Why do our eyes turn red on pictures with flash?

Question

you know.. the 'red-eye'... gosh. i hate that...

Answer 1

Nope, flash does not cause red eyes. Photographers turn on flash when taking pictures in low light condition. At the low light condition, pupils open widely, thus we see red eyes in pictures.

Some latest version of both film and digital have red-eye reduction function. This function are actually the pre-flash bust to make your pupils to close smaller, then the cameras will take pictures.

If you don't believe that flashes do not cause red eyes in pictures, you can turn off flash and take pictures at low light condition by setting shutter speed longer, you still see red eyes.

Answer 2

Between Barry B and SA you have a pretty good answer. That is why most better film camera flash units and most all digital cameras have a red eye flash setting. This setting fires a short burst of low level flash (to adjust the pupil of the subject) just before the full flash comes on as the shutter opens.
Dogs, by the way, almost always have extreme red eye with normal flash, but can be photographed quite well with the use of the red eye setting.

Answer 3

Actually, it's largely the fault of the camera. The flash is too close to the lens. Red Eye rarely occurs with professionals because their flash system is sufficiently far away from the lens. Back in the dark ages of photography (the 1970s) camera makers came out with an attachment that raised the flash cube sufficiently above the lens to combat red eye.

If you're using a 35 mm, detach the flash or invest in a larger flash unit. If you're using a digital, check your manual to find the red eye reduction setting. If most of your portrait type photos are taken inside, try taping a small piece of white cardboard above the lens and below the flash. The idea is to "bounce" the flash off the ceiling.

Answer 4

the settings on your digital camera should have a red eye setting. Which means there will be a longer flash but sometimes that gets rid of red eye. If it doesn't, basic software that usually comes with your camera, will have an edit option where you can get rid of red eye. Turning the flash off gets rid of red eye as well but the picture usually turns out blurry if there isn't enough light

Answer 5

It's caused by light reflecting off the back of your eyeball. It is almost impossible to avoid with point and shoot cameras since their flash is located so close to the lens opening. Pre-flash may help since it should cause the iris in the eyes of the person being photographed to close somewhat. But pre-flash might also cause the subject to blink!

The best way to avoid it, other than not using flash at all, is to get an auxiliary flash (if your camera has a hot shoe and can accept one). That way the flash head is farther from the lens and isn't in a direct line to the subject's eyes.

If you have a lot of shots with red-eye in them, you can remove it in Photoshop...or some other image editor.

Answer 6

Causes of red-eye
The light of the flash occurs too fast for the iris of the eye to close the pupil. Light is focused onto the blood-rich retina at the back of the eye and the image of the illuminated retina is transmitted to the camera resulting in the red appearance of the eye on the photo. (This principle is used in the ophthalmoscope, a device designed to examine the retina.)

The effect is generally more pronounced in people with grey or blue eyes and in children. This is because pale irises have less melanin in them and so allow more light to pass through to the retina. Children, despite superficial appearances, do not have larger pupils but their pupils are more reactive to light and are able to open to the fullest extent in low light conditions.

In many species the tapetum lucidum, a light-reflecting layer behind the retina which improves night vision, intensifies this effect. This leads to variations in the colour of the reflected light from species to species. Cats, for example, display blue, yellow, pink, or green eyes in flash photographs.

Answer 7

Interesting, it happens on a lot of animals too! Dogs commonly have silver, white, blue or green depending on breed.

As to human red-eye, the software I use to download my pics from the camera (Adobe Elements) automatically detects and corrects the red-eye, as it can be done in software on a pc.

Answer 8

It's the reflection of the light off your pupils. If you have large pupils, you'll have red eye more often

Answer 9

Have you ever tried using Eye Floaters No More mechanism. Start here : http://EyeFloaters.NatureHomeCure.com . This might absolutely support everyone!

Answer 10

check the manuel find the red eye reduction button