Removing noise? Use it in moderation
Thursday 27 November 2025, 14:41 by Nando Harmsen | 1,935 views | 1 commentThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
When there is noise in a photo, we are quick to reach for noise reduction. But be careful, as with everything, too much is bad for you. Use it in moderation.
Noise reduction is a useful tool. It can make a photo full of noise presentable. But thoughtless noise reduction can also have the opposite effect.
Sometimes it seems that 'we' are allergic to noise. As soon as noise is spotted, noise reduction must be brought out. 'We' even zoom in to 100% to discover the noise. You know the sort of thing: pixel peeping.
Noise is caused by a high ISO setting, sometimes in combination with more extreme post-processing. Raising shadows in particular can be disastrous and make the noise almost jump off your screen. Of course, you will want to remove this.
But do not remove everything. Do not smooth it out until everything is flat and there is no noise left to be found. Noise is like the pores of a photo. It allows the photo to breathe. By removing every trace of noise, you block those pores.
Noise reduction is not wrong. But use it in moderation. Always leave a little noise behind. That makes the photo more real, more realistic. As soon as the noise is gone, your photo will look like plastic. Unreal, artificial.
About the author
Nando Harmsen has been photographing for more than 40 years. He specialises in wedding photography and landscape photography. Nando also gives talks, workshops, masterclasses and photo trips, and regularly reviews new and interesting equipment.
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1 comment
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Donald Willemsen
wrote on Friday 28 November 2025 at 00:04
| reply
Nando, het doet deugd zo'n artikel als dit te lezen. Het valt me geregeld op dat fotografen en dan vooral hobbyfotografen steen en been klagen over ruis. De zgn. pixelpeepers.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.
Om je een voorbeeld te geven. Ik fotografeer met een Canon Eos R7 en vaak met een ISO-waarde van 6400. Natuurlijk zie je dan een beetje ruis als je op 100% kijkt, maar die ruis is dan nog niet eens hinderlijk. Als je dat nodig vindt, is het gemakkelijk te verwijderen en je hoeft daar niet rigoreus met de schuifjes te gaan schuiven.
Ik heb al fotgrafen horen spreken over de R7 en noemen het dan een 'ruisbak'. Waarom koop je dan die camera? Ik vind die kwalificatie onterecht. Absurd zelfs.
Veel fotografen zijn bang voor ruis. Ik vind dat je er geen schrik voor moet hebben, juist omdat de ruisonderdrukkingssoftware tegenwoordig zo goed is geworden, dat je het vrij eenvoudig kan verwijderen, zonder zelfs detail in de foto te verliezen.
Ik kan mij dus goed vinden in jouw artikel.
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