How to Open Eyes in a Photo

There are three practical approaches: a guided online repair, a manual Photoshop composite, or a mobile editor with suitable editing controls. Choose based on your available reference photo and how much control you need.

Method 1: Use MomentRescue

MomentRescue guides you through selecting a person and using an optional real reference photo. It repairs one person’s eye area per operation, keeping the surrounding decoded image in place.

1. Upload the target photo

   Choose a JPG, PNG or WebP photo up to 10 MB. Use the clearest original available and keep an untouched copy.

2. Choose the person

   Click or tap the face outline of the person who blinked. If only one face is found, check the automatic selection before continuing.

3. Add a reference photo

   Upload another photo of the same person with their eyes open. If several people appear in it, select the matching person. A reference is optional, but without one the AI must infer the eyes.

4. Generate the repair

   Review your selections, sign in with Google and confirm you have permission to edit. Start the restoration. Open Eyes uses 1 Rescue Credit per selected person; new accounts receive 1 free credit.

5. Compare the result

   Compare before and after. Inspect eye shape, gaze, eyelid edges, glasses and shadows at full size. A finished AI task does not guarantee a convincing repair.

6. Download your photo

   Download the result as a new PNG. Your original is not overwritten. Submitted photos remain available in My account for 30 days; download any you want to keep.

Refresh or return to My account to resume a submitted task. Avoid starting a duplicate restoration while the first is processing.

Method 2: Use Photoshop

With a similar open-eye shot of the same person, Photoshop lets you manually combine the eye area using aligned layers and a layer mask. This takes more time but gives you direct control over the blend.

1. Put the closed-eye photo and matching open-eye photo on separate layers in one document.
2. Use Auto-Align Layers where the images share enough features, then inspect and adjust the alignment around the eyes.
3. Add a layer mask to reveal only the open-eye area. Refine the mask edge and match local brightness or color as needed.
4. Inspect at full size, preserve the original layered document and export a separate copy.

A very different pose or lighting can make blending difficult. Adobe documents the aligned-layer and masking workflow for combining portraits. Photoshop is separate software with its own licensing.

Method 3: Use a Mobile Photo Editor

A mobile editor can help if it supports layering a reference image, alignment and masking, or has a dedicated eye-repair feature. Capabilities and paid features vary, so check the editor before uploading.

For a manual edit, import both photos, align the open-eye reference, mask around the eyes and compare at full size. A generic brighten or sharpen control cannot recover the person’s true hidden eyes. If you prefer not to install an app, use the browser-based eye repair tool.

Why a Reference Photo Can Look More Natural

A real reference supplies clues about identity, eye shape, eye color and expression. It reduces the need to invent hidden details, but differences in lighting or head angle can still produce an unnatural result.

How to Choose a Good Reference Photo

Use the same person, both eyes open, a clear face and a similar head angle. Good light and a nearby frame from the same session help. Avoid sunglasses, heavy blur, very small faces and extreme profile views.

See the reference photo checklist and the one-person-at-a-time group workflow.

Frequently Asked Questions