How to Remove Red Eye from Photos

Why Flash Causes Red Eye (And How to Fix It)

Red eye happens when your camera flash bounces off the blood vessels at the back of the retina. It shows up most in dim lighting when pupils are wide open. The result is that demonic red glow that ruins otherwise great photos. Traditional editors make you manually paint over each pupil, which is tedious and often looks unnatural. AI fixes red eye by detecting the affected pupils and restoring a realistic iris color and pupil detail automatically.

When You Need Red Eye Removal

Indoor party photos with flash are the most common culprit, but red eye also appears in holiday group shots, pet portraits (where it shows as green or yellow eye-shine), and childhood photos taken with older cameras. If you're going through old family albums, you'll find red eye in almost every flash photo from the 1990s and 2000s.

How AI Red Eye Correction Works

The AI scans the photo for circular red highlights in the eye area. It distinguishes between actual red eye caused by flash and intentionally red elements like clothing or makeup. Once detected, it replaces the red glow with a natural-looking dark pupil and restores iris texture so the fix blends seamlessly. It works on multiple faces in a single photo, so group shots are handled in one pass.

Tips for Better Results

For standard red eye, a simple 'fix the red eye' prompt works perfectly. If only one person in a group has red eye, specify 'fix the red eye on the person on the left.' For pet photos with green or yellow eye-shine, try 'fix the glowing eyes on the dog.' If the AI over-corrects and makes eyes too dark, describe what you want: 'fix red eye but keep the brown iris color visible.'

Preventing Red Eye in Future Photos

Turn on your camera's red-eye reduction mode, which fires a pre-flash to constrict pupils before the real flash. Increase ambient lighting so pupils are naturally smaller. Bounce flash off a ceiling or wall instead of firing it directly. Or use night mode on modern phones, which avoids flash entirely by combining multiple exposures.