Why do white people get red eyes in photos and other races don't?

I think remember reading somewhere that having your "eye" appear white instead of read, when taking a picture, was indicative of a certain type of cancer. That is, of course, to say that it glows white in the center. Not that the sclera appears white.

Only slightly related, but I thought it was applicable enough to mention.

Not very clear but certainly red eye:

My eyes were always the reddest in pics when I was little. Is it more common in blue eyed people? Also when their pupils are wider?

Not true, I am not posting a photo but I remember back in the 80's me and my x took tons of pictures when we were young and I or someone else would get red eyes and also back then we always wondered why that happened, so no, white people are not the only ones to get red glowing demonic eyes in photos...LOL,

eyes are looking in a different direction.

We.re reptiles.

Originally posted by Thurisaz
I may be wrong but from observations over the years, I have not seen any red eyed Asians or my Indigenous Friends in photos.

Maybe it has something to do with eye colour?

I don't have a lot to add, except that I personally have eyes that glow so red in pictures sometimes it wipes out half my face. lol My eyes are very light blue, and I've been told I have blond fovias and tiny optic nerves, which means there's no pigment in the back of my eyes. I always figured that had something to do with the red demon glow I get if someone takes a picture of me using a flash.

like omfgwtfbbq... whyte peepole are demones!11!!!1!1!!!

This thread is a joke, right?

It is because of melanin - this is what makes up our pigmentation. The darker our skin/eyes/hair are, the more melanin we have. Melanin is our natural defense against too much sunlight. For this reason, people who are closer to the equator get more sunlight, so their skin/eyes/hair protects against the sunlight by increasing the amount of melanin so that less UV and the such gets in. (Related, this is the reason we tan - more melanin is produced when we are in the sun for a long time.) On the opposite end of the spectrum are those who live further north/south (closer to the poles); there is very little sunlight there, so they need as much of it as they can get! So, they have less protection, ie less melanin and less pigmentation.

So, the reason that white people would have more red eye is because there is less melanin making up the pigment in their eye, meaning that the light from the camera would reflect off the blood vessels easier.

However, red eye can still occur on people with skin color. Check out this kid:
ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com...

No, he isn't black, but he's not white either and he's got red eye.

And this woman:
img.brothersoft.com...
She looks like she's from India.

My theory is that red eye can happen to anyone under the right set of circumstances, but that it happens to white people more because they have less pigmentation between the camera and the blood vessels behind their eye.

reply to post by spacekc929


Some further thought in the matter lead me to think that if there's anything to this, then because of the pigment level in the iris, more or less light actually travels through the iris itself which is then reflected from the retina through the pupil. So, if that is true, the level of the effect should be a function of iris color, not race. Whites with very dark eyes should be less susceptible.

So, take the extreme case. In human albinism, the eyes are actually blue but that lack of pigment in the iris allows light to penetrate more easily thus they can appear red or purple.

See 3rd picture down:
Human Albinism

Albinism

The human eye normally produces enough pigment to colour the iris and lend opacity to the eye. However, there are cases in which the eyes of an albinistic person appear red or purple, depending on the amount of pigment present.

Reading your post, I'm not sure if that is what you intended to convey to us yourself. ??

I have the "vampire eyes" on pics - it's quite a family joke.
A photography student once told me it's simply the light reflecting from the blood vessels behind the eye.
It's more likely in blue-eyed people because the lack of pigmentation makes it more transparent.

Aha - this thread was a ploy for all of us to reveal our eye details!

reply to post by EnlightenUp


Yeah, only I wasn't very coherent haha. That is pretty much exactly what I was trying to say...

This topic made me laugh when I remembered a question my friend once asked me. It was a rainy day and he arrived at work after a long bus ride. He asked me why white people smell like bologna when they get wet. I, as a white person, had never noticed but he was convinced of it's truth.

reply to post by halfoldman


I think the explanations are lacking critical detail. Are the cornea and lense more or less transparent or just the iris, renedering is less effective? It would seem to be the latter, so far.



reply to post by spacekc929

Yeah, only I wasn't very coherent haha. That is pretty much exactly what I was trying to say...

Aha!

reply to post by 35Foxtrot

Actually in SA the idea that blacks smell differnt from whites is well established.
This was not only white racism, the Xhosa people used to say that whites smell like a "wet chicken".
Dogs also recognized this, and when spaces were segregated they would go wild if a white person entered a black townsdhip, or vice-versa.

It may be a simple difference in diet.
I've heard if you want to keep a lover in some Eastern cultures, you must refrain from pork and chicken.
The body smell is vile.
However, even as a long-term Western vegetarian, I've never noticed this.
Perhaps it's more heterosexual.

reply to post by halfoldman


Well, maybe he had never smelled a wet chicken to compare it to and thus the closest thing he could compare it to was bologna...

I am fair-skinned and brown-eyed and I do get sometimes red-eyed, especially if the flash is strong. The reason is not linked to the color of the iris itself but the amount of melanin in the layers behind the retina. Hence, if you have less melanin (lighter skin), the blood vessels in the retina are probably more visible on the surface of the retina (just like blood vessels under the skin which are more visible if you are fair skinned (the so-called blue vein effect)) and therefore more visible to the flash of a camera. The more melanin you have, the more likely the light of the flash is absorbed before reaching the blood vessels. If it doesn't reach the vessels and reflect, there is no red-eye effect.

From wiki:

The amount of red light emerging from the pupil depends on the amount of melanin in the layers behind the retina. This amount varies strongly between individuals. Light skinned people with blue eyes have relatively low melanin in the fundus and thus show a much stronger red-eye effect than dark skinned people with brown eyes. The same holds for animals. The color of the iris itself is of virtually no importance for the red-eye effect.

Originally posted by 35Foxtrot
reply to post by halfoldman

 

Well, maybe he had never smelled a wet chicken to compare it to and thus the closest thing he could compare it to was bologna...

imo, the wet chicken smell sounds more like a black person.

OH NOES!! Someone is making jokes about someone other than a white male... quick get the ban hammer!

Originally posted by Titen-Sxull
reply to post by Thurisaz

 

As our species left Africa and went to various climates our genetics changed. These slight variations in appearance and genetic make-up are what we refer to as "race", they are relatively superficial meaning we never evolved in to separate species. Those that migrated to Europe would have faced snowy conditions during the Ice Age, it is possible that the eyes of Europeans who lived in this icy climates developed to take in LESS light than those who migrated elsewhere or stayed in Africa (that is IF lighter eyes reflect more light). Because of the...

That is a good guess...

Thanks to everyone for the intelligent answers! I have learnt something.

Oh and sorry, I don't think it is a conspiracy...so I put it in the gray area... ?? oh well, no idea where to put it.

My Daughter has hazel-brown eyes so it is not just blue eyes. It could be the very dark brown eyes get red eye but we can't see it?

anyway, thx for the suggestions