removing red circles under child's eyes

<p>Hello everyone, I have taken a few pictures of a friend's daughter but she looks a little tired. I would like to remove the redness below her eyes but am not sure as to the best way with Photoshop Elements 8. Image can be found at http://bit.ly/roDlZB.<br>

Any suggestions gratefully received. thanks,</p>

<p>Fred</p>

<p>In the only version of PSE I have access to, PSE6, probably the quickest way is to use the spot or regular healing brush. When using it, you have to be careful to get a uniform effect.</p>

<p>Attached to this post is your original image, just down-rez'ed so it can display in-line in this thread.</p>

<p>Tom M</p><div></div>

<p>Here is the result of less than 5 seconds in PSE6 using the spot healing brush. Obviously, I didn't make any effort to make the modification smooth, but it should be possible to do this.</p>

<div></div>

<p>But, the way I would actually do it is to use the full version of Photoshop CS5 and use the patch tool. About the same level of effort (ie, a few seconds) produces much nicer blends.</p>

<p>To make it easy to see the effect of this tool, the attached image shows the result of using the patch tool at full strength. The results will almost always look unrealistic at full strength, so I always drop the opacity and blend in some of the original.</p>

<p>HTH,</p>

<p>Tom M</p><div></div>

<p>the stamp tool, set to 40% opacity will also work well as it will create a softer look but still retain detail if done 2-3 time max.. use it like you brush away the problem.</p>

<p>Dont go to far in your retouching, as you need to keep the shaodw light under her eye to keep the whole thing *natural*.. sometime by using a hue / saturation layer, dropping the red channel saturation, and adding 2-3% yellow in the red with the hue, then masking the problem area (sound hard to do but should take 20sec or so to do.. when you know how to use a mask) will already make the shot less problematic, then the stamp or patch tool to finish the retouching will be more than enough.</p>

<p>Reduce all the red in the photo and see how that looks. If all else fails, try converting to B&W.</p>

<p>I used a hue/saturation adjustment layer with a mask to remove some of the red, and another hue/saturation adjustment layer set to colorize with a mask for the areas just under the eyes. But, this probably doesn't help in elements.</p>

<p><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/glenngaryglenross/elizabeth_web1.jpg" alt="" width="698" height="698" /></p>

<p> </p>

<p>+1 New Haven</p>

<p>I like how New Haven reduced the red blush / sunburn (?) on the central part of the girl's face in addition to reducing the under-eye problem. The latter was the only issue addressed by the previous tweaked versions. Patrick's suggested approach to tweaking the color is, as always, excellent, and sounds similar to the approach New Haven used for that part of the broader issues with this image. I suspect the OP was working her way down the list of problems and hadn't yet considered any tweaks to the blush/sunburned areas.</p>

<p>That being said, the OP is still constrained to use PSE8, and asked specifically about the under-eye problem, so more examples of what could be done in that program would probably be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Tom M</p>

<p>Many thanks to you all. I am trying your suggestions and seeing which one I feel more comfortable with. I hope to be able to return the favour soon.</p>

<p>BTW, Federica, in case no one has already said it, this is an absolutely great shot of that little girl. It sets a new standard for "cuteness"! ! !.</p>

<p>Tom M</p>

<p>PS - Although you asked only about the major under-eye problem, don't neglect a bit more color tweaking (as illustrated by New Haven). Fixing that as well strongly improves the image.</p>

<p>Frederica, Avoidance trumps repairing. Your question has been amply answered here with ways to correct this problem but you might consider checking your camera's saturation settings to see if they are not set to too high a level, a level perhaps OK for landscapes but not for people shots. Sort of like using Velvia 50 film for portraits. I mean, other elements in the shot, for example, her top, are very highly saturated. Might save you some future aggravation. You lucked out on her expression. Very nice. The suggestion to convert to B&W is valid too. Best, LM.</p>

<p>Len, to simulate the in-camera adjustment that you suggested, when I do a simple global reduction of either the vibrance or saturation to the point where the sunburnt areas are starting to look good, the non-sunburnt areas of the skin look much too undersaturated. Why don't you show us exactly what you mean by providing a concrete example?</p>

<p>Tom M</p>

<p>Tom, I never thought about the effects of a post exposure desaturation of the image. Good point! I have my camera set for 'Normal' saturation and almost always increase the saturation post exposure if required. I was merely suggesting that Frederica may have left her camera set to a high saturation level by accident. I've always found it easier to increase saturation post exposure than pre. Call me crazy but that's how my experience works out. Same with contrast or sharpness. Leave it to the end. Or, whatever works for you. Best, LM.</p>

<p>Tom: thanks for the feedback and kind words. Always encouraging! I did work on the saturation because it is indeed excessive all over.<br>

Len: yes please, more details would be very welcome. I use a 20d and am not sure how to check the level of saturation on the camera settings. Any help? I am also a huge advocate of getting stuff right in-camera.</p>

<p>Fredrica, You might find the answer in the owner's manual here: http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/pdf/EOS20DIM-EN.pdf</p>

<p>Good luck, LM.</p>

<p>@ New Haven... the Layer Mask option is only available in the PSE 9 version and later. It isn't an option with version 8.</p>

<p>Tom</p>