In this video you're going to learn how to reduce noise from your photos using Lightroom CC.
You can follow along with this video using your own photos or you can download the asset files from the Adobe page for this tutorial.
Once you have downloaded and imported the images into Lightroom CC you will see them in the photo grid.
Select this photo, then click on the Edit icon or press the E Key, then click on the Detail panel.
A common problem in photography
Understanding digital noise and why it occurs
is the appearance of distracting digital noise in your images, low light, the wrong ISO setting on your camera or even adjustments that you apply in Lightroom CC can create noise in your photos.
Regardless of the reason you can quickly reduce noise in Lightroom CC.
In your photos you will find two types of noise - luminance noise which is noise with no color.
It looks like film grain.
And color noise which is multicolored pixels in areas that should be a flat color.
This image has a lot of luminance noise.
It may not be obvious at the zoom level so click on the 1:1 icon to view the image at full size.
Always use this view when reducing noise to get an accurate representation of the adjustments that you are applying.
Any other zoom level could be inaccurate or misleading.
Click and drag to pan and find an area where the noise is most visible.
This area will work before you make any adjustments you need to understand that the noise removal process smooths pixels.
Therefore, it removes fine details.
The goal is never to remove noise completely.
It's okay to have some noise in your photos.
Instead focus on reducing noise so that it's not distracting.
Reducing luminance noise for cleaner detail
Let's start by dragging the Noise Reduction slider to the right.
If you're having trouble seeing how the Noise Reduction slider is affecting your photo as you drag hold Alt on Windows, Option on the Mac to temporarily desaturate the image.
A grey scale image should make it easier for you to see the Noise Reduction effect.
Once you release the Alt or Option key the color will return.
Be careful not to push the Noise Reduction slider too far to the right.
If you do, then you will start to lose detail in your image and it could start to look like a painting.
In this case a value of 60 will work.
You can click on the Show Original icon to see the before image.
And this is the after.
Let's look at color noise now.
Removing color noise without harming image detail
Click on the Grid View icon or press G on the keyboard, then select this image and click on Edit or press the E key.
I'll zoom in by clicking on the 1:1 icon.
When you zoomed in you can click and drag to pan across the image.
In this image you will see a lot of color noise.
These multicolor pixels should be a flat color.
You can easily reduce the color noise by dragging the Color Noise Reduction slider to the right which will blend the color noise to one color.
I'll click on the Show Original icon so that you can compare with the original - before and after.
After you reduced the color noise you can then use the Noise Reduction slider to lessen the luminance noise.
So, I'll drag it to the right.
Notice what a great job Lightroom CC did here on the sky.
The stars were not affected even though they look like noise.
Lightroom CC's noise reduction algorithm recognizes noise created by the camera sensor.
And if possible, it leaves others more details intact.
I'll click on the Show Original icon
Comparing before and after results and fine-tuning
so that you can compare the before and the after.
I'll zoom out by clicking on the Fit icon to fit the image to screen.
And I'll toggle between the original image and the adjusted image again so that you can see those results.
Keep in mind that these adjustments are all subjective so it's up to you to decide how the image should look.
Now that you know how to reduce noise from your photos with Lightroom CC give it a try with your own images.
What you learned: How to reduce noise with the Noise Reduction controls
A common problem in photography is the appearance of distracting digital noise in your photos, which is usually caused by low light or a high ISO setting on your camera. You can quickly reduce excess noise with Lightroom.
Reduce noise from your photos
With your photo selected, click the Edit icon.
Open the Detail panel to reveal the Noise Reduction slider.
Before you make any adjustments click the 1:1 icon in the toolbar, or click on the photo to zoom into the actual size of the image. This zoom level is the best way to discover unwanted noise and to evaluate your noise reduction adjustments. Any other zoom level could be inaccurate or misleading.
Move the Noise Reduction slider to the right to reduce the noise in your photo. Keep your adjustment subtle. The noise reduction process smooths pixels, and it can remove fine detail. The goal is never to remove noise completely. Instead, focus on reducing noise so that it is not distracting.
Tip: If you are having trouble seeing the noise reduction effect, as you drag, press the Option key (MacOS) or the Alt key (Windows) to view a grayscale image.
Reduce color noise
If your image has color noise (multicolored pixels), drag the Color Noise Reduction slider to the right to reduce the color noise.
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