Multi-band biometric camera system having iris color recognition

A system and method for authenticating a user of a device. A multi-band biometric iris scan camera system is capable of obtaining an iris image using near-infrared (NIR) light and/or visible wavelength (VW) light. The camera system can initially image a user to detect the iris color of the user and, based on the iris color, determine whether to use the NIR iris scan or the VW iris scan. Additionally, NIR and VW systems can be operated as integrated camera systems. The iris scan camera system can take a series of images and compare against a database of anonymous iris images captured at different illumination conditions, for selecting a preferred illumination condition for capturing the iris and performing authentication. The iris scan camera system can optionally track eye movement to determine when to trigger an iris scan, identify obstructions to the iris such as eyelids and eyelashes to implement corrective measures in the iris image processing, and identify facial features to determine whether the left and/or right eye is being imaged.