How to Fix Grainy Photos

Grainy photographs can be a big disappointment when they are printed, especially if they are photographs that can't be replaced or retaken. Additionally, if a photograph is very grainy, it cannot be enlarged.

Things You'll Need

• Photograph (digital or scanned)
• Photoshop

Instructions

1. Install the Neat Image plugin from the website www.neatimage.com/download.html.

2. Restart Photoshop after you install the plugin.

3. Go to "Filter," and click "Neat Image." Select the "Noise Filter Settings" tab. Go to "Recent Preset" and choose "Advanced," then "Remove only half of weaker noise." This activates the Neat Image plugin and creates a new layer.

4. Go to "Filter" and choose "Smart Blur." Type "0.6" in the "Radius" box, and "8.6" in the "Threshold" box. Choose "High Quality" and "Normal Mode." This creates a photograph with minimal noise and grain.

References

• Darren Hoyt -- Cleaning up Grainy, Low-Quality Digital Photos with Photoshop

Resources

• Neat Image Plugin