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Red-eye removal is the correction of red reflections that appear in the centers of people’s pupils in flash photographs. You can fix an existing photo with an editing app or, in some cases, a camera’s retouch menu; camera settings and flash placement can help prevent the effect in future pictures.
What does red-eye removal mean?
Red-eye removal is an image-editing correction: it darkens or otherwise replaces the red flash reflection in a subject’s pupil so the eyes look more natural. Nikon defines red eye as red spots in the center portions of the eyes in flash pictures (Nikon photography glossary).
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Adobe explains that red eye is caused by flash reflections from the retina and commonly appears in low-light settings (Adobe Photoshop help: Remove red eye in flash photos). The term can refer either to correcting a photo after it is taken or to a camera feature intended to reduce the effect when shooting.
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Photoshop
- Open the photo and choose the Red Eye tool.
- If needed, adjust Pupil Size and Darken Amount in the tool options.
- Select the red or white reflection in the pupil. Inspect the result and adjust or undo if the correction looks unnatural.
These are Adobe’s documented controls; results depend on the image and may need inspection (Adobe Photoshop help).
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Lightroom Classic
Adobe’s Lightroom Classic guide documents a Red Eye Correction tool with separate Red Eye and Pet Eye modes. For pet-eye correction, intended for yellow or green discoloration, position and resize the correction region, then tune pupil size or darkness as needed (Adobe: Red eye and pet eye correction).
Photos on Mac
- Open the photo in Photos and choose Edit.
- In Adjust, choose Red-Eye and try Auto.
- If the automatic correction misses the pupil, adjust the tool’s size and click the red pupil.
Apple says the feature works on Live Photos but not video. It does not correct animal eyes showing green or yellow flash reflection (Apple Support: Remove red-eye from photos on Mac).
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Camera retouch menu
Some cameras offer a red-eye correction option for photographs taken using flash. Nikon’s D780 manual warns that the camera may not detect every instance and that correction can affect areas that were not red. Check the preview rather than assuming the camera fixed the image perfectly (Nikon D780 manual: Red-Eye Correction).
How to reduce red eye in future photos
Adobe recommends using the camera’s red-eye reduction feature or positioning the flash away from the lens (Adobe Photoshop help). A flash away from the lens is a prevention measure, not a way to remove red eye from a photo that has already been taken.
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