I love when low light from the side hits someone’s eye at just the right angle and the iris starts to glow. These are eyes of people I love, who are also very tolerant while I got the shot just right.

If you start with the right light and the eye in tack-sharp focus, the editing isn’t that hard. For these, I increased the contrast a good bit, as well as the texture, with a little more clarity and a touch of dehaze. The highlights on the skin around the eye in these lighting conditions is usually pretty bright, especially with the added contrast, so I take those down on the areas surrounding the eye itself. For the iris itself, I increased the exposure about 2/3 of a stop, and then cranked up the texture to 100%.

Are the edits are a bit intense? Probably. But then again, someone is staring directly at you from inches away. In the end, I think people’s irises are so beautiful and fascinating to look at, and I want to be able to see every detail.