Month: July 2024

The post How to Avoid and Reduce Noise in Your Photos (A Practical Guide) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Barry J Brady.

We’ve all seen it in our images: that uneven grainy look that makes even otherwise outstanding photos look unappealing. But how can you avoid noise? And, in cases where it’s unavoidable, how do you reduce noise in photos?

Fortunately, dealing with noise is easier than you might realize, even if you don’t own a $5000+ camera with breathtaking low-light capabilities. In this article, I’m going to share plenty of tips and tricks for both preventing and removing noise, including:

• What causes image noise
• Five simple ways to stop noise from ever appearing in your images
• A noise reduction workflow you can use to reduce noise in Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw

Sound good? Let’s dive right in, starting with the important first question:

What is noise?

In the context of digital photography, noise is aberrant pixels that appear in your image files.

In other words, noise is made up of pixels not correctly representing the color or exposure of the scene. If you photograph a dark blue wall, and in certain portions of the file, you can see speckles of white, red, or green, noise is probably the culprit!

You’re likely familiar with another type of noise: the static that you sometimes hear when you’re tuning a radio or watching TV. That static is caused by signal distortion or interference; it’s not deliberately included as part of the broadcast but is instead a result of the broadcasting process.

Technically, almost every image file contains some level of noise, even if it’s invisible to the naked eye. If you open an apparently noise-free photo and zoom in to 400%, for instance, you’ll probably start to see aberrations in the pixels, even if they’re slight. However, in this article, I’ve focused my discussion on significant noise (i.e., noise that’s visible or that threatens to become visible with small adjustments in post-processing).

Why does noise happen?

Noise is introduced when you shoot a long-exposure image or use a high ISO setting on your camera.

(What counts as a high ISO setting? That depends on your camera model, but these days, most cameras start producing noisy files around ISO 1600 or 3200.)

Does that mean you should never do long exposures or go over ISO 100? No! There are times you may need – or even want – to use long exposures or raise the ISO. Landscape photographers, event photographers, and wildlife photographers shoot in low light all the time, which requires long exposures and/or a high ISO.

At the same time, there are simple ways to avoid too much noise in your photos, even when using the above techniques, which I’ll discuss in the next section:

5 ways to reduce noise in-camera

Below, I share the five methods for minimizing noise while out shooting.

Not every method will apply to every situation, which is why it pays to be familiar with all of them – and to carefully choose the right method for your particular shot.

1. Shoot at lower ISO settings

Yes, we’re starting with the most obvious method. But photographers often push their ISO too high, too fast, leading to bad image quality.

Now, if your camera includes relatively new sensor technology, the ISO functionality will be great. You shouldn’t see too much noise creeping into your images, even up to ISO 3200. However, there might still be some noise at the higher ISO numbers, such as ISO 6400, ISO 12800, and beyond.

So don’t raise your ISO with abandon. Instead, be aware of your exposure, and recognize that shooting at a high ISO will produce more noise in your images. Boost your ISO if necessary, but consider other options before dialing in ISO 12800.

Here are a few items to think about before increasing the ISO:

• Open your aperture to its widest setting (e.g., f/2.8)
• If you are shooting in low light, use a tripod and drop your shutter speed
• If you are shooting a smaller subject (e.g., a person), use a flash

Each of these strategies will help you get a nice, bright exposure – without unnecessarily raising the ISO.

Of course, if your shots are still turning out dark, then you will need to push the ISO up higher. I’d recommend doing some test shots to find out your camera’s ISO capabilities and at what point the ISO settings start to really degrade image quality.

For many years, I shot on a Nikon D80, and I knew that anything above ISO 500 was really difficult to use. Noise at ISO 640 and beyond became difficult to remove. And if I was able to successfully remove it, the whole image looked like a watercolor painting thanks to the noise reduction process. So I worked within my constraints.

2. Shoot in RAW format

Does the idea of shooting in RAW intimidate you? It shouldn’t! RAW is a great way to get the best out of your images, so be sure to use it.

You don’t have to shoot RAW all the time. But when you notice that the light is becoming a little too dark, switch over to RAW.

Why is this so important?

JPEGs come with compression – a process during which noise becomes baked into your images. So removing noise in post-production becomes really tough (as does increasing exposure, which is often important in high-ISO situations).

3. Expose correctly from the start

Boosting a too-dark exposure will reveal noise – which is why it’s essential that you get your exposures right from the very beginning.

When out shooting, I highly recommend checking your camera’s LCD – including the histogram – to make sure you’ve nailed the exposure.

And don’t be afraid to take several shots at different exposures, especially if you’re dealing with a tricky scene; better to be safe than sorry!

Also, the higher your ISO, the more unforgiving the file. In other words: If you’re using a high ISO, you had better get the exposure right, because boosting an underexposed high-ISO image will result in a noisy mess.

(Of course, don’t overexpose, either. While overexposure won’t cause problems with noise, it will obliterate detail, which is never a good thing.)

4. Be careful when doing long exposures

Long exposures produce some of the most dramatic images.

But if the exposure is too long, the camera sensor may heat up, causing unwanted noise.

Don’t let this stop you from doing long exposures – if you love long exposures, then do long exposures – just be aware of how your camera handles the long exposure time.

In fact, you might consider shooting a series of long exposures, then checking each file on your computer for noise.

Then, once you’ve determined your camera’s limitations, make sure you don’t set your shutter speed for longer than your camera can handle.

The key point here is to know the limits of your gear and to shoot within those limits. You’ll end up with great images and have an easy time when editing.

5. Use in-camera noise reduction

Most cameras offer a function called Long Exposure Noise Reduction, and if you’re doing long exposures, it’s a good idea to turn it on.

Why?

Well, as discussed above, long exposure photos are especially prone to noise. A long exposure noise reduction option is designed to counteract this issue – by taking a second shot after the first, then using the noise profile of the second image to subtract noise from the first.

Long exposure noise reduction comes with a serious drawback, though: it takes time, usually as long as the original exposure. So if you use a 30-second shutter speed, the camera will take an additional 30 seconds to get rid of the noise. And if you shoot for an hour, you’ll need another hour to reduce the noise, which is an annoyingly long time to wait!

So yes, it may be impractical if you are doing 10-minute shots. But for medium-length long exposures, it’s often worth doing.

(And if you do have the timed, do it on the very long exposures too, as it can dramatically improve the image quality.)

Reducing noise in Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw

Even with the best techniques, you’ll still end up with noise in your photos – at least on occasion.

This is where post-processing noise reduction techniques come in handy!

Different software offers different noise reduction options, and I’m going to focus on two popular (and near-identical) programs from Adobe: Lightroom Classic and Adobe Camera Raw.

Below, I share my recommended workflow, but as you follow along, note that you’ll be able to use very similar methods in other programs!

Also note that you’ll generally want to complete all your other edits before reducing noise. This is because exposure adjustments, as well as sharpening adjustments, can make noise more visible. If you start by reducing noise and then apply a series of edits that amplify any existing noise, you’ll be forced to reduce noise a second time. This is inefficient, and it can also degrade image quality (since the noise reduction process does involve some loss of detail). So once you’ve done your basic edits, here’s how to proceed:

Step 1: Open your image and view it at 100 percent

Start by opening your image in Lightroom or Photoshop.

Note that RAW images opened in Photoshop will first go through Adobe Camera Raw, which is what you want. Again, remember that the controls in Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom are almost identical, so most of the instructions are applicable to both ACR and Lightroom users.

I recommend viewing your image full screen, then zooming into 100 percent. The goal is to look for noise; after all, not all images require noise reduction.

If you don’t see any noise, then there’s no need to apply any noise reduction. However, if you do notice some noise, and you feel it’s harming the image quality, proceed with the next step:

Step 1.5: Try the Denoise button (optional)

Adobe recently added an AI-powered denoise feature to Lightroom. It works by analyzing your selected image for noise; then it creates a DNG copy of your file that has been tweaked to remove noise while retaining detail.

Importantly, the Denoise button is only available in Lightroom, not Adobe Camera Raw. So if you’re an ACR user, you’ll want to skip straight to the next step. If you’re a Lightroom user, however, you’ll find the AI Denoise option in the Detail panel:

If you’re looking to reduce noise in your photos and you don’t mind waiting around, hitting the Denoise button can often do the trick. Once you press the button, you’ll see this dialog box, which includes a few basic settings:

I like to leave the Denoise Amount slider at its default value, though if the zoomed-in preview on the left looks either too noisy or too smooth, I’ll adjust the slider accordingly.

In Lightroom, I also recommend making sure the Create Stack option is checked. This tells the program to group the noise-reduced file with the original file for easy reference later.

Finally, hit Enhance, and wait for Lightroom’s AI to process your file.

In my experience, this approach does a reasonably good job of reducing noise, but it comes with a huge downside:

It takes forever to run (unless you own a state-of-the-art computer, at least).

If you look carefully at the screenshot I included above, Lightroom estimates that the noise reduction process will take a whopping 13 minutes to complete. For some folks, that won’t be a problem, but for others – such as those who edit high volumes of photos for clients – it’s just not worth the wait.

Regardless, you can always proceed with the manual noise reduction steps I discuss below:

Step 2: Adjust the Luminance slider

The Luminance slider reduces luminance noise (i.e., noise resulting from over- or underexposed pixels).

And many, many high-ISO images suffer from excessive luminance noise.

So zoom in to 100 percent, then boost the Luminance slider until the noise starts to disappear.

Don’t go too far, however,

Step 3: Fine-tune your result with the Luminance Detail and Luminance Contrast sliders

The Luminance Detail and Luminance Contrast sliders control the amount of detail and contrast preserved in your photos following luminance noise reduction.

You see, noise reduction smooths out noisy pixels, which automatically reduces detail and contrast. But by boosting these sliders, you’ll retain detail and contrast.

As you’d expect, the sliders do come with a drawback:

When you increase the values, you decrease the strength of the noise reduction. So while you’ll end up with a sharper image, you’ll also see more noise.

Step 4: Adjust the Color slider

The Color slider reduces color noise – which is the second type of noise you’ll find in your photos (often in the underexposed shadow areas).

So boost the Color noise slider, and zoom into 100 percent to see its effects.

Step 5: Fine-tune your result with the Color Detail and Color Smoothness sliders

As with luminance noise reduction (above), you can further adjust your image with the Color Detail and Color Smoothness sliders.

Want more detail in your photo? Boost the Color Detail slider. Higher values will protect thin, detailed color edges, but can also result in color speckles. Lower values remove color speckles but can result in color bleeding.

Want to keep colors nice and smooth? Boost the Color Smoothness slider.

And you’re done!

A final note on noise reduction

While I wish I could give you standard, one-size-fits-all settings for noise reduction, it just doesn’t work that way. Every image is different, so you’ll need to slide each adjustment around until you get your desired result.

I tend to increase Luminance and Color to about 50, then work from there. I slide each option up and down, carefully watching how it affects the image while zoomed in to 100 percent.

Then, after each adjustment, I zoom out to see the effect it has on the overall image. And if I’m happy with an adjustment, I move onto the next slider.

Is the process a little tedious? Sure. But if done properly, you’ll eliminate most of the unsightly noise in just about any image.

Practice is also important here, so try this on as many images as you can. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to predict the effect of each change.

How to avoid and reduce noise in your photos: final words

Now that you’ve finished this article, you know that avoiding and reducing noise shouldn’t be too complicated. Just follow the steps I’ve given, and your images will turn out great!

While it’s best to avoid noise from the get-go, reducing noise during post-processing is definitely a solid option. So focus on a two-pronged approach: do your best to avoid noise, and then clean up any remaining noise with software.

Now over to you:

Do you have any other tips for noise reduction and removal? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The post How to Avoid and Reduce Noise in Your Photos (A Practical Guide) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Barry J Brady.

The post How to (Effectively) Cull Your Photos: 5 Steps to Follow Before You Hit “Delete” appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by David Shaw.

A few winters back, I was photographing on a high mountain pass. Low clouds and scattered sun danced across the snow-covered slopes, blown by a chill wind from the north. The view below came and went as fog blew past, opening and closing the scene like curtains. Enthralled, I snapped photos of the stark mountains, the pale sun, the glowing patches of light on the snow.

These shots are going to be awesome, I thought to myself.

A few hours later, I opened my computer and downloaded the images. I could see right away that they were indeed awesome! I sat and stared, certain that these were some of the best shots of the trip. The way the light played across the mountains, the storm light on the rock and snow slopes; yeah, it was great.

But a week later, as I was putting together images from the trip, I revisited those photos. Huh, I thought, I could have sworn those shots were better. I mean, they’re decent, but they’re not extraordinary. What happened?

I soon realized that the difference had to do with emotional distance. My initial assessment of the photos was clouded by the intensity of my feelings – but after spending time away from the files, I could separate myself emotionally from the experience of making them.

In other words, after a week, I could view those shots almost as though someone else had made them. As a result, many more of the photos ended up in the “delete” pile than I would have originally expected.

What I’m getting at here is that culling your photos is hard. Getting that emotional distance, thinking about what makes one photo great and another photo lackluster, determining how to reject some of your hard-won images – it’s a struggle for practically all photographers, including seasoned professionals.

Fortunately, there are certain steps you can take while reviewing your images to ensure that you keep (and reject) the relevant photos, which is what I discuss in this article. So without further ado, here are the five steps to follow as you cull and assess your images.

Step 1: Check the technical details

After importing the photos of a recent shoot into my Lightroom Catalog, I like to look at each image quickly – at full-screen size – and assess each for any technical faults.

I ask myself a series of questions:

Is the image out of focus (I check this at 100% or 1:1 view)? Is the composition obviously wonky? What about exposure; is the exposure so wrong that I can’t correct it?

If the answer is “Yes” to any of these questions, I immediately delete the image (or flag it as a reject by hitting X) and move on to the next file.

I encourage you to do the same here. Give each file a full-screen look, and do a technical assessment.

The trick in this first step is not to go beyond the technical details. This is not the time to try and gauge overall image quality. It’s just about deleting the obvious screw-ups.

Step 2: Do a second pass

If I’m eager to spend some time with my photos or I’ve got a deadline, I’ll do a quick second pass, where I go through the shots again soon after completing Step 1. Lightroom and many other image-organization programs offer the ability to flag images with different colors and/or rating codes, and I like to use this to give my files a more detailed evaluation.

Scrolling through my images, I color-code the good and bad standouts. Images that I like get coded green, purple, or blue (the color relates to my personal filing system). Images that I don’t particularly like, for one reason or another, get flagged red.

Some images do not get flagged at all. These are usually images about which I’m ambivalent. They are good enough not to get the dreaded red flag but not so good that I want to highlight them immediately.

At this point, I’ll start post-processing my favorite shots, but I won’t delete anything – that comes later!

I think this second pass is important for identifying the really solid photos from the mediocre and unimpressive shots, but I’ll also note that you can push this step until after Step 3 or Step 4, depending on the scenario and what works for you.

(One more tip: The color coding I do doesn’t need to match your own color coding! You can use a red-green-uncoded system if you like, or you can add in additional colors for more nuanced coding, or you can work with a flag/no flag/reject flag approach. The important thing is that you’re evaluating your images a second time and identifying files based on more than basic technical quality.)

Step 3: Let your photos rest

As I mentioned in the introduction, immediately following a shoot, we get emotionally caught up in our images, for better or for worse. If a shoot goes well – like my experience on the mountain – you may have the feeling that your images are better than they actually are. If a shoot goes poorly, on the other hand, you may feel like all your images suck (when, in fact, they may not!).

The solution is to give the images some space. Pull back for a few days, don’t look at them, don’t edit them. Put your new photos out of sight, and give yourself some emotional distance from the experience of making your images.

After a few days, a week, or even longer, you can continue with Step 4 (or Step 2, if you haven’t yet done your second pass).

Step 4: Consider how your images will be used

Now it’s time for your next pass. You’ve had some time away from your photos, and you’re ready to look at them with fresh eyes.

As you dive back into your collection, review each shot – but with a focus on how the image will be put to use. If you are shooting for a client, then you may already have a good idea of the kind of images you need to deliver.

For example, the conservation groups I work for usually provide me with a brief on the project. In that document, they will note specific types of images or video they need. As I’m pulling selections for them, I’ll consider their requirements and put special effort into finding and editing images that match.

Usually, however, I don’t have clients telling me which images are best, or which images I need to deliber. Without anyone guiding me, I lean toward variety.

When I first started shooting seriously, I saved almost every image. I was too attached to each one. Later, as my image catalog and hard drives began to swell, I became heartless with images, deleting all but one or two from a series, even good alternatives to my selects. Now I’ve settled somewhere in between because I don’t always know how an image will be put to use, so I like to have some variety available.

Magazine editors will often be looking for images with big areas of negative space that can accommodate text. Big wall prints require images that are immaculately sharp and high resolution. Illustrative shots, often sold for stock or for small use in publications, need to be tight with only the bare minimum of room around the subject.

While editing, I plan for these eventualities. I like to select four or five images featuring a variety of compositions from any given scene, but not more.

As an example, below are my five selects from an encounter with a brown bear in Southeast Alaska. Each of the five images has been published in national magazines, and each time, the editor wanted the image for a different layout – some involving text, some as a simple stamp-size illustration.

The bottom line is you never know what is going to appeal to different viewers, so it’s important to keep a group of images with some diversity. Don’t just pick the one photo you think is best and then reject the rest.

Again, don’t get caught up on what you see as the best image from a series. Rather, give thought to how you might want to use images from the shoot in the future. Red code (or however you tag your images) the faulty ones, or near-duplicates, but retain some variety in the greens/selects pile.

Step 5: Do one final check

By this time, your collection of images will be a checkerboard of red and green. The red images are flagged for deletion, and the greens (and other colors) are set aside as keepers.

If you are like me, you’ve created enough duplicate, failure, and screw-up files that the reds wildly outnumber the greens and unlabeled images.

Before I hit “delete,” I give each image one more look – just to make sure I’m not cutting something that I might want to keep. Sometimes if an image is unique, even if it’s not what I think of as “good,” I’ll hold onto it.

More than once, I’ve scrolled back through my Lightroom catalog and stumbled on an image that, for one reason or another, I never gave a close look. At the time I created it, I must have considered it unremarkable but didn’t consider it bad enough to delete. Years later, I’ve found some gems in those un-flagged images.

How to cull your photos: final words

Selecting keepers from a series of images is not always as straightforward as it seems!

What is “good” and what is “bad” is subjective, and it can change depending on your emotional distance and the purposes for which an image might be put to use. Consider each image carefully and use your delete key as needed, but don’t get too enthusiastic pushing that button. Deleted images can never be recovered, after all!

Now over to you:

How do you approach image culling? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The post How to (Effectively) Cull Your Photos: 5 Steps to Follow Before You Hit “Delete” appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by David Shaw.