When you’re starting out as a portrait photographer, everyone teaches you all about the eyes. “Get them in focus!” “Make it the most in focus and strongest part of the image!” That’s what they say; and after years of shooting portraits, that’s what every photographer will continue to tell everyone else. “They’re the windows to the soul,” everyone says. But after years of shooting portraits, I’ve said before that the eyes aren’t honestly always that important unless you’re shooting very close up. If the eyes are a big part of the photo, then yes–indeed they are important because of how humans always make eye contact.
And then you remember there are a lot of people who don’t always make eye contact–and that body language is sometimes a million times more important.