How to Get Rid of a Dog's Green Eyes in Pictures

With the help of a couple of treats and maybe a squeaky toy or two, you position your dog in front of your camera, earnestly attempting to capture an award-winning shot, or at least one that will land her on the cover of your next holiday card. But when you download your hoped-for masterpiece, what jumps out at you is not the dog's beauty, not the essence of your dog's sweet soul through her big, beautiful brown eyes -- not even how adorable she is. No, your dog is staring back at you through ghoulishly green night-vision goggles. Don't despair. You may have blown the shot, but there are several different approaches you can take to avoid this effect in the future.

Things You'll Need

  • External flash or flash with green-eye reduction setting
  • White paper, cloth or tissue
  • Ambient or window light
  • Photographic retouching software
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Instructions

    • 1

      Photograph your dog outside in daylight whenever possible. Shots taken inside in poor light will cause your flash to provide the source of light. When a dog stares straight into the flash, the reflective layer at the back of the dog's eyes causes the green-eye effect.

    • 2

      Use the red-eye or green-eye reduction setting on your camera's flash, if available, and try to take the shot when the dog is looking directly into the flash. The pre-flash setting causes the dog's pupils to contract by shining a quick flash of light into the dog's eyes a tick prior to taking the picture.

    • 3

      Change the position of your flash. Bounce the light upward or into a white piece of papern or cover the flash with a light tissue. Photograph the dog from a different position, such as in a profile shot, or angle the dog's head away from the lens if your flash is permanently fixed to the camera.

    • 4

      Prevent green eye in the future by using existing lighting or room lamps that provide enough light, according to your camera's light meter. Position your dog by a window and let the soft, natural light from the window transform your shot from ghoulish to gorgeous. Window-light portraits are the ultimate simple portrait setup.

    • 5

      Use an easy-to-use photo retouching software or paint software program to eliminate green eyes. Many software suites offer a simple red- or green-eye reduction tool. You typically select the tool, then position it on the spot you want to correct, and click to edit.