How to Open Closed Eyes in Photoshop

Before you start: check the reference

You need Photoshop desktop, a target photo with a blink, and a clear open-eye photo of the same person. A neighboring frame usually gives you a closer pose than an unrelated selfie. Photoshop is separately licensed software.

• Compare head tilt, face size, eye direction, and lighting before opening the files.
• For glasses, look for a similar frame position and eyes that are not hidden by glare.
• Keep the original resolution. A small screenshot of a face can look soft when placed in a larger portrait.

If you have several candidates, use our reference photo checklist.

Open closed eyes in Photoshop, step by step

Adobe’s group-portrait compositing workflow uses aligned images and a mask to combine usable parts of two frames. Here is how to apply that arrangement to a blink.

1. Choose a matching open-eye reference

   Find another photo of the same person, ideally a nearby frame from the same session. Match head direction, camera angle, and expression. Keep both original files. A face photographed from the side will be difficult to blend into a front-facing portrait.

2. Put both photos in one document

   Open both photos in Photoshop. Copy or drag their image layers into one document. Place the closed-eye target layer above the open-eye reference layer, and give them clear names. Keep a separate untouched original so you can compare the final edit.

3. Align the image layers

   Select both image layers in the Layers panel, then choose Edit > Auto-Align Layers. Reposition is a useful option for closely matching frames that mainly differ in position. If the face remains misaligned, inspect the scale and angle before continuing; automatic alignment is not a guarantee.

4. Add a white mask to the target layer

   Select only the top, closed-eye layer. Add a layer mask that reveals the whole layer. Select the mask thumbnail, not the photo thumbnail. At this point the closed-eye photo should still be visible; the open-eye reference remains underneath it.

5. Reveal the reference eyes through the mask

   With a soft black brush, paint on the top layer’s mask over the closed-eye area to reveal the reference below. Keep the opening small and work on one eye at a time. If you reveal too much, paint white on that mask to bring the target photo back.

6. Check alignment and blend the edges

   Inspect at 100%, then look at the whole portrait. Check the pupil positions, eyelids, lashes, glasses, and local skin tone. Refine the mask edge where a seam appears. If the eye size, gaze, or lighting is wrong, choose a better reference rather than hiding the mismatch with blur.

7. Save the layers and export a separate image

   Save a layered PSD so you can change the mask later. Export a separate JPEG or PNG for sharing; Photoshop’s File > Export controls provide export options. Reopen that exported file and compare it with the original before sending or printing it.

For the individual controls, see Adobe’s Auto-Align Layers options, layer mask instructions, and PNG export instructions. Menu wording can vary by version and language.

If the eyes do not look like they belong

The background aligns, but the face does not.

The person may have moved between frames. Use the eye corners and surrounding face as your inspection points. A better pose match is more useful than a perfectly aligned wall.

There is a pale outline or a hard seam.

Check the mask boundary against the original skin and eyelid. Reduce the exposed area and make the transition more gradual. A large patch can reveal differences in skin texture.

The expression looks different.

Open eyes come with a particular gaze and eyelid shape. Choose a reference with the expression you want to keep; do not assume two photos of the same person are interchangeable.

Painting changes the photograph itself.

Undo the stroke and select the mask thumbnail in the Layers panel. The image thumbnail and the mask thumbnail control different things.

Is there a Photoshop Open Eyes tool?

The product name matters. Adobe documents Enhance > Open Closed Eyes in Photoshop Elements, where you choose a source face to supply the eyes. The Photoshop desktop workflow above uses alignment and masks instead.

If you have Elements, follow Adobe’s Open Closed Eyes instructions for that product. Do not spend time searching for an Elements menu command in a different editor.

When a manual composite is not a good fit

If you cannot find a suitably matching frame, forcing the eyes into position can change the person’s expression. Preserve the original and consider leaving the photo as it is, choosing another frame, or trying a different repair approach.

For a guided browser workflow, MomentRescue’s Open Eyes tool accepts an optional reference and repairs one selected person per operation. It uses AI rather than this Photoshop layer workflow, so reconstructed details still need review. For a comparison of approaches, return to the general eye-repair methods guide.