The most common problems caused by the built-in flash found in many of today’s digital cameras is Red Eye and Flash Hot spots.

At one time or another, you may have taken a group photograph of friends. This may be a once in a life time opportunity, maybe to capture a very special moment that may not present itself again for a long time. You frame your friends all happy and smiling, you press the shutter, the flash fires. You look in your preview and the image looks great. “Fantastic!” you say. Later that night you download your images onto your computer and then disaster hits. Your special friends with the smiles have fiery Demon eyes and very pale foreheads. “Oh no, I was going to print these out for my buddies but they look like they have just come out of a scene from a horror movie!”

Don’t Panic!! Using Paint Shop Pro X2, there are certain simple editing routines that can be undertaken to save your special moments. In this article, we will learn how to eliminate Red Eye and reduce Flash hot spots.

Red Eye is a common problem which is caused by light reflecting from the back of the eye’s retina. In PSP X2 there are 2 ways in which to remove Red Eye.

To Remove Red Eye Quickly.

1. On the Tools toolbar, select the Red Eye tool.
2. On the tools options palette, adjust the size control so it’s about twice the size of the red area needing correction.
3. Position the cursor directly over the eye and click. Remember to zoom in close for better control of the Red Eye tool. Refer to Figure 1 & 2

Tip: An easy way to resize the cursor is to hold down the Alt key whilst dragging the Red Eye tool over the eye area. It’s that easy. However there is a more advanced method of correcting Red Eye. This routine involves experimentation and trials to achieve maximum results.

Advanced Red Eye Removal

Select Adjust>Red Eye Removal from the pull down menu. Figure 1.
Zoom in close to the eyes you want to adjust.
Choose a colour variation option from the Hue and Colour drop-lists.

You can choose various automated adjustments methods such as: Auto Human Eye, Auto Animal Eye, Freehand Pupil Outline and Point-to-Point Pupil Outline. As you can see in Figure 2, I chose Freehand Pupil outline so I could control the area of correction. For all the other options, start with what I have suggested in Figure 2 and then try variations to see the results of your adjustments.

The Before and After windows will allow you to easily identify the areas in which you would like to adjust. Click OK.

I personally like this method even though the Red Eye tool is quick and quite adequate for everyday snap shots. You can change the colour of eyes easily this way too. The choice is yours either way.

Removing Flash hot spots.

To remove the Hot spots from the image, I chose to use the Remove facial blemishes. Keep in mind that if too much flash permeates your subjects face, it is very difficult to correct. Once you have lost colour pixels you face an uphill battle to turn things around. In our case the Hot spots aren’t severe and can be easily fixed.

To remove Facial Flash Hot Spots.

1. On the Tools toolbar, choose the Makeover tool.
2. On the Tool Options palette, choose the Blemish Fixer mode.
3. On the Tool Options palette, adjust the Size control to the smallest size that allows the inner circle to enclose the blemish. The outer circle is for the material used to cover the blemish.
4. On the Tool Options palette, adjust the Strength control. Values range from 1 to 100. Higher values apply more of the source material (enclosed in the outer circle) to the blemish area (enclosed in the inner circle).
5. Click directly over the blemish.

To finish the job I whitened the teeth using the makeover tool with the tooth brush option. I then colour adjusted the image, softened the overall scene and I now have a much acceptable photograph to send to my friends.

It’s that easy using Paint Shop Pro X2. Remember to enjoy your photography and have fun at the same time.

Entry was posted on Friday, May 16th, 2008 at 2:48 pm under Paint Shop Pro, Tutorials.  Print This Post