"Pro Tip: How To Avoid Red-Eye
Have you ever taken portraits that end up looking a little demonic because of red-eye? Don’t worry, your friends and family aren’t really possessed—it’s just the light from the flash bouncing off the back of their eyes. And in the case of animals, the red-eye effect can also happen, but instead of red, the eyes often have a yellow, green or white tint.
After following the tips in this post, you’ll be taking demon-free pictures—we promise!
Red-eye is very common in pictures taken with a camera that has a built-in flash, especially when those photos are taken in a dark or dim room as your subject’s pupils are already dilated. If the flash is close to the lens, then when your subject is looking at the lens, they’re also looking directly at the flash. When the flash fires, it bounces off of the blood vessels of their retinas, which are red, thus causing red-eye.
Many of us have point-and-shoot cameras, which are especially susceptible to causing red-eye as the lens is so close to the flash, so check out these tips to avoid this altogether:
1. Use your camera’s red-eye-reduction flash setting—the icon usually looks like a little eye. The setting may also be a separate function in the camera’s menu that you can turn off or on. One thing to note when using this feature: Don’t move your camera immediately after the shutter-release button is pressed as your camera will emit a brief preflash that will cause your subject’s pupils to constrict, then your flash will fire a second time. Sometimes using this setting may not prevent red-eye completely, but it should help.
2. If your subject, such as a child or pet, doesn’t react naturally to the preflash of the red-eye-reduction feature, then turn up the lights in the room. The extra light will naturally cause the pupils to contract more.
3. If your subject needs portable direct lighting and you own a camera that can support a mounted flash (either on the side or higher above the camera’s lens), then I recommend that setup, which works especially well for taking photos at events like wedding receptions. Try aiming or tilting your flash so it’s positioned at an angle to your subject, and you’ll reduce the chance of red-eye.
4. For a softer look, you might want to try tilting your flash head so it bounces off the ceiling or a wall. You may need to adjust your flash setting or your exposure to compensate for the loss of light, though.
5. If you have extra time and want to get really fancy and creative, use a wireless remote or an electronic slave to trigger off-camera flashes or strobes.
6. If none of the previous tips worked for you, you can try fixing red-eye with image-editing software—it’s usually a simple one-click fix. Try out Picnik, which works through your web browser and is free and easy to use.
Ok, now that you’re armed with the tools to get the red out, go take some pictures!"
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