How can I prevent redeye when people take pictures of me?

May 2, 2006 9:14 AM

How can I prevent redeye when people take pictures of me?

Without fail, almost every picture taken of me comes out with me having severe redeye, as in my eyes glow bright red. I'm curious if there's anything I can do to prevent this, at the time the picture is being taken (I'm familiar with Photoshop and know how to correct this in pictures after the fact). For example, does looking slightly away from the flash help? I have light brown/green eyes, and wear contacts, if that matters.

posted by chos to media & arts (11 comments total)

Are they red contacts?

But seriously, there are tricks to avoid red eye:
here and here.
posted by Biblio at 9:23 AM on May 2, 2006

Most modern flashes have red-eye reduction using multiple pre-flashes. Of course, you usually need to change the setting for it manually.
posted by JJ86 at 9:26 AM on May 2, 2006

Don't look directly at the camera, look slightly above it, so your eyes dont catch the flash at a direct angle. That usually helps.
posted by softlord at 9:35 AM on May 2, 2006

it's not you - it's them (the photographer)

there is nothing that you can do, or should do. Don't look away when the photo is being taken, it will make you look evasive.

most photo processing software comes with a red-eye reduction function. Simply, you drag and drop a colour filter over the red-eye area, and change the person's eye colour from red to green/blue/brown whatever. Even the simplest of the simple camera photoprocessing programs have this feature (Zoombrowser, ACDSee, etc)
posted by seawallrunner at 9:35 AM on May 2, 2006

From what I've heard, not looking directly into the camera is all you can do to help prevent it red-eye. But, like seawallrunner says, it's not you, it's the photographer.

If there's enough light that flash isn't necessary, don't use it. If flash must be used, have the photographer bounce it off a white wall or cieling if possible, or use something to diffuse the light from the flash. Direct flash generally makes people look pretty ugly.
posted by monsterhero at 9:48 AM on May 2, 2006

The lighter your eyes are, the more likely this is to happen. That isn't a solution, but it is somewhat of a response to the "It's all the photographer's fault" bit that you may find untrue if the unifying variable is, well, you being in the picture.
posted by dagnyscott at 10:39 AM on May 2, 2006

Look at a bright light first to contract your pupils until the photographer says "cheese". Then look at the camera (if you can find it amongst the daze).

Of course, this is probably bad for your eyes, but... it should help.

Oh, and not being on medication helps too, if you take any.
posted by shepd at 10:53 AM on May 2, 2006

try fixing it in gimp
posted by psychobum at 11:40 AM on May 2, 2006

"The lighter your eyes are, the more likely this is to happen. That isn't a solution, but it is somewhat of a response to the "It's all the photographer's fault" bit that you may find untrue if the unifying variable is, well, you being in the picture."

It has nothing to do with the color of your eyes. It has to do with the lighting conditions just before the picture is taken. In low light conditions, where a flash is necessary, your pupils are wide open. Then when the flash goes off, your pupils do not have chance to close down to adjust to the brighter light, and the flash light is reflected off your retinas, which is red eye. Red eye is a picture of a person's retinas.

The best way to avoid it is to have photographs made in a fairly bright room, or look at a bright light right before the picture is made, in order to close down your pupils before the flash goes off.
posted by Nicholas West at 1:38 PM on May 2, 2006

The photographer should move his flash off camera (via a flash bracket, remote flash sync, or sync cable), should bounce his flash, or should use the (less-than-perfect) red eye reduction feature of his flash. Option three is the worst, but unless you have an SLR with hot-shoe flash, it's the only option. And, as the others have said, shrink your pupils before the shot by looking at a bright light (which is exactly what the in-camera red-eye-reduction tries to do).

You shouldn't really be doing anything, though, the photographer should. Which, I know, is unlikely if we are talking about snapshots, but such is life.
posted by teece at 2:49 PM on May 2, 2006

If you're drunk, tired, or your response time is slower, then red-eye happens more often because like what Nicholas West said, your pupils don't close fast enough.

So, I guess -- don't be too tipsy, or tired when you get your photo taken?
posted by provolot at 4:33 PM on May 2, 2006