How to Remove Red Eye in Photos in Under 30 Seconds (Phone, Mac or PC)

Here’s how to remove red eye in photos the quick way: open the picture in an editor with a red-eye tool, select that tool, tap or click on each red pupil, and save. On a Mac, in Lightroom or in Photoshop it really does take seconds. On phones and Windows it depends on which app you’ve got, because some popular apps don’t have a red-eye tool at all, so we’ve included the workarounds too.

This guide covers iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, Lightroom and Photoshop, why red eye happens, and how to stop it appearing in the first place.

Why do people get red eyes in photos?

Red eye happens when a flash fires close to the lens in a dim room. The pupils are wide open in low light, so the burst of light goes straight in, reflects off the back of the eye (which is rich in blood vessels) and bounces back into the lens. That reflection is the red glow. Animals’ eyes reflect differently, which is why pets usually glow green, yellow or white instead, and why ordinary red-eye tools often don’t work on them.

It’s most common with small cameras and phones, where the flash sits right next to the lens, and at indoor parties, evening events and anywhere the lights are low.

Quick reference: where the red-eye tool is

App menus change with updates, so if a button has moved, look in the same general area.

How to remove red eye in photos on iPhone

1. Open the photo in the Photos app and tap Edit.
2. Look for the red-eye button at the top of the screen (an eye with a line through it).
3. Tap it, then zoom in and tap each red pupil.
4. Tap Done.

The catch is that the red-eye button doesn’t always appear. It’s typically missing on photos taken without flash, photos taken on another device or images someone sent you. If you can’t see it, use a free editor such as Adobe Photoshop Express, which has a red-eye option in its correction tools (check whether it’s a free or premium feature in the version you download). Your original is always safe in Photos: open the edited picture, tap the More button and choose Revert to Original if you don’t like the result.

How to remove red eye on Android

Samsung Galaxy phones

1. Open the photo in Gallery and tap the pencil (Edit) icon.
2. Go to Tools, then Face effects.
3. Choose Fix red eye and tap each eye.
4. Tap Done, then Save.

Google Photos and other Android phones

Google Photos doesn’t have a dedicated red-eye tool at the time of writing. Install a photo editor that does, such as Photoshop Express or Pixlr, open the photo in it, pick the red-eye tool and tap each pupil. Save a copy so your original stays untouched.

How to remove red eye in Photos on a Mac

Apple’s Photos app on the Mac has the most reliable built-in tool of the lot:

1. Double-click the photo and click Edit.
2. Click Adjust, then open the Red-eye section.
3. Click Auto. Photos will try to fix any faces it detects.
4. If some red remains, set the Size slider so the circle matches the pupil, then click each red eye.
5. Click Done.

Apple notes that this tool doesn’t work on animals’ green or yellow eye reflections.

How to remove red eye on a Windows PC

Microsoft’s current help pages for the Windows 11 Photos app list tools such as Crop, Adjustment, Filter, Markup, Erase and Background, but no dedicated red-eye tool. Some versions of the app have included one under the edit options, so it’s worth a quick look: open the photo, click the Edit (pencil) icon and check for a red-eye option. If it’s there, select it, click each eye and choose Save as copy.

If it isn’t, you have a few good choices:

• Paint.NET, a free Windows editor, includes a red-eye removal effect. Select the eyes first, then apply it.
• Lightroom or Photoshop, covered below, if you already have an Adobe subscription.

Avoid using a general “erase” or generative tool on eyes. They tend to replace the pupil with something that looks wrong.

How to remove red eye in Lightroom

Lightroom Classic

1. Open the photo in the Develop module.
2. Zoom in to 1:1 or 2:1 in the Navigator so you can see the eyes clearly.
3. Select the Red Eye Correction tool from the tools under the histogram.
4. Choose Red Eye for people or Pet Eye for animals.
5. Click in the centre of one eye and drag outwards until the circle covers it.
6. Fine-tune with the pupil size and darken sliders, repeat on the other eye, then click Done.

Lightroom (the cloud-based app)

Select the Red Eye tool and click Auto Correct to let Lightroom find and fix red eyes automatically. If it misses one, drag from the centre of that eye to fix it by hand, then adjust Pupil Size and Darken until it blends in.

How to remove red eye in Photoshop

1. Open the photo and duplicate the background layer, so you can compare or undo easily.
2. Choose the Red Eye tool. It sits in the same toolbar group as the Spot Healing Brush (press and hold that icon to reveal it).
3. In the options bar, set Pupil Size and Darken Amount. The defaults are a sensible starting point.
4. Click on the red part of each eye. If one click doesn’t cover it, drag a box around the eye instead.

For stubborn cases or pet eyes, retouchers often paint the pupil manually on a new layer instead, keeping the small white catchlight so the eye still looks alive.

Tips for a natural-looking fix

• Zoom in before you click. A tight correction looks far better than a big dark blob.
• Keep the catchlight. That tiny white reflection is what makes eyes look alive. If it disappears, the eye looks flat.
• Don’t over-darken. Real pupils are very dark grey, not a hard black circle.
• Check both eyes match. One fixed and one slightly pink is more noticeable than you’d think.
• Save a copy. Always keep the original file.

How to stop red eye happening

Prevention is quicker than any edit:

• Turn the room lights up. Smaller pupils reflect less light.
• Turn the flash off and use your phone’s night or low-light mode instead.
• Use your camera’s red-eye reduction setting, which fires a pre-flash so pupils shrink before the photo is taken.
• Get the flash away from the lens. Bouncing a flashgun off a ceiling or wall, or using off-camera flash, is how event photographers avoid it.
• Ask people to look slightly away from the camera if you have to use direct flash.

When it’s worth getting photos professionally retouched

The quick tools are brilliant for a few snaps. They struggle with group shots full of small faces, old scanned prints where the colour has shifted, pets, and photos you want to print large or frame. In those cases a hand edit makes a real difference. Our photo editing and retouching service handles everything from red eye to full colour correction, and our photo restoration service is for older or damaged prints. If you’d rather have photos that don’t need fixing in the first place, take a look at our event photography. You can see rates on our pricing page or send us the photos you’d like help with.

Frequently asked questions

Why is there no red-eye button on my iPhone?

The button usually only appears on photos taken with flash on that iPhone. For screenshots, downloaded images or pictures sent by someone else, use an app such as Photoshop Express instead.

Can Google Photos remove red eye?

Not with a dedicated tool at the time of writing. Use a different editor, then save the corrected copy back to your library.

How do I fix green or yellow eyes in pet photos?

Standard red-eye tools often won’t work on animals. Use a Pet Eye option, such as the one in Lightroom Classic, or paint the pupil darker by hand and keep the catchlight.

Does fixing red eye reduce photo quality?

No. It only changes the pixels in the pupils. Saving a JPEG again can add a tiny amount of compression, so keep the original and save the edited version as a copy.

Can red eye be removed from old printed photos?

Yes. Scan the print at a good resolution first, then use any of the tools above. Faded or colour-shifted prints may need a fuller restoration to look right.