Red Eye on Photos

Have you ever been curious as to why our eyes appear red sometimes on photographs? And why do others suggest turning on more lights when this happens? The red eye effect on photos occurs when a camera light flashes or any other external factor of bright light is reflected to the camera. This reflected light illuminates the eye’s blood vessels of the connective tissue which is located at the back of our eyes thus producing the red eye effect on our photos.

Pupil is the opening within the iris wherein light passes, reaches the lens and then focused to the retina. The pupil’s size constricts when exposed to bright light and expand when in dim light. When light is low, our pupils enlarge to allow more light to enter. When light from a camera flash enters the eye, the pupils do not have enough time to constrict right away which leads to the reflection of the red blood vessels of the choroid found at the back of the eye. As the camera flash lights up the blood-rich retina, thus the red-eye effect occurs.

To summarize, red eyes on photos are a result of the blood on our eyes. If this occurs to you, this is a good indication that the retinas of both eyes are healthy and without complications.

Now that we know that there’s blood on the eye, there is also a potential threat that these fragile blood vessels break beneath the tissue that is covering the white of the eye which results to redness of the eye. This is called Subconjunctival Hemorrhage which is caused by eye trauma, blood thinners, blood clotting or eye surgery. A sudden increase in blood pressure caused by can also result to eye redness.

Experiencing Subconjunctival Hemorrhage? Contact us and let us assist you on your treatment.