Pesky Red Eye "Effect"

If you are using a compact digital camera, you no doubt have noticed that many of the photos containing your family and/or friends, which you shoot in low light end up with that pesky red-eye. We all dread it, and try to do whatever it takes to avoid. Unfortunately, because of the compact size of your typical digital camera, the built-in flash is also very close to the lens. The trouble is, when the flash is so close to the lens, it strikes the eyes almost directly, and the reflection occurs, which in turn is bounced straight towards the camera, and is captured in your photos. If you have a digital camera with an external flash mount, consider getting a small external flash. Many digital cameras have these "shoes" (mounts), to attach an external flash. Moving the flash even a bit off-center will often do the trick, and give you good natural colored eyes. If this is not an option, consider shooting your subjects at a small angle, instead of looking straight at them. This will prevent direct reflections, and reduce or eliminate red-eye.