If you have ever taken photos, you understand that graininess can completely ruin the photo’s appeal. It makes things worse by preventing the texture and color of the photo from appearing clearly and, at the same time, eliminating the image’s details. 

For you to keep the quality of your photo top-notch, we recommend eliminating graininess. Just so you understand, graininess in photos is caused by low capability camera lenses and bad lighting during a photo session. 

Luckily, you can fix grainy photos without using photoshop by working with more light, overexposing your image, and turning on the camera’s noise reduction, among others. 

Here, we’ll explore the different ways you can use to fix photos without employing photoshops. Let’s get started. 

Why The Photos Are Grainy?

Before we consider how to fix grainy photos, we need to identify the source of the graininess. For instance, you might have noted that images taken at night are more grainy than those taken during the day. 

Below are reasons for grainy photos:

Small Sensor

The smaller your camera’s CMOS or CCD sensor is, the noisier the photos. Larger sensors have millions of light-sensitive spots to record and capture data from light-free lenses. Most small digital cameras or smartphones are designed with small sensors. 

Absence of Photography Lighting Techniques

The main issue as far as capturing noisy and grainy photos is concerned is light. If there is no sufficient light, the photos will automatically become grainy. For this reason, most professional agencies and photographers contain a lighting setup. 

Camera Type

The type of camera you have could be the source of grainy photos. Cheaper cameras come with certain compromises to make them budget-friendly most of the time. And if you acquire a pro-level camera but still get grainy photos, then the problem might be a technical one. 

ISO Settings

There is a simple rule in photography: “the higher your ISO, the more grain you receive.” However, you need to increase the ISO in low light to acquire a clean image. It’s upon you to determine the ISO amount sufficient enough to prevent noise. 

Fixing Grainy Photos Without Using Photoshop

How can you make grainy photos clear without employing photoshop? And how will you minimize the amount of noise in your photos? 

Below are critical approaches to help you fix grainy photos without using photoshop:

Setting The Camera To A Low ISO

It’s always advisable to have your ISO as close to 100 as possible. Of course, there are times when you might be photographing in an inside environment, and you require a higher ISO. 

In such a case, you must first change the aperture. You can then adjust the shutter speed to have your ISO low. 

And when you’re in a low light situation, employ different approaches to boost the light. For instance, instead of staying in dim areas while photographing, you can shift to bright areas.

Another option would be setting your camera so that it meters on lighter sections of the photo. This way, the camera won’t overextend in capturing darker areas. 

Working With More Light

As mentioned above, grainy photos could result from the absence of photography lighting. But what if you find yourself photographing in locations with minimal lighting? 

We recommend applying a flash unit or strobe-like Canon Speedlite in such a case. It’s an artificial light source that lets you produce light in areas where it’s little or none.

For the case of portrait and studio photography, you have the option of employing a reflector to lighten up darker areas. Here, you can try the Neewer 5-in-1 Multi-Disc Reflector, allowing maximum light to bounce from the source. 

There are certain situations, such as concert photography, where you won’t effectively use reflectors and flash. In such cases, just use the available lights. 

And if this approach fails to work, consider the next solution. 

Overexposing Your Photos

Another proven approach you can employ to fix grainy images is to overexpose your photo. And to achieve the correct exposure for beautiful photos, you need to understand the F-stop scale. 

One-stop is enough since it reduces the grains during the post-processing stage. Increasing exposure has also proven to reduce digital noise. 

And if you choose to use this approach, don’t overexpose with a high ISO. Doing so increases the noise in the image. We recommend either widening the aperture or lowering the shutter speed. 

Be careful since overexposure could potentially have consequences such as blowing your photos. This loses details that you won’t acquire again in post-production. Even when you have a slow shutter speed, you’ll get a motion blur. 

Turning on The Camera’s Noise Reduction

Modern cameras are designed with built-in noise reduction features to fix grainy photos without a single edit. And each camera has its own unique way of allowing you to access noise reduction. 

Most of the time, you’ll always find the noise reduction feature on the menu. The feature automatically forces the camera to remove the grain. 

Cameras also come with various noise reduction levels to fix grainy photos. You can set the levels to either high, medium, or low. For better results, use either medium or low. Setting the feature to high can diminish your photo details. 

Applying Raw Instead of JPEG

JPEG photos aren’t very practical, especially when you want to fix the noise. For this reason, we recommend turning it off and applying RAW. 

Selecting RAW gives you more control when you decide to reduce noise in lightroom and photoshop. And because the file is editable, it becomes possible to manage changes without damaging the photos. The RAW option is more versatile for correction. 

You can employ RAW to limit noise when all the above options fail. 

Conclusion

You can either fix your grainy photos with or without photoshop. We all know that photoshop is a complex tool that requires constant practice and skills to work with effectively. Also, the use of photoshop is only effective in post-process. 

For this reason, we recommend employing any of the options we have recommended, including working with more light, applying RAW, overexposing photos, and setting the camera to low ISO, among others. 

What is worth noting is that you can’t eliminate the grain completely from your photo. However, you’re better off trying.

Sources

Canon Speedlite Auto Intelligent Flash Photography

Setting Up A Home Photography Studio

Neewer 43-Inch Multi-DIsc Reflector

Concert Photography Tips

How To Understand The F-Stop Scale