Digital Camera World - UK (2019-12)

http://www.digitalcameraworld.com DECEMBER 2019 DIGITAL CAMERA^59

CAMERA COLLEGE

Software skills Adding grain

Reduce the dots, then add some more...

When you process your

images, it is easier to

brighten up those that

are underexposed than

it is to try and restore

detail in those that are

overexposed – and it

is quite amazing how

much detail can be

revealed in areas that

appear almost black on

screen. By doing this,

however, you also risk

increasing the volume

of noise. This is true

even when you shoot

raw, so it’s important to

get the right exposure

in-camera.

If in doubt, use

Automatic Exposure

Bracketing to take

different exposures.

Camera skills Exposure

Get the balance right when you shoot

Xzٳ!x0«

USING SOFTWARE

VISIBLE BANDING

It might seem counterintuitive, but you can add grain at the

same time as removing noise when you process an image.

Grain can add texture to an image. Unlike noise, it’s visible

in the highlights as well as the shadows, and the

size of the grain can be altered. It also lacks

colour, and just feels more natural.

GRAIN STORM Noise is always pixel-sized, whereas

the size of grain can be varied to suit the image.

Downsampling

Reducing the resolution of your image

can make noise a little less intrusive

Downsampling or downsizing a high-resolution image

to a lower-resolution one in software can help to mask

image noise. Obviously, doing so sacrifices resolution, so

it depends on what you intend to do with the image. If your

camera has megapixels to spare and you only need to make

a small print or share a low-res image online, then it’s an

option to consider, but the gain is often relatively small.

SHRINK This image was downsampled by 50% –

from 5,493 x 3,663 pixels to 2,746 x 1,830 pixels –

using Camera Raw. The physical size of the image

is smaller, but the image looks a touch cleaner.

ORIGINAL DOWNSAMPLED