Abstract In recent years, advancements in photocatalysis have allowed for a plethora of chemical transformations under milder conditions. Many of these photochemical reactions utilize hydrogen atom transfer processes to obtain desired products. Hydrogen atom transfer processes can follow one of two unique pathways: the first, a direct path and the second, an indirect path. In this paper, we highlight the ability of eosin Y to act as a direct hydrogen atom transfer catalyst from both synthetic and computational chemistry perspectives.