Workflow Question Noise reduction

Osprey

Here is a basic question on workflow that I do not really know the answer to:

At what stage do you apply noise reduction? Should it be when you import file into photoshop, or before or after sharpening?

:dunno

Thanks for your ideas

Richard

You should apply noise reduction before sharpening. Otherwise you may end up sharpening the noise, which will make removal more difficult. Usually, the noise reduction in ACR is all I need, so I apply it at the raw conversion stage. When I have a particularly troublesome image, I turn off noise reduction in ACR and use the Noiseware Photoshop plugin at an early stage in the processing.

ziggy53

While I mostly agree with Richard, I use NeatImage (NI) noise reduction software and I find it beneficial to use it at the end of sharpening. What makes NI different is the ability to target individual frequencies of noise separately, as well as each color channel. This means that noise induced during sharpening, and specific sharpening methodologies and technologies can affect tonal frequencies differently, is effectively and efficiently removed by NI after sharpening.

Specifically, if you use deconvolution sharpening (like Adobe Smart Sharpen or similar), or if you use a "High Pass" filter sharpening approach, I think that you can achieve better results with NI and custom noise reduction profiles for that image after sharpening.

If you use Unsharp Mask sharpening alone (including HiRaLoAm), I agree with using noise reduction first.

arodney

NR first, then capture sharpening. Note if you're doing this in something like Lightroom or Camera Raw, doesn't matter which sliders you move around first, the application of correction always takes place in the proper processing order. That said, it still makes more sense to clean up noise, then sharpen since in these products, it's done 'visually'. Whenever possible, do this kind of work on raw data!

Osprey

thanks
Thanks for the quick info..