|
||
 |
||
|
| Red-Eyed Monsters |
 Email This
 Print ThisView My Personal Library |
|
Digital Camera Tips & How-To November 2001 • Vol.7 Issue 11 Page(s) 53-54 in print issue |
Red-Eyed Monsters Restore The Genuine Eye Color Of Your Subjects | ||
 No matter how experienced a photographer you are, red-eye is bound to appear in your photos sooner or later. Imagine this: You capture what would otherwise be the perfect shot, including a great setting, wonderful composition, and nicely arranged subjects, only to have it marred by glowing red eyes that turn the angel of the family into the devil. The dreaded red-eye pops up in all sorts of photographs, especially digital images. Red-eye can be more prevalent when taking pictures with digital cameras because the cameras are often designed so the flash is mounted close to the lens. But the good news is that because the output is in a digital format, it's relatively easy to manipulate the photos and get the red out. And in some cases, it only takes slightly longer than it would take to blink your eyes. Now, if you don't want to fiddle with image-editing software, the best thing to do is to avoid red-eye in the first place. Red-eye occurs because of dilated pupils. When pupils are dilated, the light reflects more easily off the blood vessels in the retinas of the eyes. The smaller the pupils are, the better. Therefore, one of the best ways to avoid this problem is to have people and pets looking into strong light, but this cure results in squinty-eyed subjects and can be worse than the red-eye disease. Or, you could use one of the features on your camera. Some digital cameras, such as the popular Canon PowerShot A20/A10 line, have a red-eye-reduction feature, which is often a button you push that generates a pre-flash. This pre-flash sends out a small burst of light before the main flash, so that the eyes are prepared when the main flash goes off. But this sometimes causes people to blink, and that's even tougher to fix than red-eye in a photograph.  The Photo-Editing Route. If you did your best to avoid red-eye but still end up seeing it in your photographs, it's not a problem because you can remedy it in several ways. Until recently, just about the only option was to open up a handy image-editing application and take out the red manually. For example, all Windows users have Microsoft Paint at their disposal. To see how it works, open the Start menu, and select Programs, Accessories, and Paint. This displays a drawing tool that also permits you to work with black-and-white or color photographs. Just highlight the affected area and use some sort of paintbrush tool to cover the red with the desired shade. Basic image-editing software that came with your camera equipment or scanner probably also lets you do the same thing, but this is an extremely crude method, and you're much better off using a tool that was created specifically for eliminating red-eye. A number of image-editing programs have recently introduced automated tools that will take care of this problem. Check the Help file of your image editor. If you don't see any information about a red-eye-reduction feature, we recommend that you look at the following programs and online photo-editing sites. Corel PHOTO-PAINT 10. As a well-respected name in digital imaging, Corel offers Corel PHOTO-PAINT 10 as part of the CorelDRAW 10 Graphics Suite, which also includes CorelDRAW 10 and Corel R.A.V.E. ($509 download, $549.99 full version, $239.99 upgrade; http://www.corel.com). PHOTO-PAINT 10 now includes a red-eye removal tool the simplifies image editing. (But don't bother looking for it in earlier versions of the software; it wasn't available until recently.) To use this feature, you must first open the photograph you want to adjust and define the editable area of the image. Then, go to the Effects menu, choose Color Transform, and select Red-eye Removal. You'll receive a prompt to open the Replace Color palette. Click a color, click OK, and you'll see baby blue, smoky green, midnight black, or another color where the red used to be. PHOTO-PAINT 10 also includes an Eyedropper tool that you can use to remove red-eye. For more information about this feature, consult the Help file.
Jasc Paint Shop Pro 7. If you've yet to discover this relatively inexpensive, yet powerful image editor, you're in luck. Jasc Software offers free 30-day trials of all its software, including the latest version of Paint Shop Pro, 7 ($99; http://www.jasc.com/products/psp). On the photo-editing side (it also has animation and Web graphics capabilities), its retouch and repair features now include automatic color balance adjustment and a scratch removal tool. Plus, its red-eye removal tool is one of the most sophisticated we've seen. For one thing, it has both an automatic tool, where you can automatically select the correction area and then adjust it later, and a manual tool that gives you more control over the area you select. In addition, Paint Shop Pro 7 differentiates between human and animal eyes for even more precise editing. Start by opening the target image and making sure that it doesn't contain any selections. Then, go to the Red-eye Removal Dialog Box via the Effects, Enhance Photo menu listing. (Red-eye Removal is the last selection.) Here, you'll see a Method drop-down menu, with a default value of Auto Human Eye. To best see how this tool works, we recommend that you leave the default value or choose Auto Animal Eye. Use the Zoom button if you want a closer look. Next, in the left preview box, click anywhere inside the red area of the eye. If you're correcting a human eye, preview it in the right preview box to see if you need to add an iris (animals typically don't need this corrective step). Then, experiment with the various settings. Choose a hue (gray, aqua, violet, etc.) and a color (this will determine darkness), and then adjust the pupil lightness, iris size, and other options. Click OK. If you don't like what you see, you can always go back and change the settings. Because this tool is so sophisticated, including freehand and point-to-point tools that work well with difficult eyes, such as those that are only partially open, we recommend you spend some time trying out the different settings. For more information, be sure to consult the Help file. MGI PhotoSuite 4 Platinum Edition. MGI Software focuses on creating software and infrastructure for the digital imaging world, so you've probably run into its products already. And if you are using the PhotoSuite 4 Platinum Edition software ($49.95; http://www.mgisoft.com/products/photosuite) to work with digital photos, you can take advantage of a range of touchup tools, including its red-eye function. To get started, click the Remove Red-eye button on the Activity Panel. Click the magnifier icon with the plus sign (+) to zoom in on one of the subject's eyes until you begin to see the edges of the red circles. The circular mouse pointer is your brush; adjust its size to between one and 128 pixels wide using the slider in step 2 of the Activity Panel. Smaller brushes tend to be better for accuracy, but the idea is that you can size the brush to fit the eyes in your photos. Line up the brush with the red part of an eye and click. This applies a translucent patch of greenish-blue that should neutralize the red. If you did not get all the red out, carefully repeat the process, zooming in closer and using a smaller brush to cover the remaining red areas. Microsoft PictureIt! Photo 2001. It's no surprise that Microsoft PictureIt! Photo 2001 ($54.95; http://pictureitproducts.msn.com), one of the top-selling photo-editing packages, has numerous color-correction tools. Along with Automatic Fix, which adjusts the photo tint, and White Point Selection, which relies on a white reference point in the photo to adjust other colors automatically, you'll find the red-eye correction touchup. To use the tool, make sure the photograph you wish to adjust is open on-screen. In the Picture Options list, select Touchup. Then, click the red-eye correction option and follow the on-screen instructions. Other Software & Online Options. Other software packages that feature red-eye correction tools are Adobe PhotoDeluxe Home Edition 4.0 ($49; http://www.adobe.com/products/photodeluxe) and ACDSee 3.1 ($49.95; http://www.acdsystems.com/english/products/acdsee/acdsee310.htm), an image viewer and browser that works with almost any image editor on the market today.
Shutterfly is a service that handles everything after you take your photographs. You register with the site, send film to the service (in postage-paid envelopes), and view your pictures on your personal Shutterfly page. And once they're there, you can crop them, add borders, include antique effects, and more. To fix red-eye, click the appropriately named Fix tab. Click the particular photo you want to work with, and a box appears with editing tools. Follow the three-step instructions for fixing red-eye. You can save or cancel the changes, and then display the finished photo for the world to see. Parting Shots. Clearly, digital cameras are changing the world of photography. Editing photographs is easier than ever before, and eliminating red-eye is just one of many enhancements users are taking advantage of today. For other tips about improving your photographs with image-editing applications, see "The Art Of Retouching Photos" on page 67 in this issue.  by Heidi V. Anderson |
|
Home Copyright & Legal Information Privacy Policy Site Map Contact Us