What to expect at your iris photography session
If you’re reading this you’ve likely booked into one of The Touring Eye’s iris photography pop-up events. So firstly, thank you very much for choosing me to create your one of a kind artwork!
This guide is designed to prepare you for your session so that together we can get the best possible image of your eye on the day.
The main goal in iris photography
Before we move on to the hints and tips about how my iris photography pop-ups work, it’s important for you to understand the main goal in this genre of photography.
The main goal, and ideal outcome, is to capture an image of your iris without any imperfections in the photograph. This includes reflections or ‘hot spots’ (areas so bright they lose all detail) that can often be caused by make-up.
I aim to deliver a final image that is as close to a true representation of your eye as possible. To help me achieve that, I encourage everyone to follow the guidance in this article — after all, I’m assuming you’d quite like the best possible image of your eye! And if you’re bringing someone along, please make sure they give this a read too. It really is in your best interests to 😊
1 – Preparing for your shoot
To get the absolute best results of your eyes, the following guidance should be considered. Please understand that iris photography requires two elements, the technical aspect (taking and editing the image) and the subject. I’m responsible for the technical side of it, your responsibility is to ensure that your eye is in as good a shape as possible on the day 😊
Get sleep!
Your eyes don’t just rely on the iris for a great shot — the eyelids and the muscles around them play a starring role too. To capture every detail, it’s important that your upper eyelid doesn’t dip down over the top of your iris.
A simple trick: stand in front of a mirror, look straight ahead (not up or down), and practice opening your eyes wide enough that your entire iris is visible. It feels odd at first, but it makes all the difference on the day.
Tired eyes are stubborn eyes. If you’ve been on a night shift, had a late one, or know you’ll be flagging, you might find it harder to hold your eyes fully open. In that case, consider booking a later afternoon slot when you’ll be more alert — your photos (and your eyelids) will thank you.
Hydrate
For the best results, I recommend drinking plenty of water in the 24 hours before your session. Hydrated eyes tend to look clearer, brighter, and more comfortable under the lights — helping me capture the fine detail of your iris in all its glory.
Make-up
I know for some people, the idea of turning up without make-up is terrifying — but when it comes to iris photography, it really is best avoided.
Many products (mascara, eyeliner, even certain blushers) contain reflective particles that love nothing more than bouncing light straight into my lens. The result? Annoying streaks and shiny “hot spots” across the iris image.
While I can edit these out, it’s never perfect — and it means your final image isn’t 100% true to your eye. I’d much rather capture the natural detail without interference, so for the best results, please remove your make-up beforehand. (There won’t be time during the session itself to do this.)
Think of it this way: this is one of the rare times where less really is more. Your iris will thank you for it.
Contact Lenses
If you usually wear contact lenses, please remove them before your session. Contacts can reflect light, dull natural eye detail, and in some cases slightly alter the way your iris looks. Glasses are fine to wear to the session, as they’ll be removed for the photos.
Avoid Alcohol & Excess Caffeine
While alcohol and too much caffeine don’t change your iris itself, they can affect how your pupils behave — sometimes making them larger than usual. That means less iris detail to capture. They can also leave your eyes dry or twitchy, which makes the session harder for both of us. For the best results, try to go easy on both the night before and on the day of your session.
Clean Eyes & Face
It helps if your eyes and the skin around them are clean and free from creams or lotions. Oily products around the eye can reflect light in ways that interfere with capturing the fine details.
Arrive on Time (and Calm)
Please arrive a few minutes early so you’re not rushing. Stressed or flustered eyes tend to squint more, and relaxed eyes always photograph better.
Please note that if you are more than 5 minutes late for your session, I may have to turn you away if no other sessions are available on the day. This is because 1 over running session is likely to have a knock on affect on all other sessions on the day, so please do allow time for any delays you may have on your commute to the venue.
Screen Break Beforehand
If you can, give your eyes a short break from phones, tablets, or laptops before your session. Digital eye strain can make your eyes tired, watery, or red.”
Special Note for Kids
Please let your child know in advance what to expect — sitting still, looking into the camera, and holding their eyes open. A little prep at home makes the session quicker and less stressful for them.
2 – On the day cash offers
I offer on the day special discount on all special edits for those able to pay in cash (you will of course receive a receipt for your payment). This discount is reflective of the savings I make from the online processing and payment fee’s should you purchase the effect through my website.
Examples of on the day discounts: (please ensure you bring the right cash with you as I won’t have change I’m afraid. As I transport everything on my motorcycle, I have very little space for anything not entirely necessary.
| Effect | 1 iris | 2 irises | 3 irises | 4 irises |
| Explosion | £12 | £24 | ||
| Clash | – | £20 | ||
| Infinity | – | |||
| Smokey |
3 – Arriving at the venue
Typically, on the morning of the pop-up, I will email all attendees with specific instructions on where to go and where to wait for their session. If I’ve previously used the venue before then the instructions will be provided on the event information page also.
As my pop-ups are typically booked back to back, please do ensure you don’t enter the room until invited in as its likely I’m busy with the previous client.
4 – The experience
Once I’ve welcomed you into the room I’ve been provided there will be chairs available for anyone who would like to have a seat whilst waiting. I’ll do some initial checks that I have your consent forms back and whether you have been able to read this guide.
The head / chin rest
To keep your head as still as possible, you will be asked to place your head onto a optometrist style headrest. Please be sure to fully relax onto the chin rest so that all your head weight is on it. You want to completely relax your next muscles at this point.
Depending on your facial structure, I may need to heighten or lower the chin rest to get your eye nicely centred in the frame. I will of course verbalise this need to you and whilst I adjust the height, please be sure to continue resting your full head weight on it.
Relax your face
Try to relax your face as much as you can. Some people subconsciously clench their teeth. So take a moment to consciously relax your face and eyes. Many people are unknowingly frowning. There is absolutely nothing to be nervous about. For every problem that we may encounter, I will have a solution so you really do not have anything to worry about 😊
Do not move
Once you’re comfortable and relaxed on the chin rest, it is important that your chin never leaves the rest until I inform you that we are done. Try to minimise any head movement so that your eye isn’t moving around in the frame. Even the slightest movement can blur a macro image.
3, 2, 1
Once I’ve got your eye nicely centred in the frame and I can see you are as relaxed as you’re going to get on the head rest, I will do a countdown of 3, 2, 1.
Open them eyes!
On 1, I want you to open your eyes as wide as you possibly can. This typically means raising your forehead, brow to in turn raise your upper lid.
If during your practicing, you find that you can raise your top lid sufficiently to get clearance around the top of the iris, but your bottom lid is covering the bottom bit of your iris, that’s totally fine. It’s an easy enough thing to fix during the session. You’ll basically be instructed on how to pull down the lower lid yourself to expose the bottom of the iris.
Flash photography
In addition to flash units, I also use a static light. This light is shone into your eye in an attempt to reduce the size of your pupil as much as possible so that we get a nice big iris around it. Remember, there are a few things you can avoid to ensure your pupil is more reactive to light, for example, avoid coffee before your session.
I typically take between 10 – 14 images of your eyes (often less, occasionally more if adjustments are needed to get a better result), each shot involving a single flash burst. The lights are all located to the sides of your eyes rather than directly shining into them.
An interesting observation about teenagers
I have noticed that many teenagers seem to be very sensitive to the static light, far more so than any other age group. As a father of 2 recently gone through teenage years boys, I have to assume some of this is down to screen time and/or tiredness.
If you are bringing a teenager with you, please do stress to them the importance of not playing whatever the latest PS5 or Xbox game is cheating them of sleep all night before your session. Unfortunately, in many of my family images, the teenagers pupils are bigger than the parents. Sadly there is nothing I can do from a technical perspective to counter a pupil that does not react to light as well as we would like.
Job’s a Goodun
When you hear these words expel from my mouth, as they seem to these days, then that is your sign that I have accomplished my objective of getting a few crisp and clear images of your eye and you can lift your head off the chin rest and relax knowing its all over 😊
5 – After the event
Your digital image
Your digital image will be delivered within 5 working days of your session. As I hand edit each and every eye photographed by hand, I don’t give it to you there and then or in 10 minutes I’m afraid. I have made a deliberate choice to not use automation or AI in my editing like many competitors do. This is more than simply photography for me, this is art and I treat it as such.
Your digital image will be shared via Dropbox (you don’t need to have a subscription with Dropbox to download the images to your pc/laptop/phone). They will be available online for 2 weeks before they are automatically deleted so please do ensure you download them during this 2 week period. You will be notified via email that your images are ready for downloading with the link to them.
Please ensure you have added my email address (info@thetouringeye.com) to your ‘Safe Senders’ list to ensure you receive emails from me as for some reason several emails I send attendees with the Dropbox link in it, end up in their Spam or Junk mail inboxes.
I always work on the included images first and get these out to the attendees. I then turn my attention to any special edit requests. These will typically arrive a day or two after your basic images.
Upgrading your digital image
Images supplied as part of your fee are optimised for printing up to A5 size.
If you would larger prints you have two options:
1, purchase a print through my online store and have the print delivered to your door.
2, purchase an upgraded digital image and print yourself or use an online printer or walk in shop. You can upgrade your digital image via my online shop. Simply choose what size you’d like to upgrade to and enter the name of the image as provided to you and it will be shared with you on Dropbox for easy download.
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