How Does Red-Eye Reduction Work?

What Is Red-Eye?

Red-eye happens when the iris of your subject's eye is fully open in order to see well in a dark environment. The camera flash reflects off the back of the eye and its blood-rich retina. This causes a disturbing red glow in the center of the subject's eye in the resulting photo.

The Pre-Flash

The iris is the opening in the eye that lets in light; it is smaller when there is lots of light and larger in dim light. The red-eye reduction feature of a camera sets off a series of small, quick flashes before taking the actual photo. These "pre-flashes" causes the subject's iris to close up reflexively.

When Red-Eye Reduction Doesn't Work

Red-eye reduction modes on cameras are often not enough to completely solve the problem. To completely avoid red-eye, don't take photos with the subject looking directly into the camera. Have the subject look slightly away, or stand at a slight angle to the subject. Standing closer to the subject can also reduce red-eye.

Resources

• How Canon Solves Red-Eye

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on 1/7/2009 I didn't know how this worked, thank you! Interesting! 5*s!