How can I prevent red-eye when taking photos?
Asked 7/17/2010
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I know red-eye can be fixed in post, but what are the best ways to avoid it in-camera when shooting? I'm especially interested in practical techniques to reduce or prevent it while using flash.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
16y ago
2 Answers
26
To understand how to prevent red-eye you need to understand what causes it.
Red eye is caused by light from a flash that is close to the lens entering the subjects pupils and bouncing off the rear of the eye back into the lens. (The main cause for the red colour is the blood in the back of the retina). Wikipedia has more info.
To prevent red-eye you need to prevent this light bounce back. There are several ways to achieve this.
Pre-flash. By flashing a bright light prior to taking the main photo. This causes the subjects pupils to narrow and reduces the amount of red eye. Many modern compacts have red eye reduction modes that do this by flashing multiple times before the main flash, or providing a continuous bright light in place of a quick flash.
Use an angled flash to direct the light to bounce of a wall or ceiling to prevent the direct bounce back.
Use a flash that is separate from the camera so the light bouncing back does not bounce directly back down the axis of the lens.
If you have a compact camera it is likely your only option is number 1. With an SLR you have more choices.
Originally by user97. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user97
16y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Red-eye happens when a flash positioned close to the lens sends light into the subject’s pupils and that light reflects off the back of the eye into the camera.
To reduce it:
- use red-eye reduction/pre-flash mode so the subject’s pupils contract before the main exposure
- move the flash farther from the lens with an off-camera flash
- bounce the flash off a ceiling or wall so light doesn’t travel straight into the eyes
- angle the flash rather than firing it directly from the camera position
In general, the more you can avoid direct, lens-axis flash, the less likely red-eye becomes. Built-in flashes are the most likely to cause it because they sit very close to the lens.
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