Someone blinked. Maybe it was you, maybe it was the one friend in the middle of the group, and the photo is otherwise the best one you took all night. There are now several ways to fix that, and they work in very different ways. Some pick a better frame. Some borrow eyes from another photo. Some ask you to train an AI on your selfies first. Some redraw the face from the one photo you have. This guide compares six of them, based on each company's own pages as we found them on 28 October 2026.
Oakgen makes one of the tools here, Photo Retake. Oakgen is not affiliated with Google, Lightricks, Adobe, Codeway, Samsung or Apple. Features and prices change, so check the linked pages before you decide.
Fix the blink from one photo
Upload the photo, name who to fix, and read the prompt in Create before you press Generate.
The options at a glance
| Tool | What it needs | How it fixes the blink | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Photos Best Take | A sequence of similar shots | Blends faces from the other shots | Google Photos on Pixel 8 and later |
| Facetune Retake | 10 photos of you to train a model | Generates a new version of your face | Facetune app |
| Photoshop Elements Open Closed Eyes | A second photo of the same person, or sample eyes | Pastes in open eyes and matches skin tone | Desktop |
| Lightroom | A set of shots | Helps you pick the frame with open eyes | Desktop (Assisted Culling) |
| Retake AI | 12 photos to build a face profile | Generates edited versions of your photo | iPhone app |
| Oakgen Photo Retake | The one photo | Redraws the eyes and expression from a written prompt you can edit | Any browser |
Google Photos Best Take
Best Take is for group shots taken in quick succession. Google's help page says: "If someone blinks or looks away in your group photos, Best Take blends similar photos into one photo where everyone looks their best." You open a photo from a sequence of similar photos, then choose Best Take from the edit actions and pick each person's face. Google's blog post on how it works describes taking "a few pics within seconds of each other".
The help page says Best Take is available on Pixel 8 and later. Pixel 10 adds Auto Best Take in the camera. Google says it analyses up to 150 frames when it senses a group photo, and if no single frame works, it builds a Best Take composite for you. You turn on Top Shot and Auto Best Take in the camera settings.
It suits Pixel owners who took several shots of the same group. Every face comes from a real frame, so nothing about anyone's face is invented.
The catch is that it needs those extra shots. One photo is not enough, and Google lists it as a Pixel feature.
Facetune Retake
Lightricks' Facetune has a feature called Retake. According to Facetune's own guide, dated May 2025, you first create a personal AI model by uploading 10 clear photos of yourself. That one-time step takes about 30 to 40 minutes. After that, Retake "generates a new version of your entire face" and offers several options to choose from. The same guide says Retake works on the primary face in a photo, with multi-face support described as coming soon at the time.
Facetune's FAQ says the app is on iOS and Android, and that premium (VIP) tools need a subscription. Facetune's Retake pages do not say whether Retake is one of those tools, so check in the app.
It suits people who edit their own selfies often and are happy to train a model once.
The catch is the setup photos and the wait. It is also built around your own face, not a friend's in a group.
Photoshop Elements: Open Closed Eyes
Adobe's Photoshop Elements help describes Open Closed Eyes, enhanced in Photoshop Elements 2019. It opens a person's eyes "using the eyes from another photo" from your computer or the Elements Organizer catalog. You can also choose from a short list of sample eyes. In Quick or Expert mode, choose the Eye tool and click Open Closed Eyes, or go to Enhance, then Open Closed Eyes. If the source photo has a different skin tone, Elements matches the skin around the eyes to the main photo.
Adobe now sells Photoshop Elements 2027 with a 3-year term licence.
It suits desktop editors who have another photo of the same person with open eyes. You choose exactly which eyes go in.
The catch is that borrowed eyes have to match the angle and light of the main photo, and the rest of the expression stays as it was.
What about full Photoshop?
Adobe's documented method is manual. Its guide to combining images into a group portrait uses Auto-Align Layers and layer masks to blend two similar photos, for the case where someone "blinks, looks away, or closes their eyes". Both photos need the same dimensions and resolution. The Smart Portrait neural filter adjusts facial expression and gaze direction, but Adobe's page does not describe it as a way to open closed eyes.
Lightroom, desktop and mobile
Lightroom is the one to use for choosing, not fixing. Lightroom desktop and Lightroom Classic have Assisted Culling. One of its options, "Eyes Open", selects photos with open eyes. In Lightroom Classic you can also see an Eye Open score for each face.
On Lightroom mobile, we found no Adobe help page that offers a way to open closed eyes. Generative Remove is a premium feature for removing distractions such as road signs and power lines. The people Quick Actions have an Eyes option with a slider that controls the strength of an enhancement. Neither is described as a blink fix.
It suits anyone who shot a lot of frames, such as at an event, and wants the open-eyes ones found quickly.
If every frame has a blink, culling cannot help.
Retake AI
Retake AI is a phone app from Codeway, whose site calls itself the "home of Retake". Its App Store listing asks you to start by "uploading 12 of your favorite pictures", from which it builds a personalised AI face and photo model. After that, you snap a photo and Retake offers "an array of choices". The App Store lists weekly and yearly Retake Pro subscriptions, and the listing is for iPhone.
It suits people who want one phone app that keeps making new versions of their own photos.
You need the 12 photos to begin, and it is sold as a subscription.
Oakgen Photo Retake
Photo Retake starts from the one photo you already have. There is no face profile and nothing to train.
- Upload the photo.
- Tick what to fix, such as open eyes, a natural smile, looking at the camera, no squint or a closed mouth. In a group photo, say which person to change, for example "the woman in the middle".
- Oakgen opens its Create workspace with GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst Edit selected, your photo attached and the prompt written for you.
- Read the prompt, change anything you like and press Generate. Nothing runs until you do.
The prompt asks the model to keep everything else the same, including the person's face shape, hair, clothes, pose, background, framing and light, and to add no beauty filter and no slimming. You pay per retake in Oakgen credits. At high quality, each retake cost 21 credits when we tested on 28 October 2026. It runs in the browser on a phone or a computer.
Before and after. The "before" is an AI-generated sample candid, not real people. We asked the model to change only the woman in the middle.
In our tests, the people stayed recognisable, and in the group shot only the woman we named changed. The whole dinner frame did come out slightly brighter. In another test, a graduation photo, the retake also slimmed her face, which nobody asked for. So keep the "same face shape" and "no slimming" lines in the prompt, and check every result at full size before you post it.
It suits a single photo with no backup frames, a friend's blink in a group shot, or anyone who wants to see and edit what the AI is told.
The catch is that it is a generated edit, not a real frame, so details can drift. You still need to check the result. There are guides for closed eyes, one face in a group photo and squinting. If you came here from an ad, there is also a Retake AI alternative page.
Two more you may already have
- Samsung Galaxy AI Best Face. Samsung lists Best Face among its fixes for "untimely blinking". Its newsroom footnote says it can detect up to 5 faces and needs Motion Photo turned on.
- iPhone Live Photos. A Live Photo records 1.5 seconds before and after the shot. Apple explains how to tap Edit, tap the Live Photo button and choose a different frame as the key photo. If someone blinked on the main frame, the moment before may be fine.
Which one should you use?
- You took several shots on a Pixel. Use Best Take. It uses real frames.
- You have a Live Photo or a burst. Pick a better frame first. Nothing is generated.
- You have a second photo of the same person, and a desktop. Photoshop Elements gives you hand control.
- You shot an event and need to sort hundreds of frames. Lightroom's Assisted Culling finds the open-eyes ones.
- You edit your own selfies all the time. Facetune Retake or Retake AI, if you are happy to upload the training photos.
- You have one photo and nothing else. Oakgen Photo Retake redraws the face from that photo, with a prompt you can read and edit.
If you want to know why candids catch so many blinks in the first place, and how to shoot around it next time, read why you're "not photogenic" in candid photos.
Frequently asked questions
Can I fix closed eyes with only one photo?
Yes, with an AI editor that redraws the eyes. Oakgen Photo Retake works from the one photo you upload. Photoshop Elements Open Closed Eyes also works on one photo, but it borrows open eyes from a second photo of the same person or from its sample eyes. Best Take needs a sequence of similar shots.
Does Google Photos Best Take work on any phone?
Google's help page says Best Take is available on Pixel 8 and later, and Auto Best Take only on Pixel 10 devices. It blends a sequence of similar photos, so you need several shots taken within seconds of each other.
Do I need to upload selfies to fix a blink?
Only for some apps. Facetune Retake asks for 10 photos of yourself to train a personal model, and Retake AI's App Store listing asks for 12. Best Take, Photoshop Elements and Oakgen Photo Retake do not build a face profile.
Can Lightroom open closed eyes?
We found no Adobe help page that offers it. Lightroom desktop and Lightroom Classic have Assisted Culling, which can select the photos where eyes are open. Lightroom mobile's Generative Remove is for removing distractions such as road signs and power lines.
Is Oakgen affiliated with Google, Adobe, Lightricks or Retake AI?
No. Oakgen is not affiliated with Google, Adobe, Lightricks, Samsung, Apple, Codeway or Retake AI. The details here come from each company's own pages on 28 October 2026.
Sources
- Google Photos Help, About Google Photos features for Pixel devices
- Google, How Google Photos Best Take works (2024)
- Google, Pixel group photo features (2025)
- Facetune, How to open eyes in a photo (2025)
- Facetune, Photo retouch features
- Facetune FAQ
- Adobe Help, Photoshop Elements retouching and correcting (Open Closed Eyes)
- Adobe, Photoshop Elements product page
- Adobe Help, Combine multiple images into a group portrait in Photoshop
- Adobe Help, Photoshop Neural Filters gallery
- Adobe Help, Lightroom mobile Generative Remove
- Adobe Help, Lightroom mobile Quick Actions for people
- Adobe Help, Assisted Culling in Lightroom
- Adobe Help, Assisted Culling in Lightroom Classic
- App Store, Retake AI Face & Selfie Editor
- Codeway
- Samsung Newsroom Australia, Galaxy AI Best Face footnote (2025)
- Apple Support, take and edit Live Photos
