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Software Review: Noise Ninja

October 13, 2009 Jason7 Comments

With the October Contest underway where the winner will walk away with a fully licensed copy of Noise Ninja, courtesy of the folks at PictureCode, today is a great day to give everyone an idea of what makes this program one of the industry leaders. Since I have talked about the presence of noise in your images before (read that post here), re-hashing the principles of what introduces noise and the artistic benefits and image quality downsides of it in your images isn’t really needed.

Instead, here I will simply share some of the interface, and a few before and after shots here so you can get an idea of how well this software handles noise in your images. So, enjoy!

First up (after entering your license code), you’ll have a screen that looks like this:

You can see the yellow squares in the image on the right that shows the sections scanned to determine the noise profile for the image selected. On the right, a closer view of what the image will look like (or at least a close approximation) after the noise reduction is run. You see how you can make certain adjustments on one of several tabs. On this main tab, you can see the options for Image Profile, Profile Chart and radio buttons for luminance and color values, along with the reset option. I actually leave these alone most of the time.

On the second tab is where I vary my noise reduction adjustments (and I would venture to guess most people make their valuation adjustments based on the image used). Here’s the options available to you:

You can see here that many more detailed adjustments can be made to the strength, smoothness, contrast, USM amount, radius, color noise, and then checking whether you want the processing done quickly (turbo) and applying the settings to coarse noise situations. I made my adjustments to 12 for the strength, smoothness and contrast (and typically use these ones for most images with noise).

In the next tab, as shown below, you can see the noise brush, where you can apply the noise on a paint mask or an erase mask, specify the channel (luminance, chroma, or all) ad the quality of the brush trail by not only the type of edge, but also by radius and strength. (This is very handy if you want the noise reduction faded across the image so as to leave some noise behind for artistic effect! Normally I don’t make adjustments here either – but it is fun to play!) Take a look at the interface:

The Actions tab, as shown next, defines how Noise Ninja operates when it’s loaded. Specifically, here is where you can tell NN wither the profile is by default configured based on EXIF data or to create a profile from the image, or to use a specific profile. This can be very handy as well if you are batch processing a lot of photos that were shot under the same or similar circumstances so that a profile doesn’t have to be loaded each and every time. The fallback, and filter policies can also be defined here as well. Here typically I leave the default settings alone as I prefer not to batch profess since my type of work is more geared toward fine art and individual edits rather than massive quantities. To each their own I guess – take a look at the interface:

The next tab is the annotations tab. I almost never use this, as this is a place where you can add additional EXIF and metadata. Since I prefer to take the values from camera rather than adding my own specific notations, this tab doesn’t get any use from me – but it can be handy if you want to vary settings based on things like manufacturer, Model, FIlm type Megapixel count, ISO level, etc. A second tab lets you add even more…see the interface captures below for reference. Noise Ninja to me is isn’t about editing exif data though – it’s about noise reduction, so I skip these tabs. Take your pick:

I do occasionally reference the Image Info tab though, because some useful information can be obtained there as well. Things like the manufacturer, model, and more specifically, the ISO setting at which the image was taken. ISO settings can be an indication on the amount of noise that was introduced due to camera settings and thus, how much can be reasonably applied.

You can see that my first image, shot at ISO 3200, was subject to some pretty intense noise on the 40D. So, I ran the process, and take a look at the before and after results:

Before

Some pretty heavy noise, as expected, so let’s just look at the image after processing:

After

See the difference in grain? Yeah, I was impressed too. But is it always the case? I ran another couple images through NN and got the same or similar results on other objects in my print box. (Which, by the way, is a great resource for test shots when looking into lens and gear performance on a wide variety of things like noise, white balance, macro, depth of field, and much more.) Here’s another sample crop just to show you for comparison sake:

and after…

Again, some impressive results. When push comes to shove, results is where it counts in my book and PictureCode delivers at a superb value.

Now granted, there are other noise handling programs out there, and if you ask a dozen people what they use, 5 will say one, 5 will say another, and 2 will offer up another alternative. When push comes to shove, it really is up to personal preference on which one “works best”. For me, it doesn’t really matter as long as you are aware of what noise is, what it can do to an image, and how to fix it. The tool you use is up to you. I think Noise Ninja is probably recognized well enough for a reason, and the results here seem to suggest why.

The rest I’ll leave up to personal preferences, and if you would like to contribute your own thoughts, by all means, share them here in the comments or with me via email. If you want to try it – you can download a free copy from the folks at PictureCode here – or simply participate in the October Contest over at Flickr and win a copy from them for free!

That’s it for today – happy shooting all, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Framing your work

October 7, 2009 Jason6 Comments

Framing your work can be an expensive proposition. Once you get an archival mat, conservation glass, and a custom frame created for your print – you can start spending upwards of $100 for something as small as an 8×10 print. Depending on what it is you want to accomplish though, you could easily be spending as little as $10 per print to mat and frame. Here’s a few things to consider, and some explanations why:

Classics are called classics for a reason – they work!

I like classic looks, and the museum style frame suits that look – a thin black border, simple white mat, and picture inside there. Not only does it keep focus on the image, but because I can buy these easily and in bulk, which helps keep costs down. Also, it makes ordering new materials easier (these will never go out of style…) Even if you end up going through a frame shop, getting a classic style can make it easier to match things up down the road. So, what if classic is not your thing? That’s cool too – but remember, the more off the beaten path you go in framing, the tougher it can be to duplicate and repeat down the road (which can also increase costs).

Be aware of the learning curve

Buying things in bulk means you will have to do a little of the legwork yourself. For instance, say you buy 50 mats from some online reseller and save money there. Congratulations – but do you know how to mount a print to a mat? You can tape a print, hinge it, or even super glue it. Each will have pros and cons, and your results will vary depending on how much you know before dipping your toes in the water – so read up on attaching prints to mats before deciding to DIY. (Quick tip: You’ll ne to stockpile various supplies depending on your eventual display method including things like hinges, foam core board, low tack tape, perhaps a few cans of spray-on adhesive and perhaps a few Exact-o blades if you are cutting your own mats to custom sizes. Heck, they even make mat cutters that you can get at hobby shops!)

: Some Supplies

Don’t Go Overboard

Much like the mat work, framing can be tricky in and of itself. Making your own mats can be initially be pricey to get all the tools you will need (see above) . Framing is no cheap project either. Making your own frames involves getting long lengths of the borders, cutting at precise angles, and making sure it all seams together cleanly. It requires patience, attention to detail, and specific tools which can be a drain on the wallet (Have you priced a miter saw at Lowe’s or Home Depot? Even the cheap ones aren’t real cheap!) So, if you want to go the DIY route, know that some startup costs will be associated with it.

Storage Issues

Physical prints, physical mats, physical frames, physical glass pieces – all of these take space. How do you store all this stuff and in some semblance of order? First off – find an understanding and encouraging significant other? Don’t have one? Make that a requirement if you do! The amount of space that is involved in storing not only the obvious stuff, but the not-s0-obvious stuff, can be staggering! I have so many boxes of materials it really is ridiculous. It helps to have a system though, and labels are always a good idea.

: Shoeboxes make great sizes for lots of things

: Never have enough storage

: Never have enough storage

********

So, there’s my trifecta of tips for framing your work. It’s just a starting point, but will hopefully help when you decide to start framing your work for display. The results can be rewarding, but like anything else, with a little work, pre-planning and preparedness, you will be well on your way to having a gratifying gallery of imagery!

: Some Prints on the Wall

: Some More Prints on the Wall

Keep in mind though – I certainly do not have a corner on the tips and tricks associated with matting, framing, and displaying your work…there are many other elements to consider and be aware of. Just peruse the comments here to see a sample of what I am talking about – oh wait, that means you gotta share your own tips, tricks and ideas in the comments too! So, sound off – what else do people do when preparing prints for framing? Any styles that work? Any vendors to recommend?

That’s it for today…thanks for stopping in, and be sure to stop back again tomorrow for more photo goodness. Happy shooting and we’ll see you then!

Peruse your archives

September 25, 2009 Jason4 Comments

First off, I’d like to extend a big time “Thanks” to Andie Smith for bravely stepping up to the plate and delivering a home run of a first Guest Blogger post. With 17 responses to her post, it is already ranked among the top five posts ever! Make sure you stop over and check out her blog and portfolio.

For this Friday, I’ve got a fun little photo tip for you and that is to peruse your archives occasionally. You may find something of interest where previously you didn’t. Since inspiration and creativity can strike at any time and anywhere for a different number of reasons, if you don’t like an image immediately, consider just archiving it for a while. I do…and every month or so I peruse my own archives to see if some gem escaped my first glance. Here’s a few that initially didn’t strike my fancy where now I am thinking “Hey, there might be some potential there!” What do you think?

Last but not least, don’t forget, the $500 Giveaway for a Topaz Photoshop Plugin Bundle and and Thinktank Multimedia Photo bag system will close for entries tomorrow at midnight! (I had thought it was tonight earlier, but in referencing the Flickr thread, realized it’s tomorrow, so you got a 24 hour window to get your own photo creations in. One person did ask if “Topaz” had to be in the picture and the clarification was made that ANY color is fair game (or even the lack of color if that’s how you interpret it…) The Flickr thread to enter your photos is here: $500 Giveaway

That’s it for this week, have a great weekend, happy shooting and we’ll see you Monday!

Cabo Creativity

September 21, 2009 Jason7 Comments

Last week’s first ever 5-day series of written work “The Five Elements of Control” featured 5 distinct ways in which you can control and increase the impact of your work. Those elements were through controlling for luminance, color, geometry, context, and composition. Hopefully, the perspective can be one many will find useful in elevating their own work. In taking the task to heart, today (my first day back after a week-long break in beautiful Cabo San Lucas), I am sharing a slideshow of some of my favorite recent shots. So, rather than suggesting others incorporate these techniques, I am trying to apply them to my own efforts as well. Here is where you get the chance to be the critic for my work, so by all means, share your thoughts, comments, feedback, and perspectives below.

In other blog and podcast notes, don’t forget, the $500 giveaway for the Thinktank Photo Multimedia Bag and Topaz Labs plugin bundle is still going on over on the Flickr site. We’re in the last week for submissions so we can wrap things up by the end of September, so time is drawing nigh! The thread to share your pictures (and the guidelines) is here for those interested. It’s a great opportunity to take advantage of some great products from Topaz Labs and Thinktank Photo (and thanks go out to the sponsors for their generous contributions)!

In case you haven’t noticed the sidebar, there are now short little audio tips being offered up courtesy of the folks over at Audioboo. The latest comes the shores of Cabo San Lucas with the peaceful waves of the Pacific crashing in the background! So, for the feed readers out there, stop on over to the blog and check out the audio tips – some hopefully good stuff there too.

Thanks also to the recording capabilities of my wife’s point-and-shoot camera, you are in for a special treat tomorrow in the form of a Quicktime video! Until then, here’s the promised stills from the trip. Happy shooting everyone and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow. (Don’t forget to let me know your thoughts and feedback in the comments!)

As a little postscript, since many will ask, I did my post processing in Lightroom and Photomatix (yes, some of these are HDR images). One image did reveal a pretty heavy dust spot on my sensor, so that one did see a round-robin through Photoshop for that one speck.

Five Elements of Control: #5 Composition

September 18, 2009 Jason3 Comments

You knew it had to come back to this, right? I know, everyone is screaming by now “But Jason, you’ve talked about the Rule of Thirds until the cows literally came home!” Truth be told though, most people think about compositional positioning with their subject matter. While it’s true that subjects are ideally placed on a hot spot or along one of the gridlines in the ROT grid, but you can break the rules too, ya know! I say, put anything you want on a grid spot. Or don’t have a specific point of interest! Make the subject of your photo the space – negative space, as previously mentioned, can be a powerful thing!

You can also think of the ROT grid for any point of interest, not just subject points of interest. And, since we know that light (luminance, contrast, whatever your semantics prefer), geometry, color, and context can all be points of interest, then you can put any of these there and create visually grabbing photographs.

The greatest part of this exercise though, is that now we are looking at everything in a lot of new and creative ways. I bet you are asking yourselves lots of questions now: Does that light look good? DO those colors complement each other? What about that round wheel in a square table – that could be interesting, right? Keep on thinking and looking at the world around you from different angles and perspectives. Sooner than you realize it (if not already), your eyes will dart all over the place looking at things and you might not even be conscious that you are doing it.

When we migrate these exercises from the front of our brain to the back of our brains, making them automatic to the point where we no longer need to even think about looking for things – we just do it, then believe it or not, the compositional perspective also becomes second nature. You are already looking at how the light and colors on this corner of the room are really awesome contrasts to the darker shadows on the other side – and how cool is it that the funnel of light literally cuts through the darkness on that gridline?!

Some days you’ll have epiphanies, realizations, and great moments to capture, while others you may not see as many. Rest assured though, once your brain and eyes are trained to look for it – you’ll see it everywhere you go. So, take a look at the world around you – see what catches your eye – ask why if you like, but enjoy your moments, because these are the ones where you can really get creative with composition and take your photography to the next level! Just remember the Five Elements of Control:

Luminance
Color
Geometry
Context
Composition

Have a great weekend everyone – this officially wraps up my first week-long thematic series of blog posts. Hopefully you’ve found each one rewarding individually, and I would welcome any feedback, thoughts critiques, and comments, because this will likely become an eBook download. I’ll expand on each element some more, and include even more photos as examples of each, along with detailed critiques and highlights to help show readers why certain ones work, and others don’t.

So please let me know your thought! Who knows, feedback may get you a free copy of the eBook and a mention in the credits if you do! Thanks too, for all the comments already throughout this week, with your comments and insights on both the written word and photographs. We’ll be back to regular posting starting Monday! Until then, Happy Shooting!

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Five Elements of Control: #4 Context

September 17, 2009 Jason1 Comment

Have you ever seen something that looks so out of place that it catches your eye? Well catch it with your lens too, because contextual positioning of subjects in interesting or unusual/unexpected areas creates visual interest. This is what I refer to as controlling the context of your subject. So many times I’ve heard people tell me “but how can I change the surroundings?” The answer lies not in changing the surroundings of subjects you want to shoot, butin reversing that idea: find unusual subjects in your given surroundings. Say you are on a photo walk and in a city area. Well, try and find subject matter that contradicts the sense of city.

Additionally, you can also create contextual appeal by the use of negative space too. See something standing all by itsef, or away from other things? That’s a picture possibility! Conversely, something that is amidst other things could be a cue for creative expression. What if you saw a plastic water bottle among some glass beer bottles? That could be cool…or what if you had a computer mouse sitting in a mousetrap? You can create subject and background contextual associations in your own environment too ya know. Photographers that make good money do it all the time. (Hint: that’s called stock photography! 🙂 )

Here’s a few examples to give you a springboard for creativity. Find something you like? Tell me below! (I love to get feedback on photos just like everyone else…) Got your own ideas? Share those below too! Sound off in the comments, and don’t forget to keep on shooting! (That Flickr Contest thread is still alive and kicking you know – great chance to win $500 of gear, including a Thinktank bag System and a copy of the Topaz Labs PS Plugin Bundle!)

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Five Elements of Control: #3 Geometry

September 16, 2009 Jason3 Comments

Earlier this week, we looked at the idea of how contrast/luminance can impact a photo, and that your creative style may tend toward a wider contrast or a narrower contrast. Then, yesterday we looked at how the element of color can impact a photo, both in the sense of how colors can balance and compete against one another, and how bright versus dark colors can play off each other. Since we’re moving from more theoretical to more tangible elements that we want to include in our photos, next up is the geometry of our photos.

So, what is geometry? Basically, it’s shapes! Shapes are everywhere, and the types of shapes (or the geometry) can play a huge role in the impact of your photos. So, it makes sense to include geometry as an element of control. Since shapes are nothing more than lines that are connected together, this also means we are looking at the lines in a photo. Whether it’s long rectangular lines of grass or circular lines of a persons eyes, the sharpness of square and angles lines in architecture or the looping curves of ovals in a landscape, shapes and lines can really define our work. So, with that in mind, let’s look at a few photos here to help illustrate what kind of impact different shapes can have. Look through the images and see if you can find all the different types of geometric shapes. What kinds of shapes do you see? DO they help or hurt the photos? Share your thoughts in the comments! In the meantime, Happy Shooting and we’ll see you back here tomorrow for #4 of the Five Elements of Control…(any guess what it is? 🙂 )

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Five Elements of Control: #2 Color

September 15, 2009 Jason2 Comments

Yesterday was all about light and the way that contrasts or changes in that light can have a pretty dramatic impact on your work when you present it to others. Of equal importance to photography though is the element of color. If you don’t take color shades and variances into consideration, then you have lost an element of control in your photography.

When we think of color, many of us are familiar with the three primaries. Red, Green, and Blue as these are letters of one of the most common color spaces (Adobe RGB). Surely though, even though we may not consciously think about it, there are more than three colors out there. Even the traditional axiom of a ROYGBIV rainbow only indicates 7 colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet), and there are way more than that within the color spectrum. So, let’s take a look at the entire spectrum of color:

Since colors represent particular wavelengths of light, you can see how light and color tie into one another very quickly. Just because you define something as “red”, doesn’t give a complete description of that color, because there can be so many nuances, shades, hues, or wavelengths of red. So, in understanding that color is something we can control for, it’s first helpful to know that you are still controlling for luminance, light, or contrast while also controlling for color, because the shades you let come through in your photos will also be somewhat controlled by the amount of contrast, luminance, or light.

Another way in which color can control how people view and perceive your images is to understand the idea behind complementary colors. Some colors work well together, while others don’t. For instance, take a look at the photo below:

So, in looking at this photo – which do you think the contrasting colors are? A typical kneejerk reaction would be to say the yellow and the black are the two contrasting colors. Black though, really from a visual perspective means a total lack of color (black = nothing, white = everything…remember grade school?). So, really the contrasting colors would probably be the yellow and what? The greens of the stems or the browns of the center? A case could be made for either, but I am going to go with the browns here. If you look back at the color spectrum, you can see that yellow and brown are relatively close together (as are yellow and green) – they are actually right next to one another – so they complement each other nicely. It’s also no accident that these colors are in use with the black background too. Because the colors are of the brighter variety, they look better with a darker background. There’s two elements of color at play here then, complementary colors (colors that work well together due to proximity on the color spectrum) and color luminance (light versus dark colors). If you want a lighter color to stand out, then place it in a scene where the rest of the background is either much darker (or vice versa). To show how this works, look at the same image when I replace the background with white rather than black:

See how brighter colors look with a brighter background? Now granted, the mask job was rather quick and messy, but you can see how the colors and their background can have a huge impact on the quality of your work. While this speaks more to the luminance and contrast factor from yesterday, it can also help in understanding how to position colors in your work so subjects can get the attention they deserve. Pretty cool, eh?

So, which are your favorite complementary colors? Do you like the yellows and greens? Or the red and blues? Or violets and purples? Don’t forget color shades too – as light never really leaves the picture (both figuratively and literally speaking)! Which scenes do you like? Answering these questions in not only the works of others, but also in your own work can help develop your sense of style and define what makes your work unique, so embrace your originality! Sound off in the comments with your take on controlling color in your images!

Five Elements of Control: #1 Luminance

September 14, 2009September 9, 2017 Jason5 Comments

This week I am doing something special here on the blog – starting a week long series on the subject of Control. We can control our photography in several different ways, and I’ve seen different outlets talk about each of these (and others) to a certain degree, but I’ve not seen many that address all of these elements collectively. Since a discussion of all the elements that go into a photograph would be both exhaustive and likely impossible to touch on everything, it would probably be better to narrow that focus (pardon the pun) on some of the more salient elements to consider. Today, the element of control that I’ll be looking to in more depth is:

Contrast/Luminance

Contrast, or luminance, can be described as the tonal range of light within a photo. If the tonal range is broad, then that means we have an extensive range of tonality from the lightest point to the darkest point in the photo. Likewise, a narrow tonal range will mean that we have a limited range of tonality from the lightest point to the darkest point in your photo. Take a look at the following two photos and see if you can determine which one has a broader and a more narrow tonal range.

It should be pretty clear that one has a wider range of luminance to it than the other. What’s exciting to learn here though is that this is the same photograph! That’s right! I simply changed the exposure settings in ACR to output a different result. Different tastes will look at each of these differently, and like one over the other for a variety of reasons. What’s important to understand here though, more than anything else, is that all I’ve changed is the luminance. The tonal range or contrast of luminance can have a powerful impact on a photo, either by how it limits and defines focus or by its range and extent of difference between high and low luminance points as we change from white to black.

So, why am I talking about luminance first? Because it is probably the most important element to control. After all, luminance (or contrast) deals with the principle of light! Photography by definition means to paint with light ((look up the Greek roots photo and graphos) Without understanding how to control for the element of luminance (a.k.a. contrast or light), the rest won’t really matter too much. Rather than say more or less luminance is better or worse than the other, (because it really is a matter of subjectivity) I’ll simply leave you to ponder a few things between now and tomorrow:

Which one do you like better?
Why?
What other elements of control can you think of?
Finally, what other examples of the effect of luminance can you think of? Got any you’d like to share?

Feel free to share your thoughts and sound off in the comments or with me directly via email. Until tomorrow and the Second Element of Control, Happy Shooting!

Super Santa Fe

September 9, 2009 Jason8 Comments

As a kind of salute to the Santa Fe trip from this last weekend, I thought it might be fun to do just a photo-sharing day here on the blog so you can see some of the fun stuff from down in Santa Fe. We did a lot of walking around both days, so it was definitely a photo-walk type of atmosphere. The opportunity to take a solo vist over to the historic rail yard in Santa Fe also presented itself so I took advantage of that too. Here’s a sampling from the trip:

As you can see, we had a good time. I wasn’t exactly “focused” on photography as these shots are works in progress, but regardless, I did get the chance to practice a little. As the old saying goes though, we are always our own worst critic, so I’ll throw the critique doors open to the reading audience too. Do you like the processing? Composition? Technique? Etc.? Since some will likely ask, all of these HDR composites were done by pulling into Lightroom, then using the new Photomatix software from HDR Soft. (Be on the lookout for a review coming up on this latest incarnation too as it’s got some nice advancements and feature additions.)

In other news, keep in mind the latest Giveaway is underway over at the Flickr Group. You can win the Thinktank Photo Multimedia bag system and a Topaz Labs Photoshop Plugin bundle with a combined retail value of $500 just by submitting your favorite “Think in Color” photo to the Flickr thread! Until tomorrow, hope all your shots are fun ones! Happy Shooting!