Expert: Scott Valentine - 1/3/2008

Question
i have photoshop elements 6.  i set it to automatically remove red eye when downloading photos from my camera.  i just downloaded some christmas photos (lots of red!) and it has messed up some pictures and i don't know how to fix.  several of the people in photos look like they have black eyes, or black eyeshadow.  i plan to turn this function off for future downloads, but how do i repair these photos?  i have already deleted from camera.  thanks for your help.

Answer
If you've already saved the altered images and deleted the originals, there's not much you can do. Depending on the level of alteration, you may be able to do some retouching, but that is more complicated than I can describe here.

Consider posting some of your photos at http://photoshoptechniques.com/forum or http://retouchpro.com and asking for advice on repairing your images. Be warned, though, that Elements will be very limited in this area, and if you ask someone to do it for you online, they may require some compensation. Retouching is a highly skilled endeavor, and each project is different.

As you mentioned, it is a good idea to turn off this feature until you can review the images yourself. Also, be sure to only work on copies of your images rather than the originals. That way you can always go back if something gets messed up.

Best of luck, and let me know if you have any further questions!

-Scott