Red Eye Correction

Remove red-eye

You use the Red Eye tool and the Red Eye Correction adjustment controls to reduce the red-eye effect in the eyes of the subjects in your image. You use the Red Eye tool to place targets on the red eyes, and then you can adjust the radius and sensitivity of the target overlays using the Red Eye Correction controls. Aperture desaturates the red pixels within the target overlay area, reducing the effect.

Figure. Image before and after a Red Eye adjustment.

Remove red-eye with the Red Eye tool

  1. Select a photo.

  2. To display the photo at full size, click the Zoom Viewer button in the tool strip or the full-screen view toolbar (or press Z).

    Zoom Viewer button

    Setting the photo to appear at full size (100 percent) prevents image scaling from obscuring details.

  3. Select the Red Eye tool in the tool strip or the full-screen view toolbar (or press E).

    The pointer changes to a target, and the Red Eye HUD appears.

    Figure. Controls in the Red Eye HUD.

  4. Change the size of the Red Eye tool’s target by doing one of the following:

    • Drag the Radius slider in the Red Eye HUD.

      Figure. Circular overlay appearing over the Radius slider in the Red Eye HUD to indicate the size of the Red Eye target overlay.

    • Use the scroll gesture.

  5. Click a red eye in the image to place a Red Eye target overlay on it.

    Figure. Image showing a Red Eye target overlay placed over a subject's red eye.

    The red pixels within the Red Eye target overlay are desaturated.

  6. Repeat step 4 until all of the red eyes in your image are corrected.

To view the corrected image with the Red Eye target overlays turned off, select the Selection tool in the tool strip or the full-screen view toolbar (or press A). To turn the Red Eye target overlays on again, select the Red Eye tool in the tool strip or the full-screen view toolbar (or press E), or click the Red Eye Tool button in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD.

Change the size of an existing Red Eye target overlay

You can adjust the size of a Red Eye target overlay after it’s placed on the image.

  1. To display the image at full size (100 percent), click the Zoom Viewer button in the tool strip or the full-screen view toolbar (or press Z).

    Zoom Viewer Button

  2. Click the Red Eye target overlay to select it.

    A hand icon appears to indicate that you can select the Red Eye target overlay.

    Figure. Image showing a hand icon appearing over a Red Eye target overlay to indicate that you can select it.

  3. In the Red Eye Correction area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, use the Radius parameter controls to change the size of the overlay.

    Figure. Controls in the Red Eye Correction area of the Adjustments inspector.

Adjust the sensitivity of a Red Eye target overlay

When you target a red eye in a picture, Aperture automatically desaturates the area within the target overlay circle. In a few cases, the area might be either slightly too large or slightly too small (typically including a few pixels in the eyelid skin, or missing a few red pixels inside the pupil). For these difficult cases, you can adjust the Sensitivity parameter to change the area where desaturation occurs. For example, dragging the Sensitivity slider to the left by one notch decreases the radius of the active area within the Red Eye target overlay by one pixel, and dragging the Sensitivity slider one notch to the right enlarges it by one pixel.

Figure. Image before and after a Sensitivity adjustment within a Red Eye target overlay.

  1. Click the Red Eye target overlay to select it.

  2. In the Red Eye Correction area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, use the Sensitivity parameter controls to adjust the area within the Red Eye target overlay where desaturation occurs.

    Figure. Controls in the Red Eye Correction area of the Adjustments inspector.

Move a Red Eye target overlay

  1. Select the Red Eye tool , and place the Red Eye tool’s target over the Red Eye target overlay you want to move until the target changes to a hand icon.

  2. Drag the Red Eye target overlay to the appropriate position over the subject’s eye.

    Figure. Image showing a hand icon appearing over a Red Eye target overlay, indicating that you can move it.

Remove a Red Eye target overlay

Do one of the following:

  • Select a Red Eye target overlay in the image, and click the Delete button in the Red Eye Correction area of the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD.

    Figure. Delete button in the Red Eye Correction area of the Adjustments inspector.

  • Command-click a Red Eye target overlay.

    Figure. Image showing a white X appearing over a Red Eye target overlay, indicating that you can delete it.