Glowing pet eyes - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

01/03/2007 12:19:09 PM · #1

I love to take snapshots of my pets and I often need a flash. Even when I use a redeye flash I usually get glowing eyes. Although I can often fix redeyes in humans, I cannot seem to create realistic non-glowing eyes in my pets. I the problem is primarily that if I just paint the pupils black there's no depth or reflection like there would naturally be, but when I try to paint in reflections, etc, it looks even stupider. A secondary, but less troublesome, problem is that the glowing pupils often bleed blueish glow into the rest of the eye.

Does anyone have a technique that works for fixing this problem?

violinist123

Canon EOS-6D

01/03/2007 12:20:13 PM · #2

Aim your flash up.

bassbone

Nikon Z8

Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-120 f/4 S

01/03/2007 12:21:56 PM · #3

I would recommend buying a flash instead of relying on the on-camera flash. On-camera flashes are infamous for this (the flash is too close to the lens). You should be able to buy a decent one for your hotshoe for not too much money.

Message edited by author 2007-01-03 12:22:18.

01/03/2007 12:25:21 PM · #4

The flash on my SLR isn't really what I'm talking about (although I DO need to get a flash for that, too) - I'm mainly talking about my P&S, which is generally sitting on the coffee table for moments like: "Look, the cat is actually laying on the dog like he's a cat bed... quick, take a picture before he stands up." I don't have time to turn on other lights or hook up an external flash (and I can't aim the flash differently). Basically, I'm hoping for a PS-esque editing fix to this problem.

Valdo

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

01/03/2007 12:30:26 PM · #5

What about painting the eyes using another layer set for "color"? That way you will keep the reflections that are there already.

Theres a good tutorial from Cindi about that if you need more help.

strangeghost

Canon EOS-7D

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

01/03/2007 12:39:41 PM · #6

Is there an echo in here?

Brad

Olympus OM-D E-M1

Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO M.Zuiko

01/03/2007 12:45:43 PM · #7

Fixing Demonic Pet Eyes
How to Fix Pet Eye in Your Photos
Demoneye Remover at atncentral

hankk

Canon EOS-5D

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX Aspherical DF for Canon

01/03/2007 12:46:09 PM · #8

Try selecting around the pupil, then convert to monochrome (Black & White). This way, you get rid of the red but keep the catchlights. Not sure how it looks on animal eyes, you may have to play with levels or curves.

01/03/2007 01:06:44 PM · #9

the purchase of my SB600 to able me to bounce the flash, was worth every penny as I haven't had any (unintentional) red-eyes in my pets since....

Sigma 15-30mm f/3.5-4.5 EX Aspherical DG DF for Minolta

01/03/2007 02:48:47 PM · #10

Thanks for the suggestions... It looks like, since getting a different flash is not an option here, no one really has any better solution than what I've already been doing (painting the eye black and then trying to manually add reflections). Bummer.

(Converting to monochrome doesn't work any better, btw, b/c the glow is still there, just bright white.)

If anyone comes up with any other solutions, please let me know. My demonic-looking pets appreciate it :)

Message edited by author 2007-01-03 14:50:29.

MrEd

Sony DSLR-A100

01/03/2007 02:53:52 PM · #11

Redeye is caused by the reflection on the flash back into the lens off the pupil. 'Redeye reduction' actually fires the flash before the shot to cause the person/animal's to contract, thus reducing redeyes. How about putting something in front of the flash to diffuse it? I never tried that with mine, but it seems like it might work (theoretically speaking).

01/03/2007 02:55:01 PM · #12

edited: pictures removed as they are not-applicable and not appreciated.

Message edited by author 2007-01-03 15:00:33.

01/03/2007 02:57:54 PM · #13

(response to deleted post, mentioning that I cannot add an external flash to this camera, removed - see below)

Message edited by author 2007-01-03 15:13:33.

01/03/2007 02:58:44 PM · #14

ok point taken, I was just playing....
s'cuse me..

01/03/2007 03:00:16 PM · #15

I wasn't trying to be grumpy or anything, just reiterating that I am looking for an editing solution to tame the crazy-eyed beasts.

Edited to add:

Originally posted by dassilem:

edited: pictures removed as they are not-applicable and not appreciated.

Well, I'm not sure why you're offended, because your pictures were appreciated, I was just trying to steer the conversation back in the direction I was interested in.

If anyone wants to post pictures of their redeyed or corrected pets I'm always happy to look at pet pictures.

Message edited by author 2007-01-03 15:09:44.