel, this will result in a nice, vivid reflection.
Also just in general, a catchlight will prevent the eye to look dead. Have fun!

Cheers

Ulf

Thanks for those tips taken on board!


and generally overall with all the reply's great advise and appreciate each comment