Eye Glass Glare

[allyanderson]

I recently took some family photos and some of the people wore glasses. When I looked through the photos afterward, I noticed a glare on the eyeglasses and it is often hard to make out the eyes underneath.

How can this be fixed (post-processing)? I use GIMP & Picnic.

And in the future, how can I avoid/reduce eyeglass glare?

Thanks!

[wulf]

It can be tricky, depending on the level of glare you've got. Sometimes it is best to live with it. Another quick fix is to add a transparent layer in The Gimp. Paint over the flared areas with a soft-edged black brush then adjust the layer mode (eg. overlay mode) and translucency to taste. It won't be perfect but will reduced the brightness and thus the attention grabbing property of the flare.

In future, the solution is to consider the angle the light hits the subjects' glasses. If you aren't in a controlled environment (eg. a quick photo at a family picnic rather than a fully set up studio) you may still have to compromise a bit.

Wulf

[allyanderson]

Thanks Wulf. Do you know if polarizing filters would reduce eyeglass glare outdoors?

[wulf]

It depends on the angle of the light. I haven't yet got round to getting and experimenting with a polarizing filter so I can't say for sure.

Wulf