Image: www.photo-works.net
As the holidays’ approach and families get together, photos will be taken. In many of those photos, the subjects will appear to have one or both eyes show red.
Red-eye in photos is caused by light reflecting off of the retina. The retina is a layer of tissue in the back of the eye that senses light. Generally, it happens in low-light conditions when a flash is used.
People with light-colored eyes tend to get red-eye more often. The reason is the amount of melanin a person has. A person with high melanin levels tend to have dark eyes and skin that absorb more light.
Can you prevent redeye in a photo?
- Tell your subjects not to look directly at the camera.
- If possible make the room brighter.
- Turn on the anti-red eye function or preflash, if your camera has this feature.
- Move the flash and the lens further apart if possible.
- Make sure your subjects aren’t drunk. Alcohol slows response time, this applies to the eye responding to the flash.
When using digital photography, there are ways to fix red-eye in photos by using photo editing software and apps, like Photoshop. It is made relatively easy to do. Many android and iPhones have photo editing apps built into your gallery to fix photos.
In most cases red-eye in photos means nothing. There have been cases noted of redeye in photos being a tip-off to other issues.
A common condition that can cause red eye is Strabismus, which is when both eyes don’t work in sync. Only one eye will appear red in this case since both eyes will not be looking at the same point when the flash happens.
So if you notice a single person with a red-eye in many photos, more than other people it may be good to mention this to them. If the eyes are looking more white or yellow than red it could indicate something more serious. You can put your mind at ease, schedule an eye exam to determine if it is a serious condition or just bad lighting?
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Sources:
www.defianceoptometricgroup.com