Adobe PhotoShop Tutorial
Red Eye Correction
by Pete Bauer
With digital cameras becoming more and more common, it's getting easier and easier to get images into the computer for retouching. We'll look at correcting "red eye" in this column.
This candid snapshot of the notorious Young Johnny G is an extreme example of "red eye." Red eye occurs when light reflects off of the capillaries in the back of the eye. The capillaries, filled with blood, reflect red (unless, I suppose, you have an image of a true "Blue Blood"). Typically this happens when the flash is directly above the lens and the subject is looking into the camera. ("Look at the birdie!") In this first example, the pupils are dilated far enough to reflect from an angle.
Let's zoom in and apply two different techniques. On the left (Johnny's right eye), you'll see the result when the pupil is filled with black. It looks as unnatural as the red eye. On the right, the pupil has been adjusted using the Paintbrush, set to 60% opacity and a blending mode of Luminosity. This leaves the natural reflections and specular highlights. (Specular highlights are explained below). This produces a more realistic image. Note that the pupil hasn't been changed all the way to black. There is still a hint of a tint, which adds to the realism.
Another, more typical, example of red eye is seen below. The Lovely Libby was looking directly at the camera when the flash and shutter cycled. The fact that the eyes match the dress does, in this case, ruin an otherwise beautiful photo.
In this case, the red eye reduction technique most appropriate is desaturation. The Sponge tool, set to Desaturate and Pressure at 50%, makes quick and easy work of the pupils. The brown eyes are emphasized, with natural highlights.
One more example shows Perry O. with his Dad. (Hmmmm...Dad doesn't have red eye -- could it come from the mother's side?)
In this case we'll use a technique that is appropriate for critical projects and high resolution images. A selection is made of the reddish areas of Perry's eyes. The area includes the entire pupil, with the specular highlights. To eliminate the red, use Image> Adjust> Selective Color. With the pop-up menu set to Red, click the radio button for Absolute, and increase the amount of black using the lowest slider.
SPECULAR HIGHLIGHTS
Specular highlights are those reflections in a photograph that contain no color information. Their RGB values are 255/255/255. Such pure white areas are natural and removing them completely is usually unnecessary (and sometimes results in an unnatural look). The word "specular" refers to mirror-like reflections. And, of course, a white light source reflected in a mirror produces white.
Copyright 2001 KW Media Group. Photoshop is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc.
This article by Pete Bauer was reproduced as originally published by http://www.planetphotoshop.com
Pete Bauer & KW Media Group are in no way affiliated with Midwestern Industries, Inc.
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