How to reduce noise in photography: noise reduction. Noise Group Filters in Photoshop

How to remove noise from a photo so that at the same time to preserve fine details and leave the maximum sharpness of the frame? The question is quite complex and very common. That is why many tools have been developed to combat noise in various programs and plug-ins.

The ideal solution to the problem of noise is to prevent its occurrence during the shooting process:

• set the correct ;
• if possible, take pictures in RAW format;
• compose the frame so that it is not cut off much during processing.

But if during the shooting all the conditions were met, but there is still noise ...

How to remove noise from a photo:

How to remove noise in Adobe Photoshop:

Before the direct removal of noise, on responsible shots, in each channel, for more subtle elimination. This allows you to save more details in the image and achieve a better result.

Reduce Noise Filter

In order to remove noise from photos in Photoshop, there is a special filter Filter – Noise – Reduce Noise (Filter – Noise – Remove Noise).

The dialog box presents two filter modes:

Basic - Set the parameters to remove noise from all channels in the same way.

Advanced (Advanced) - it becomes possible to configure the parameters for removing noise in each channel individually (Per Channel (Per Channel)) and a setting similar to the Basic mode - (Overall (Above all)) (Fig. 1.).

Parameter Strength (Intensity) adjusts the degree of reduction of brightness (tone) noise in all channels.

The Preserve Details option allows you to save some image detail. But the larger the value of the parameter, the less noise is removed. The value of the parameter is determined empirically, depending on the original image and the Strength parameter.

The Reduce Color Noise option allows you to reduce the amount of chromatic noise.

Parameter Sharpen Details (Sharpness of details) allows to strengthen image sharpness.

The Remove JPEG Artifact checkbox masks the square fragments of an image that occur during JPEG compression.

To enhance the effect, the filter can be applied several times. Short command Ctrl + F.

Adobe Camera RAW plugin

Adobe Camera RAW- a plug-in that allows you to process graphic files before opening them directly in Adobe Photoshop. It was developed specifically for the RAW format, in which most professional digital cameras save photos.

If the source file is not in RAW format, but for example, JPEG, then Photoshop has a function that will allow you to open the image in Adobe Camera RAW File - Open As (File - Open As) - select Camera RAW - select file - Open (Fig. 3 ).

In order to remove noise from the photo, you need to go to the Detail tab (Fig. 4). In the Noise Reduction graph, you need to raise Luminance to a level where the noise starts to disappear and lower it to the minimum Luminance Detail, followed by a rise to bring out fine details. Similarly with Color , color details.

The Luminance parameter adjusts the level of luminance noise reduction.

The Luminance Detail parameter adjusts the noise reduction threshold. A small value gives a cleaner result, but details disappear with noise.

The Luminance Contrast parameter adjusts the luminance contrast on the edge between light and dark areas. Smaller values ​​give better noise reduction results, but at the same time less contrast, a blurrier image.

The Color parameter controls the level of chromatic noise reduction.

The Color Detail parameter adjusts the chromatic noise reduction threshold.

It is also possible to remove noise in Photoshop Lightroom, it has an intuitive interface, which is built by analogy with the Adobe Camera RAW plugin.

As you can see from the examples above, the Adobe Camera RAW plugin does a better job of reducing digital noise than the Reduce Noise filter. Also among the advantages of Camera RAW:

• carrying out non-destructive image processing;
• synchronization of settings among images taken in the same conditions to increase processing productivity;
• performance (Photoshop not loaded yet);
• intuitive interface.

Noise Reduction Plugins

To suppress noise, in addition to Adobe Photoshop, other programs and plug-ins are also used (most often RAW converters). They are both paid and free.

Plugins for Photoshop: Adobe Camera RAW, Topaz DeNoise, Neat Image, Grain Surgery, Noise Ninja.

RAW converters(individual programs): Adobe Lightroom, Capture One, Bibble (Corel), Apple Aperture (Mac OS X only).

In general, the noise is a whole, unpleasant problem of digital photographs taken at night, and now we are solving this problem with you. First, let's open our noisy image and evaluate the situation as a whole.

We go to the menu File/Open or use hotkeys CTRL+O. By the way, you can also open an image using the " Open as...» ( ALT+SHIFT+CTRL+O), find and select our image with noise, then to the right of the "File Name" field, select open as the file type "Camera Raw" and our image immediately opens in the Camera Raw filter.

I open my image first, in the usual way, to further show how to go into the special "Camera Raw" filter, select the desired tab and perform denoising operations. Now let's evaluate my image, which has chroma and luminance noise. Here it is:

Image with color and luminance noise

There is more than enough noise in this image. You probably have already begun to doubt that we will succeed .. Of course, it will not be possible to completely remove all the noise, but it is easy to make the image less noisy. Let's move from theory to practice!

Step #1

So, I opened my image in Photoshop, now I need to go to a special filter - "camera raw filter". To do this, I go to the top menu Filter/Filter Camera Raw, or use hotkeys ( SHIFT+CTRL+A).

Go to Filter/Filter Camera Raw...

Step #2

The Adobe Camera Raw filter window opens in front of us. We put a tick at the top in the "Control view" item to immediately see the changes in the image while working in the filter. Next, select the "Details" tab, I have this third icon on the left. In the lower left corner, you can change the image scale, we will need it soon.

Adobe Camera Raw filter window

Step #3

We find the "Color" slider and slowly move it to the right until the color points disappear. Do not try to remove the luminance noise at this stage, for now we are removing only the color noise (color points). As soon as the color dots disappear, immediately stop moving the slider.

Zoomed the image up to 300%

This is what we got at this step after some simple manipulations with the "Color" slider. Note that the colored dots (color noise) have completely disappeared from the image. Now it remains to remove the luminance noise.

Color noise in the form of color dots is completely removed

Step #4

Now let's start removing the luminance noise. In order to do this, we find the “Luminance” slider and slowly move it to the right, while observing our image in parallel. When it is enough, we determine it individually in each case, but the value of "Luminance" in any scenario is always higher than the value of "Color". Here's what happened:

This is the picture we got, the noise is almost completely gone

Step #5

As a result of all our manipulations, the sharpness of the image has decreased. To increase the sharpness, move the Effect or Brightness Info sliders to the right. You can move these two sliders or any one of them.

But keep in mind, you need to move the sliders very carefully, because you get the opposite effect, the more you add sharpness, the more noise appears. At the end, do not forget to click the "OK" button in order to save all changes.

Sharpening Carefully

Now let's look at the result of all our work to remove noise from the image. As a result, we got an image on which there is practically no noise, the result is quite decent. I think now you will no longer have a question about how to remove noise in photoshop.

This is what happened after processing to remove noise

Photoshop filters Sharpness adjustment(Sharpening) and Noise reduction(Noise Reduction) - two functions that will help improve the quality of photos taken in poor lighting conditions, especially if you can not control the light - for example, at concerts (in this tutorial, a promotional photo of the musical Fame, taken by photographer Tigz Rice) or weddings.

Translator's note : To work with the lesson, you will need the Camera Raw plugin and Adobe Bridge of the same version as Photoshop. If you are using the versionAdobephotoshopCS6 then for photo editing modeCameraraw,need to go to the menu File> Browse in Mini Bridge (File>BrowseinMiniBridge), then find the desired photo and right-click on it. From the drop down menu select Open with > Camera Raw (openwith >Cameraraw). When working withPhotoshop CS6 can skip the first two steps. If you are working in Photoshop CC, then forphoto editing modeCameraraw,you need to go to the menu Filter - Camera Raw.

By using these Camera Raw filters, you can save photos that aren't as sharp as expected.

In this tutorial, Tigz will demonstrate how you can use these tools in a comprehensive way, including information on how each slider will affect the retouching result.

You will find out why the filter Noise reduction(Noise Reduction) need sliders Color(Color) and Brightness(Luminance) - and which one to touch first - and why do you need Details(Detail) Contrast(Contrast) and Mitigation(Smoothing).

As a result, Tigz will show you how to apply these filters so that you can come back to them later - in case they need to be edited due to other adjustments made.

Step 1

Open the desired image, convert the background layer to a Smart Object. To do this, right-click on the layer, then in the drop-down menu select Convert to Smart Object(Convert To Smart Object). This will allow you to edit the applied filters later.

Step 2

Go to menu Filter>Camera Raw(Filter > Camera Raw). The Adobe Camera Raw plugin menu will open.

Step 3

Step 4

When you are satisfied with the result, move on to the tools Sharpness Adjustment(Sharpening) and Noise reduction(noise reduction).

Both tools are on the tab Detailing(Detail), third from the left.

Step 5

Sharpness adjustment(Sharpening) is controlled by one main slider - Effect(Amount) - and three additional ones: Radius(radius) Detailing(Detail) masking(masking).

Slider Effect(Amount) controls the amount of sharpening applied to the image. The "right amount" of sharpening depends on preference, but the value 25-35 will be optimal.

Step 6

Radius(Radius) controls the area of ​​sharpness compression around the edges of objects in the photo. The default value is 1.0, which means only one pixel of width along each edge. You can group up to three pixels in total.

Again, the "correct amount" of the parameter will depend on the particular image and personal taste, but 1.0 will do a great job.

Step 7

Slider Detailing(Detail) is responsible for the location of the sharpness in the photo: it is applied to an image with contrasting edges or low values ​​when shooting at high ISO.

Default setting Detailing(Detail) is set to 25, but as with the previous settings, the "correct amount" depends on your preferences as well as the photo itself. For live footage, which can often be too grainy, the value 25 will be great.

Step 8

masking(Masking) completes the set of four instruments in the group. Sharpness adjustment(Sharpening) and is the best of the three additional sliders. It allows you to have maximum control over where in the image the sharpening is applied.

If you hold down the Alt key while dragging the slider, you can see which areas will be sharpened. All black areas will be untouched, while white areas will be sharpened.

Step 9

Now let's move on to the module Noise reduction(noise reduction). It removes noise from images that occurs when shooting at high ISO, and also smooths out tones if the camera sensor was set to maximum.

Working with noise reduction(Noise Reduction), start with a slider Chroma(Color). It evaluates the color of the noise and mixes it with a suitable color to match a specific area of ​​the image. Usually it is enough to set the slider at the mark 20-30 .

Step 10

To improve the final result, you can use secondary sliders - Detailing(detail) and Mitigation(Smoothness).

Slider Detailing(Detail) controls how much detail will be shown after color sorting. I usually leave it at the default value - 50% .

Step 11

Slider Mitigation(Smoothness) smoothens uneven color that occurs when shooting, and works best at the mark 60-80% .

Step 12

Work with Chroma(Color) allows you to make small adjustments before moving on to the most serious slider - Luminosity(Luminance). The latter smoothes the entire image, so the result can be loss of sharpness.

Slider Luminosity(Luminance) is an incredibly powerful tool. For images taken at ISO up to 2000, a mark is sufficient. 25% .

Step 13

About brightness(detail) and Brightness Contrast(Contrast) allow you to return some of the details lost after applying Luminosities(Luminance). However, noise usually returns along with the details.

We first went to Chromaticities(Color), thereby minimizing the effect of Luminosities(Luminance), so both sliders mentioned above can be left at their default values.

Step 14

Once you are satisfied with the result, click OK to confirm your changes. A new layer will appear in the layers panel Smart Filters. It contains all the Camera Raw filter information.

Step 15

Since we were working with a Smart Object, the changes made can be corrected. To do this, simply double-click on the Camera Raw Filter layer in the layers panel.

Translator's note: inAdobephotoshopCS6 this feature does not work. To edit your changes, double-click on the small button with two stripes and two triangles above the photo thumbnail in the panelMiniBridge.

Today we're going to tackle photo noise with a powerful and high-quality Photoshop plugin called . This is, as I said, a powerful tool where you can manually reduce each component of the noise by moving a bunch of sliders. But since everything is simple on our site, I will reassure you, for most tasks there are enough automatic presets to remove noise to a minimum, we will only need to make 2-3 clicks. First you need to download and install this plugin, then download Photoshop, and open the desired photo in it.

So let's take this old photo taken with an old Olympus camera - C760UZ. Just here a lot of noise got out, because. The photo was taken with a slow shutter speed of 4 seconds. Open Imagenomic Noiseware Professional as shown below.

And here we are in the plugin window

Here we see a bunch of settings, plus our photo in which part of the noise has already been removed. What is the best way to remove noise for our photo? Do not worry, we will have enough automatic settings. go here and select noise reduction depending on the plot (the settings "Night scene", "Portrait", "Landscape", "Full noise reduction" are mostly relevant).

For our case "Night Scene" (Night Scene). But you can always choose any other setting, perhaps you will not be satisfied with the one to which the scene is assigned. At this point, depending on the tasks, various noises are removed (noise from high ISO, color noise, etc.). There is also a function of complete noise removal, but it is far from always reasonable to use it, although the picture will stop "noisy", but other defects may well come out, such as "Stepening of the sky" i.e. the sky will not turn out to be a smooth gradient, but steps with distinct edges. Remember about the golden mean, and about the fact that noise cannot be removed 100% painlessly. I hope after installing this plugin, those of your photos that are "noisy" will become more beautiful and attractive. By the way, here's what I got

But such photographs are not always obtained, to put it mildly, and sometimes there are cases when out of the corner of my eye I saw something and reacted immediately. And only then I realized that the frame was spoiled. I didn’t set the correct exposure, nor the aperture, except that the photograph is in focus, and that’s good. The result is a photo that is either underexposed or overexposed. But this photo is one, there are no repetitions and I don’t want to delete it. And if in cases with an underexposed photo it can somehow be saved, then serious problems begin with an underexposed photo. In particular, when converting, terrible digital noise comes out. Here I will show you how to deal with it. I will say right away that there are a lot of methods for dealing with noise and my method is not the only one, and even more so the truth in the highest instance. I just share it. Would it come in handy?

So let me tell you howI get rid of noise in photos. For a clear example, I deliberately took an underexposed photo. Well, let's get started?

So, there is this photo:

After converting, we get this picture with terrible noise:

Step 1. Duplicate the layer in any known way.
Step 2. Here I must say that there is an incredible amount of noise reduction filters. Personally, I use two. Noise Ninja and Imagenomic Noiseware Professional. Why exactly these two? Because I like them. I will not talk here how each filter works, otherwise I will read this text to you until the morning. On the Internet you can find a lot of information about the algorithm of their work.

So, step two. We need to find out on which channel, and there are three of them in the RGB color space, more noise. In my case, there is a lot of noise on the red and blue channels.

Step 3. I open the Noise Ninja filter, select the red channel in the settings, put down the necessary settings. I don’t say exactly what numbers, since each photo has its own settings. And press OK.

I repeat the same steps, but choose the blue channel. As a result, I get this image:

A little blurry, the texture of the skin is lost. But it's not scary. We'll get it all back later.

Step 4. I open the Noiseware Professional filter and put down the settings as in the screenshot. I repeat, for each photo the settings are individual.

As a result, I get an even more blurred photo. But we are not afraid of the gray wolf and we move on.

And now the most interesting. The picture is blurry, but the noise is still there. Well, what to do? For many years of working with photographs, I tried a bunch of all kinds of ways and came to the conclusion that once and for all this rest of the noise removes the blur. There are several blur options in Photoshop, but I chose Gaussian blur. And here there is a small nuance. If you blur a photo, then it will be simply unrealistic to restore clarity and texture to it later. That's why I'm cunning. I blur selectively. There is a very well-known and easy way to get rid of the raster on magazine scans. That is what I use for my own selfish purposes. I'll tell you step by step what I do.

Step 5: Create a new 8x8 px document:

Step 6. I select the Rectangular Marquee Tool in the toolbar and put down the settings as in the screenshot:

Step 7. I make a selection on a transparent layer, go to Edit-Stroke:

Step 8. I put down the settings as in the screenshot and click OK:

Step 9. Go to Edit-Define Pattern and click OK.

Step 10 Back to our photo. Create a new layer and fill it with the created pattern:

Step 11. On the layer with the pattern I press CTRL + mouse click. I make the layer with the photo active and press CTRL + J. Delete the layer with the pattern. We don't need him anymore. As a result, I have a transparent layer as in the screenshot:

Step 12 This is the layer I am blurring according to Gauss. Each photo has its own settings. I have 1.7

Step 13. I merge the layers with the key combination CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + E. I remove the layer that I blurred and start jewelry work. It consists in the fact that I create a layer mask on the resulting merged file and carefully mask those places that are responsible for the sharpness of the photo. Namely, wrinkles, pupils, cilia, etc. I deliberately did everything with a mouse, not a tablet, so that it was clear that for this piece of jewelry it is not necessary to have a tablet at hand.

Step 14. So, we coped with the noise. It remains to restore the sharpness of the photo. Merge all layers key combination CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E. We duplicate and sharpen in any known way. I am making an unsharp mask. Add a layer mask, change the layer's blending mode to Soft Light, reduce the layer's transparency to 50-30 and carry out another jeweler's work, but this time to remove noise in several places again.

Step 15 Merge the layers in the same way. Duplicate. And we sharpen again. This time I used the High Pass to bring out the lost lines. Create a layer mask, change the blending mode of the layer to Overlay, reduce the layer's opacity to 50 and again do the fine work of removing the noise that has come out.

Step 16 Merge all the layers, add some contrast and voila - the photo is ready.

This method is quite laborious, but the result is worth it. I wish everyone to create such photos so that no methods need to be used, but still I hope this lesson will be useful to someone.