When taking pictures with your digital camera, do your subjects look like they have red eyes? This is common with taking pictures with the flash on. If you notice this problem, first check if your digital camera has a feature called “Flash - Remove Red Eye” - most new ones do. If yours doesn’t have such a feature, don’t fret. Most newer image editing programs have a “Remove Red Eye” feature. Check your documentation.

What is red-eye?

Red-eye is the reflection of light, like the flash, through the open retina of the eye. We’ve all seen it’s effects in the glowing red eyes of all subjects that have been captured on film using flash photography.

The pro’s use long brackets and remote controlled flash units to angle the light away from the camera lens. If you have the money, this is by far the best and most reliable way to reduce the problem. Trouble is, most of us (myself included) don’t have the resources or space to carry around this type of equipment. I like that my latest digital camera fits in my shirt or jacket pocket. That way I always have it with me if a special shot presents itself.

How to reduce it?

Many of today’s mid to upper price automatic cameras come with built in red-eye reduction mode. If you know you are going to be photographing animals or people with the flash, even in daylight, just turn on this flash mode. Of course this is where you must have actually read the camera manual so that you know how to turn it on. After all, you can’t use it if you don’t  know it exists and  know how to use it.

It amazed me the different modes and functions built into my latest camera. But, that’s a whole other subject. Bottom line, at least read your manual once to see what capabilities you are carrying with you with just the camera itself.

If you are taking digital images, the good news is that there are a lot of software programs out there that will edit out the red-eye effects for you. If you are taking photographs with a film camera, then you will need to either scan the image into the digital realm or you will have to pay to have the photo’s retouched. Bottom line is that it can in most cases be fixed. The real question is, how much are you willing to pay to have it removed?

Experiment a little, learn more about your camera and image software, and you won’t have to settle with glowing red eyes in your photos.