How to Manually Remove Red Eye in Photoshop CC 2019

Different ways to get rid of red eyes in Photoshop 2019

The Tree Frog image on the left shows the Red Eye Tool and the Tool Options. The image on the right shows the use of layers.
Red Eye removal in Photoshop can be reduced to a single click or fixed using filters and blend modes.
by Sue Chastain
Sue Chastain is a former freelance contributor to Lifewire and a graphics software authority with web design and print publishing credentials.
Updated September 07, 2019

Sometimes when you take a photo of someone with a flash, the light from the flash enters through the subject's pupil and is reflected by the blood vessels at the back of the retina. As a result, their eyes appear to glow red. Thankfully, there are a few ways to remove red eyes in Photoshop.

Instructions in this article apply to Photoshop CC 2019 for Mac and Windows.

How to Use the Red Eye Tool in Photoshop 

To quickly remove red eyes in photos:

  1. Open the photo and zoom in on the red eyes.

    Open the photo and zoom in on the red eyes.

  2. Click and hold the Healing Brush tool and select Red Eye Tool at the bottom of the list.

    Click and hold the Healing Brush tool and select Red Eye Tool at the bottom of the list.

  3. Click on the reds eyes and watch them turn to normal.

Increase the Pupil Size in the tool options bar to widen the area the tool will be applied to. Adjust the Darken Amount to lighten or darken the result.

Click on the reds eyes and watch them turn to normal.

How to Manually Remove Red Eyes in Photoshop

If you want more control over how the final result looks, you can also remove red eyes manually:

  1. Open the photo and zoom in on the red eyes.

    Open the photo and zoom in on the red eyes.

  2. Click and hold the Eyedropper tool and select Color Sampler Tool.

    Click and hold the Eyedropper tool and select Color Sampler Tool.

  3. Click on an area of the iris where you can see a hint of the natural color.

    Click on an area of the iris where you can see a hint of the natural color.

  4. Click and hold the Brush tool and select Color Replacement Tool.

    Click and hold the Brush tool and select Color Replacement Tool.

  5. Paint over the red parts of the eyes.

    Use the eraser tool to clean up any overspray from painting outside the iris. If you want to darken the pupil area, use the Photoshop Burn tool.

    Paint over the red parts of the eyes.

  6. Select Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur.

    Select Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur.

  7. Set the Radius to 1 pixel and select OK to soften the edges of the painted area on the layer.

    Set the Radius to 1 pixel and select OK to soften the edges of the painted area on the layer.

Once satisfied with the result, you can save the file as a PSD file or in your preferred image format.

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