Photographs looking back at you

[Dom Tuk]

Why do the eyes of a photograph on a wall follow you as you move along the room. whats the scientific basis for this?. is it the same for still and moving pictures.  Are there any exceptions??

[Lillabet]

We understand someone to be looking at us when we can see the full iris of their eyes (the coloured bit.)

In real life as your eyes are curved this only occurs when the person is looking in your direction. If however the person is photographed or painted etc so that the iris can be seen then the eyes of the picture will be on a flat surface. You can then see the full iris from a much wider range of angles.

The brain interprets this as the pictured eyes looking at you and leads to the effect of having a picture's eyes 'follow you' around the room.