Photographer Patrick Hall had a fun idea: tase people and photograph the responses. Which, as you can see in the video and images below, were surprising. Some of the subjects seem to actually be enjoying it, while others are in seeming agony. It’s a fascinating study in what facial expressions really mean. In much the same way that chimpanzees’ expressions of fear are almost indistinguishable from glee, it can be hard to read a human’s face sometimes.

 

If you want to try this yourself, you’d better start saving your pennies; although the 300,000 volt stun guns are available on Amazon for about 35 bucks, a Nikon D810 is over three grand, a Sony FS700 will set you back another six, and the Profoto lighting runs about two grand, ensuring your total project costs will be over ten thousand. Maybe you could skip all the fancy photography and just have a taser selfie party. It would probably be just as much fun.

More information on the gear and the process can be found over on Fstoppers.com, and more photos can be viewed at Patrick Hall’s website.