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How to remove red eye from a photo

Beginner3 minutesUpdated

Quick answer

In Lil Cactus, choose Layer then Duplicate Layer, then right-click the retouching tools in the left toolbar and choose Red Eye. Start with Pupil size 50% and Darken 50%, then zoom in and drag a tight box around just the red disk in each pupil. Choose File then Export then JPEG… for a finished copy.

A flash portrait before and after correction: the two red pupils become dark after tightly targeted correction
Both pupils are dark again; the brown irises and the white reflections are kept. Drag the handle to compare.
Time
3 minutes
Level
Beginner
You need
A flash photo with visibly red pupils
Works with
Any unlocked RGB (red, green and blue) photo layer
Open the sample in Lil CactusUse your own photo

Free, no sign-up. Your photo stays on your computer.

Red eye is the red reflection that flash can leave in a pupil, the dark center of the eye. Correct that reflection rather than painting a black dot over the whole eye: keep the colored iris, eyelids and small bright reflections, called catchlights, visible.

The Red Eye tool searches inside the area you draw for a connected red patch and darkens it. It changes the photo layer directly, so use a duplicate to keep the original available.

Remove red eye in five steps

  1. Open the photo and duplicate its layer

    Choose File then Open… and open your photo, or use the sample from this page. Then choose Layer then Duplicate Layer. In the sample, Background copy appears above Background in the Layers panel. Keep the copy selected.

    The Layers panel showing the selected Background copy above Background
    Repair the copy; the original stays on the layer below.

  2. Zoom in and choose Red Eye

    Choose View then Zoom In until the eyes fill the window (about 400%). Then right-click the retouching tools’ button in the left toolbar, initially the Clone Stamp, and choose Red Eye. The options bar below the menus shows Pupil size and Darken, both 50% by default. Leave those values for the sample.

    The left toolbar’s retouching button and the complete retouching flyout, with the toolbar button and Red Eye ringed
    Red Eye shares the retouching tools’ toolbar button.
    The Red Eye options bar showing Pupil size 50% and Darken 50%
    Start with Pupil size 50% and Darken 50%.

  3. Draw a tight box around each red pupil

    Hold the space bar and drag the picture until one pupil is in view.

    Drag a small rectangle around the red disk itself. Start at its upper-left edge and release at its lower-right edge, leaving only a thin margin around the red. Keep the brown iris outside the box as far as you can. The tiny bright reflection stays inside it. Release to apply, then pan to the second eye and repeat.

    Use the close-up as your guide: the box follows the red pupil, not the eyelids or the white of the eye.

    An enlarged red pupil with the tool’s dashed rectangle fitted closely around the red disk
    Draw around the red disk itself, with only a thin margin.

  4. Check the pupils and refine a repair if needed

    The sample’s pupils are now dark; the brown irises and the small bright catchlights remain. Choose View then Fit on Screen to judge the whole portrait as well as the close-up.

    If a repair needs changing, choose Edit then Undo, change a setting, then draw the pupil box again. Changing the options after a repair affects the next repair; it does not revise the repair already made. Undo removes the most recent eye repair first.

    The two eyes after correction, with dark pupils, visible brown irises and bright catchlights
    Both pupils after the tight-box repairs.
    Enlarged corrected pupil with a smooth dark boundary, a visible brown iris and a bright catchlight
    Check the pupil boundary and the brown iris at high zoom.

  5. Save a finished copy or keep both layers

    Choose File then Export then JPEG… and click Export for a new finished photo. To keep the repaired layer and the original, choose File then Save As then Lil Cactus Project…; after that, File then Save updates the project.

    File then Save on the opened JPEG writes a flat picture in that format. Its first Save opens Save Image. Export and an editable project serve different purposes: one is a picture to share, the other keeps the two layers.

Clicking a pupil instead of drawing a box

You can also click a red pupil with Red Eye. A click searches a neighborhood around the pointer; a box defines the area you draw. On the sample, a click at the default settings includes some brown iris and leaves a ragged dark edge, so use the tight pupil boxes above.

If the options bar says No red pupil found. Target the red part of one eye more closely., check that your box includes the red disk and is centered on it. Do not enclose the whole face.

What Pupil size and Darken change

SettingWhen to change it
Pupil sizeRaise it if red remains inside the box. Lower it if the dark area reaches too far into the iris. Red outside the box needs a slightly wider box.
DarkenRaise it if the corrected pupil looks too pale. Lower it if it looks unnaturally black.

Undo the affected repair before trying a different value. Change one setting at a time so you can see which one helps.

Fix common problems

The cursor will not repair the eye

Select the photo’s thumbnail in the Layers panel, not a mask thumbnail or an adjustment layer. The tool needs an unlocked RGB (red, green and blue) photo layer. The JPEG sample already meets these conditions.

The inner corner or nearby skin changed

Undo, then drag a tighter box around only the red pupil. Do not include a red lip or a large patch of warm skin.

One eye is corrected and the other is still red

Draw a box around the second red pupil. The tool repairs one connected red patch per gesture, so a single click is not a whole-photo correction.

A bright white or green reflection remains

This tool targets red reflections. It does not provide a separate pet-eye mode.

What to do next

Coming from another editor

Photoshop
The Red Eye tool is grouped with the Spot Healing Brush in the toolbar; its options bar has Pupil Size and Darken Amount.

Red-eye correction: questions and answers

Can I remove red eye automatically from the whole photo?

No. In Lil Cactus, the Red Eye tool repairs one pupil at a time. Draw a tight box around each red pupil; a click is also available when it targets the pupil cleanly.

What settings should I use to remove red eye?

In Lil Cactus, start with Pupil size 50% and Darken 50%. If red remains inside the box, undo and raise Pupil size; if the result is too black, undo and lower Darken before trying again.

Does red-eye correction change the iris color?

It can. In Lil Cactus, a repair can darken warm brown iris pixels when they join the red target. Draw a tight box around the red pupil and undo a repair that spreads into the iris.

Can I change a Red Eye repair after applying it?

Yes, while its history is available: in Lil Cactus, undo the repair, adjust the tool and repeat it. Save a project with the duplicate and original layers if you want to keep both versions.

Can the Red Eye tool correct green pet eyes?

No. Lil Cactus’s Red Eye tool looks for red pixels and has no separate pet-eye mode.

Is my portrait uploaded for red-eye correction?

No. Lil Cactus repairs the pixels in your browser on your own device.

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