Noise control help

faust0matic

So, I just started using a 1D MK IIn. The images that it produces are softer than I'm used to and I haven't really played around with sharpening tools in CS2 very much, mostly because I didn't think I needed to. I don't shoot RAW that often, but if it would help with post processing, maybe I'll focus on shooting RAW more in the future. What I'm noticing is that I get a lot of noise in my images when I sharpen them. For these photos it won't matter so much since they'll be printed relatively small for a CD cover. But the model and I would like to print some larger versions for selling on the side. So, I need some help with figuring out how to get the noise down to a minimum. Any suggestions? These are small versions of the photos I'd like to fix, but you can see the original file size here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/faust0matic/

If you look at the originals, they were saved at 3600 x 3600 (12" x 12" at 300 ppi). I'm worried that if I try to print 12" x 12" the noise will be visible. Am I doing something wrong when I process them or is noise always going to be a byproduct of sharpening?

If it helps with figuring out the source of the noise, I used the following for this shot:
1D MK IIn
20-35 L
No Flash
ISO 200
-1/3 exposure
25mm @ f/2.8
Jpeg Large/Fine

And yes, all 3 versions are the same shot, just different color treatments. I had problems with noise in all three, but to different degrees.

Oh, and if you see anything else that stands out as something wrong with my photo shop work, please say something. I'm self-taught. If I didn't apply something I read in a magazine, I figured it out on my own, so you're not going to hurt my feelings if you point out a flaw. I seem to miss the obvious a lot.

Here's the three photos in question:

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BinaryFx

The Flickr "original" has been processed which makes it hard to comment on the true original, can you provide a high res unedited crop some of the face and the background or other problem areas?

There are many ways to blur/sharpen, reduce noise/grain etc.

With raw camera data, you may be able to recover blown highlights that are lost in camera processing (unless you are shooting bracketed exposures, which is good even for raw, just less so).


Sincerely,

Stephen Marsh
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/
http://prepression.blogspot.com/

faust0matic

Without uploading it to Flickr, I'm not sure how to get it to you, unless I just email it to you. You want the original unprocessed photo?

faust0matic

I bookmarked your site...you have some interesting PS tutorials I'd like to try.

BinaryFx

faust0matic wrote:

I bookmarked your site...you have some interesting PS tutorials I'd like to try.

Thanks faust, not the whole image, just a crop of a section that is representative of the whole image...if you can put that up on flickr that would be good, although there are other options such as yousendit.com and other web based FTP services.

It is hard to tell what is going on with the sharpening, due to the processing on the image which is why a small crop of the original would be more helpful in assessing what is taking place. Also in future, when shooting turn off or reduce most of the camera JPEG processing functions like sharpening, saturation, contrast and to use the highest quality JPEG option and resolution so as to give yourself more headroom for post processing outside of the camera.


Stephen Marsh
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/
http://prepression.blogspot.com/

faust0matic

OK...I'll post a crop tonight when I get home from work....tomorrow morning for you guys. Thanks