Every photographer knows that taking a picture of a person with a built-in flash and not getting the red-eye effect is beyond fantasy. But why bother both yourself and the model with countless attempts to get rid of such a problem if everything can be fixed with software in literally 5 minutes. About how to remove red eyes in Photoshop, you will learn later in the article.
Highlighted Image
It often happens that the photographer paid attention when editing only to red eyes. But this is not the most important thing. For the final result to be excellent, you need to look for other defects in the image. For example, a blurry frame or a lit face is almost impossible to fix. It is better not to waste time correcting red eyes in such an image.
"Photoshop" copes with the shortcomings, and, you can do this in different ways very quickly. Most often, along with red eyes, an unnatural and ugly shine appears. It is such problems that are best addressed first.
How to remove red eyes in Photoshop
Adobe developers have long figured out how to solve the problem with one tool. It is called the Red Eye Tool or Red Eyes. The brush is included in the standard package, so it does not need to be searched and downloaded. There are two ways to act:
- First, a brush with an eye icon is selected on the toolbar. After that, you need to click on the problem area - and ideally, the problem will disappear. But, of course, this does not always happen. If the face has a pink tint or objects of a similar color are nearby, this method will not work.
- To remove red eye as much as possible, you need to zoom in on the photo so that you can clearly see the border of the pupil. Using the same brush, the next step is to highlight the problem area so that other objects of a similar shade do not enter it. In this way, you can remove red eyes in Photoshop.
Of course, it is impossible to say that the image turned out completely natural. After all, I want my eyes to be not black, but a natural shade. Therefore, you can use other methods to remove red eyes in Photoshop as high as possible.
Color tone and photo saturation
This method is suitable in order to return the eyes to their previous color. But before proceeding with the change, you need to determine the area so as not to change other colors. Using the Lasso tool, you need to select the pupils in the picture. If the red eyes go beyond this area, then it is necessary to trace around it. After that, select the “Images” menu, find the “Correction” item and then click on “Color Tone” and “Saturation”.
It is worth noting that this is a creative work, so you do not need to repeat everything exactly. The indicated parameters are just an example.
First you need to bleach the eyes. For this, the color tone is reduced to 0 and the brightness is also reduced to zero. If you still need to add a color cast, then, for example, for blue, the following options are selected:
- Color tone: -145;
- Saturation: -64;
- Brightness: -2.
These are the parameters that are relevant for the image posted in the article. Each image should be approached individually. That's all, the second way, as in Photoshop, to remove red eyes, is as simple as the previous one.
Channel Method
This option is also great for those photographers who need to change the eye color to natural on the photo. The difference is complexity, moreover, this is the most detailed way to remove red eyes in Photoshop CS6.
First you need to create a duplicate layer and open the Channels. Having disabled all layers, you need to go to blue and copy it. This can be done using the keyboard shortcut ctrl + c. Now, going to the Red Channel, you need to insert the previous object. You can also use the keyboard shortcut ctrl + v. Exactly the same operation must be performed instead of the Green Channel. Now that the previous paragraph is completed, you can include the entire chain of colors. Thus, you can remove the red eyes in the photo in Photoshop. But with it the whole frame will change.
To restore the original look, a "Mask layer" is created. It is located on the bottom panel in the thumbnail library. Now the white layer is filled with black paint. With a white soft brush we draw only along the red pupil. Thus, the picture is ready for further editing.
Adding juiciness to the eyes
Removing the red-eye effect in Photoshop is quite simple. But after any editing, they become dull, but I want them to “catch” the viewer. To add expressiveness to the eyes, you need to duplicate the layer, and use the "Lighten" brush.
First of all, a small diameter and opacity of about 20% are set. With this brush, the iris is highlighted. And by lowering the opacity to 10%, you can spend on the protein.
Now you need to take the “Dimming” brush and set an even smaller diameter and opacity of about 25%. Carefully draw the border of the iris and paint over the pupil.
Now, you need to reduce the photo to 100% and see if the created effect looks natural. If not, the opacity of the entire layer is reduced to the desired parameters.
Please note that these settings are suitable for a particular photo. Each shot is unique and requires an individual approach.