I’m a portrait expert, here’s how I avoid the red-eye effect ruining my photos

Portrait (left) showing red-eye effect, portrait (right) at 3/4 angle showing no red-eye effect on blue gradient background .

There are occasions when you really need to use flash when taking portraits, but on-camera (or pop-up) flash has a tendency to cause the red-eye effect. This is caused when the light from the flash reflects off the blood in the vessels at the back of the eye, straight back to the camera. This is why I find the best flashgun or strobe lights are so handy, I can simply angle the flash away from my subject so it bounces off a nearby surface.

But what if you only have an on-camera flash at your disposal? Thankfully, there are several ways to work around the red-eye effect, such as using a reflector, angling your subject away from the pop of flash, using a dedicated red-eye mode or fixing things in post-production.

Here's how to banish red eye from your portraits once and for all!

Angle your subject away from the flash

Ask your subject to turn their head slightly to angle their eyes away from the pop of flash and mitigate the red-eye effect (Image credit: Wendy Evans)

Consider using fill-flash, which uses less power because it’s there to fill out shadows, not provide the main illumination. Or, use one of the best reflectors off to one side to put more light back onto the subject. However, the easiest way to avoid the effect completely is to have the subject turn their head so the eyes are angled away from the camera and flash.

Use a red-eye reduction mode

This Nikon camera has a dedicated red-eye reduction option in the camera menu to reduce the effect. Most cameras with a pop-up flash will have a similar option (Image credit: Future)

Most cameras with a pop-up flash will have a red-eye reduction mode as an option. Select this in your menu settings before shooting. It works by firing a series of mini-flashes at the subject, with the aim of using the bright light to cause the subject’s iris to contract, before firing the main flash and capturing the exposure.

Try Adobe Photoshop's Red Eye Tool

Adobe Photoshop's Red Eye tool is handy if your image has already made it into post-production (Image credit: Wendy Evans)

If you need to remove the red-eye effect after the fact, you can use Adobe Photoshop's handy Red Eye tool. You simply select the tool and draw a rectangle over each affected eye in turn and Photoshop will convincingly remove the red-eye effect for you. Simple as that!

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