Exercise 5: Eye contact and expression

There is a difference between the overall look of a portrait when the character is looking straight at the camera and away from the camera.  To date I have been shooting mostly with the subject looking at the camera.  I suppose I have avoided looking away from the camera as it doesn't seem quite as comfortable to shoot.  For example of they are looking too far away you can't see their eyes properly or indeed if they are facing the side you may only be able to see one eye which done properly can look good but badly can look quite odd.

For this exercise I had to shoot a portrait session with the subject looking at the camera and away from the camera.

Looking at the camera

Looking away from the camera

It was not as hard as I thought it would be to shoot with the subject looking away from the camera.  I think once I got used to directing them to where I wanted them to look it became easier.  

Having the subject looking away from the camera makes the viewer look in the direction the they are looking to see what they are looking at.  This can be a useful way of shifting your viewer's attention to a different area of focus.