Fix a Noisy Photo

Digital noise can make a great shot look grainy and artificial, but Adobe Lightroom makes fixing it a snap—especially if the noise was caused by dim lighting or high ISO settings. Here’s how.

In Lightroom’s Edit panel, click the Detail heading, then use the sliders to adjust sharpness and reduce noise: The standard Noise Reduction slider affects noise due to lack of light; Color Noise Reduction affects areas where extra color has been introduced.

Removing noise makes your image appear softer; experiment until you find the sweet spot that takes away grain without making the photo look too painterly.

Pro tip: Press \ to toggle between the original and enhanced images, or press Space bar to quickly switch to a zoomed-out view.

Sometimes the right level of noise reduction for smooth surfaces can wind up blurring the edges of objects. To restore some of that detail, click the triangle next to Noise Reduction and adjust the Detail and Contrast sliders. The same options under Color Noise Reduction help you protect colorful edges and prevent color bleeding.

Can’t hit the perfect balance between grainy and soft? Err on the soft side, then let Lightroom introduce a bit of grain. This may seem counterintuitive, but Lightroom’s grain algorithms tend to be more natural than the grain from digital noise, resulting in a photo that’s more appealing to the eye.

Click the Effects heading, then increase the Grain slider ever so slightly—not so much as to undo your noise-removal work, but enough to make your image look more lifelike. (This is another place where using Space bar to toggle between zoom levels is helpful!)

Adobe Lightroom

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