How many times have we happened to make beautiful shots of people in groups or alone in the foreground and find ourselves with the unpleasant red-eye effect, despite using a smartphone or a recent camera.
The red-eye effect is a particular optical aberration due to the flash of the device in which the light reflects on the cornea of the subject or subjects, thus causing a coloration of the pupil (which turns red).
The higher the flash output and the shorter the shooting distance, the greater the chance that the photos taken will present the problem.
But let's not despair: in this guide we will show you how to remove red eyes from photos using some free programs for Windows and some free apps for Android and iOS.
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How to remove red eyes from photos on PC
We downloaded the photos taken on the PC hard drive or prefer to use the mouse as a precision tool when retouching photos "> GIMP.
This program closely resembles Photoshop but is free so it can be used without limits or without having to resort to crack or other illegal methods to activate copies of the Adobe program (which we remember costs several thousand euros).
Once GIMP is installed on the PC, open it and click on the top left on File -> Open to open the photo with the red-eye effect.
Now all we have to do is open the plugin built into GIMP to remove red eyes; we can find it in the path Filters -> Improvement -> Red-eye removal .
In the window that we will see open, modify the threshold value and check in the preview to see if the result is the desired one, then click OK.
If it is not possible to remove the red-eye effect automatically, we can help the plugin by enlarging the photograph and drawing a selection circle around the two eyes, so that the filter can be applied effectively.
To zoom on the photo, simply use the button at the bottom (with the zoom expressed in percentages) and use the Elliptical Selection tool.
We draw a circle around the eyes with the unwelcome effect and relaunch the Red Eye Removal plugin as previously seen to permanently remove the defect.
2) Paint.NET
In addition to GIMP you can use another free program only on Windows to remove red eyes: Paint.NET, downloadable from here -> Pain.NET .
We download the program and start it on Windows, then we use the menu File -> Open to open the photo with the red eyes inside the program.
Now to remove the annoying effect, just use the Red-eye removal plugin, present in the Effects menu -> Photos .
A new window will open where you can indicate the intensity of the correction effect, then just click OK to apply it to the photo.
If it is not possible to automatically correct the red-eye effect with the plugin only, we will have to manually select the individual eyes to be corrected by enlarging the photo (the zoom is present as a sliding bar at the bottom right) and using the Elliptical Selection tool, as indicated in the image below.
Now we select all the eyes to be corrected and reapply the Red Eye Removal plugin, which will now be extremely more effective than the automatic correction.
3) Photofiltre
Among the free photo editing programs that you can try on Windows is also available Photofiltre, downloadable from here -> Photofiltre .
With this program we can quickly remove red eyes using the external plugin available for download from here -> Red Eye Removal Photofiltre .
We copy the plugin into the Plug-ins folder present in the installation folder of the program, so as to obtain an integrated tool to remove red eyes without any problem.
Now that the plugin is integrated, let's zoom in on the photo inside the program, use the Ellipse tool to circle the red eyes and activate the Remove red eyes plugin in the Filter -> Plug- in menu.
We select the action threshold and check in the preview the desired effect, so that we can get the result as close as possible to the color of the pupils.
How to remove red eyes from photos on Android and iOS
If we want to remove the red-eye effect on photographs taken with our Android or iOS smartphone, here are the best apps that you can use for free to correct photos effectively without having to go through the PC every time.
1) Adobe Photoshop Express
A version of Adobe Photoshop with reduced functionality is available on portable devices, ideal for small changes and retouches such as red-eye removal.
By installing this app we will be able to immediately upload all the photos in the gallery of the portable device and use the Remove red-eye filter (button at the bottom of the eye-shaped toolbar) to get a good result completely automatically, just tap on the screen where there are red eyes (we can help with zooming using the two fingers on the screen and spreading them to zoom in).
We can download this app for free from here -> Adobe Photoshop Express (Android) and Adobe Photoshop Express (iOS).
2) Pixlr
Another app that you can use to correct red eyes from photos on your smartphone or tablet is Pixlr.
Pixlr is a very simple free app to use to correct, touch up and add new graphic effects to photos in a few simple touches on the screen.
To correct the red-eye effect, simply open the offending photograph, tap on the menu at the bottom left (Tools) and finally use the Red-Eye plugin to remove the unpleasant effect.
We can download Pixlr for free from here -> Pixlr (Android) and Pixlr (iOS).
To know other photo editing apps for mobile devices, we refer you to reading the specific guide so as to discover other apps to edit and correct photos.
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