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Removing 100% of the glare of a flash on eyeglasses is often impossible. Even subduing the glare can be tough. If the glare is over the eye, retouching is even more difficult. Start with an easy glare problem.
The Glare
The glare itself is varied. There's an overexposed central area that radiates out as a glow. So, make a feathered selection, right? Probably not, as the glare varies three ways.
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Individual v. Group
Retouching eyeglass glare on a head-and-shoulders photograph of an individual will be harder than retouching the same in a group. Also, in a group, if all else fails, you can replace the entire head of the individual with one from a similar photograph with less glare. Of course, if you have more than one person with glare, you got a bigger problem.
The entire grooms side (12 guys) had glasses and we were shooting in a small church. I have never had a real problem w/ eye glass glare, just tip the ear-piece up and the glare is usually gone. If it still is noticeable, I can reposition my strobe a little and it's fixed. NOT this situation. No matter what I did, the glare was terrible. I could not bounce light from any source, I could not ask them ALL to remove their glasses. (some could not function w/out) And there was no way to shoot w/ available light. Unfortunately, I think a majority of the shots are gonna be junk. Anyone encountered this problem? Steve Gibbs
Preparation
1) Preserve your original file. If you haven't already done so, go to Preserve Your Original File. 2) Create a Background copy layer. If you haven't already done so, go to Create a Background Copy Layer. 3) Be sure to use the Zoom tool to enlarge the area to be retouched. Here are several methods. You'll probably have to use more than one method.
Burning In?
Burning in the glare won't work. Go to Window > Info. Place the cursor over the glare, and look at the R, G, and B values in the Info panel. They're all at 255. R: 255 G: 255 B: 255 That means there's nothing there to burn in. You can't burn in an area that's totally overexposed.
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Paint
You can paint with skin colors, especially over any glow, and around where you've cloned or added a graft. 1) Select the Eyedropper tool. 2) Click on a skin color near the glow, or near the cloned or grafted area. You'll probably want to change the color often. 3) Select the Brush tool. You probably want a feathered brush. If you haven't already done so, go to Feathered Brush. Reduce the opacity of the brush in the options bar to 20% or so. By changing the opacity of the brush, the brush has less "paint" on it. You can use less paint by brushing with fewer strokes. For example, use one or only a few strokes where the glow is dimmest. Where you need more coverage, use more strokes, such as nearer the hotspot of the glare.
Prevention
Individual
If you're posing an individual, and they have the expectation that you're going to take several photographs, try the following. a) Ask them to slightly raise the bows of their eyeglasses above their ears, to change the angle of the lenses. b) Vary the angle you use. Move yourself, or place your hand where you want the person to look, and ask them to move their head to look at your hand. Then, ask them to keep their head in that position, but to look at the camera. If you have a separate flash, bounce the flash off the ceiling. The subjects eyebrows may block the light coming from the ceiling.
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Group
If you're photographing a group, especially one posed on steps or risers, you may have to stand on a chair to get the flash above everyone's heads, and may need a small boom as well.
A 1950s Kodak publication suggests you remove the lenses. Have an assistant perform this operation while you photograph the subject's reaction. No, please don't do the above. Some portrait studios used to keep a selection of frames without lenses for subjects to wear.
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