Digital Darkroom Questions (DDQ)
June 26, 2008
by Tim Grey
www.timgrey.com
tim@timgrey.com
Books: www.timgrey.com/books/index.htm
Blog: www.timgrey.com/blog
Question:
The red-eye repair tool in PS works great, but many animals have green eyes when photographed with flash. The red-eye tool doesn't seem to work on those. Is there an equally quick fix for those?
Answer:
Perhaps not equally fix as it generally involves two stages, but there is a quick fix.
The first step is to neutralize the unwanted color (green in this case, though this would work for red eyes or any other color for that matter). Start by holding the Alt/Option key and clicking the Create a New Layer button (the blank sheet of paper icon) at the bottom of the Layers palette. In the New Layer dialog box enter a meaningful name for this layer in the Name field (perhaps "Eye Color Fix") and set the Mode to Color, then click OK. Select the Brush tool (you can simply press B to activate it), and on the Options bar click the dropdown for the Brush and set the Hardness to 0%. Put your mouse over the eye area that needs to be fixed (zoom in as needed) and use the [ and ] keys to reduce or increase the size or the brush. Make sure black is set as the foreground color (press D for the defaults of black and white, and then X if needed to swap foreground and background colors to set black as the foreground color). Paint in the area you need to neutralize (the green area of the pupil in this case).
At this point you've resolved the color issue, but the eyes probably look to bright. We'll solve this in a very similar way, but on a different layer. So, hold the Alt/Option key and click the Create a New Layer button again. Give this one another name (such as "Darken Eyes") and set the Mode to Overlay, then click OK. Reduce the Opacity on the Options bar (still using the Brush tool) to about 20%. Paint over the pupils to darken them. You may need to paint multiple times to adequately darken the pupils, but I suggest zooming out after each application of painting to get a better sense of the effect. Then, if needed, zoom in again and paint more to darken. Be sure to paint the entire pupil area completely with each painting application, so you'll ensure an even covering of the area.
With these two methods combined you can remove the color of the eyes and then darken to the extent necessary. The same process will work to neutralize any color cast affecting the eyes of any subject.
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