How to Reduce Photo Noise

Picture with photo noise.

Photo noise is the appearance of colored dots in parts of a picture where they shouldn't be. Green and red dots may cover the background, or a person's face may appear hazy and gritty. Once referred to as "grain", photo noise occurs even with the best digital camera. There are many ways you can reduce the noise in your photos, both when you take the picture and afterward. Here are the best methods for reducing photo noise in your shots.

Things You'll Need

• High quality DSLR camera Noise-reduction software

Instructions

1. Buy a digital SLR camera with a large image sensor. The larger the image sensor, the less noise you'll get in your pictures.

2. Avoid long exposure times when possible. Change your angle or add light to reduce the exposure time needed. Use a tripod when you have to use long exposures.

3. Avoid a high ISO setting. Add light or photograph outside so you can use a lower ISO setting. Make sure you use the manual setting on your camera that allows you to adjust the ISO level.

4. 

   Buy noise-reduction software to clean up your photos. This software can eliminate some of the noise from photos after you upload them to your computer.

Tips & Warnings

• Photoshop Elements, Lightroom, and iPhoto are all high-quality photo editing programs that can reduce the noise in your pictures.